British Royalty and NY Society convened in the Orangerie, the private reception room upstairs at Le Cirque, to honor Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent at the annual luncheon to benefit The Versailles Foundation, Claude Monet-Giverny. The intimate gathering of 100 was hosted by Barbara de Portago and Florence Van der Kemp, in from Paris and Prez of The Foundation. Also holding court: Enriquillo and Audrey Rosario, Anabelle Mariaca, Raul Suarez, Sharon Handler, Lynn Wyatt, Kenny Lane, Debbie Bancroft, Inga Rennert, Susan Gutfreund, Cynthia Maltese, Meera Ghandi, Susan Sosin, and Victoire Taittinger.
Tables were decorated with silver trellis bowls filled with fresh oranges. Guests toasted royally with Taittinger Prestige Cuvee Rose Champagne and feasted on Terinne of Foie Gras, Prosciutto-and-Sweetbread-wrapped Chicken, Lobster Salad, Filet of Lamb, Dodine of Salmon, a Chocolate Financier with Dark Chocolate Mousse and Hazelnut Brownie Ice Cream. At each “placement” stood a lovely small silver and orange tree to take home.
Heralds announced the entrance of Her Royal Highness, who spoke about The Serpent and The Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King (Simon & Schuster), her book to be published this fall. And what a page-turner it will be! The Princess, married to Prince Michael, the first cousin of the Queen, since 1978, has always had an impressive family tree (she can trace her lineage back to Catherine de’ Medici, who was related to two popes; and, believe it or not, to the historic figures who inspired the legends of Count Dracula and Lady Godiva!). The plot thickens, though, when as a 21-year-old art history and interior design student living in London, the then-Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz apparently began “channeling” another long-lost relation. It seems she had the urge to adopt the colors black and white as her signature — in clothing, accessories, furnishings, even a cat! She even grew a black-and-white garden (discovering there were many black flowers, like black iris!). When her mother visited and discovered these new tendencies, she paled, and confessed the family secret.
The Baroness was also related to noblewoman Diane de Poitiers, who six generations earlier, had also favored black and white, and was the lifelong mistress of King Henry II of France. Diane was beautiful, clever, and 18 years older than Henry, who had wed Catherine de’ Medici in 1533 when both were just 14. (What Princess Diana endured with Charles and Camilla was nothing compared to this! After all, Diana and Charles were under one roof for just 12 years, till their separation in 1992 and divorce four years later.) All three Renaissance Royals lived in the same Palace throughout their lives. Poor plain Catherine (whose symbol was the Serpent) had to compete for the handsome Henry’s affections until his death in 1559. Diane (whose symbol was the Moon) even directed the upbringing of the royal children.
When publishers asked Princess Michael what topic she would like to address in a third book, she lost no time bringing up Diane. This eagerly awaited biography tells the fascinating tale of this famous ménage a trois, and promises to be filled with love, sex, scandal, and politics. Write away, they urged!
The very elegant patrons were each escorted from the event on the arm of a splendid cadet, in full dress uniform, from The Valley Forge Military Academy & College, in Pennsylvania. The afternoon was a pageant of chivalry and passion, indeed!
