 |
| Count Friedrich Karl von Schönborn and Princess Isabelle d’Orléans at the funeral of Madame the Countess of Paris, 2003. |
Today, Princess Isabelle d’Orléans celebrates her ninetieth birthday!
 |
| Isabelle with her grandparents/godparents: Princess Elizabeth of Orléans-Branganza and the Duke of Guise, 1932. |
 |
| The baptism of Princess Isabelle. From left to right: Princess Isabelle, Countess d’Harcourt; the Count of Paris, Prince Pedro of Orléans-Braganza, the Duchess of Guise, Queen Marie-Amélie of Portugal, the Duke of Guise, and Princess Elizabeth of Orléans-Braganza. In front is the Countess of Paris with little Princess Isabelle. Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France. |
Born on 8 April 1932 at Woluwé-Saint-Pierre in Belgium, Princess Isabelle “Isa” Marie Laura Victoire d’Orléans was the first child of Prince Henri and Princess Isabelle, the Count and Countess of Paris.
 |
| Prince Henri, future Count of Paris, with his sister Princess Isabelle. Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France. |
 |
| The Count and Countess of Paris with their eleven children. Photo (c) Getty Images / STF. |
Isabelle had ten younger siblings. She was followed by Prince Henri (1933-2019), Princess Hélène (b.1934), Prince François (1935-1960), Princess Anne (b.1938), Princess Diane (b.1940), the twins Prince Michel and Prince Jacques (b.1941), Princess Claude (b.1943), Princess Chantal (b.1946), and Prince Thibaut (1948-1983). Princess Isabelle obtained an education in social work and nursing. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Isabelle worked as a volunteer nurse in Paris in addition to working in a psychiatric facility in Brooklyn.
 |
| Princess Isabelle on the cover of Paris Match. |
 |
| Princess Isabelle and Count Friedrich Karl at home. Photo (c) Getty Images / Jack Garofalo. |
In September 1964, Princess Isabelle d’Orléans married Count Friedrich Karl von Schönborn-Buchheim (b.Schönborn 30 March 1938), the second son of Count Georg von Schönborn-Buchheim (1906-1989) and Countess Elisabeth Orssich de Slavetich (1902-1967). The couple had first met in 1954 at a ball. Isabelle’s religious wedding was held discretely at Dreux.
 |
| Friedrich Karl and Isabelle with their children. Photo (c) Getty Images / Slim Aarons. |
Count Karl Friedrich and Princess Isabelle have five children: Hereditary Count Damian (b.1965; married Deirdre Mary Ascough), Count Vinzenz (b.1966; married Katharina Maria Christiane Martina Graf (b.1975), Countess Lorraine Marie (b.1968; married Count Wilhelm von Spee), Countess Claire Marie (b.1969; married Wolfgang Liechtenfeld), and Count Melchior Raphael (b.1977; married Bernadette von Mentzingen).
 |
| Princess Isabelle in 2000. Photo (c) Seeger-Presse. |
Our best wishes to the Princess on her birthday!
