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| The Duke of Vendôme approaches Senlis with his aunt Princess Christine of Liechtenstein (née Württemberg) |
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| The Duchess of Vendôme arrives at the Cathedral on the arm of her father don Alfonso |
Today was a meaningful occasion for the Count and Countess of Paris in two ways. First of all, they were present at the Château d’Amboise to welcome the French President and First Lady as well as the Italian President to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci. Second of all, and more importantly, the couple today celebrates ten years since their religious wedding at Senlis on 2 May 2009.
On that day, Prince Jean d’Orléans, then Duke of Vendôme, married doña Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart. The Duke and Duchess of Vendôme had already celebrated their civil wedding at Paris on 19 March in a ceremony presided over by Rachida Dati, then Mayor of Paris. However, the gathering at Senlis Cathedral on 2 May 2009 brought together a great gathering of the royal houses of Europe to join in witnessing the union of the eventual Head of House France and his wife.
The Duke of Vendôme, current Count of Paris, is the second child of Princess Marie-Thérèse d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (b.1934), and the late Prince Henri d’Orléans, Count of Paris (1933-2019). The Duchess of Vendôme, current Countess of Paris, is the daughter of doña Maria Antonia de Tornos (b.1944; née Edle von Steinhart) and the late don Alfonso de Tornos y Zubiría (1937-2013). Philomena’s paternal grandfather don Juan de Tornos y Espelíus was formerly the head of the personal secretariat of the Count of Barcelona, father of King Juan Carlos of Spain.
