By Gaëtan Audeyer | Deputy Editor-in-Chief
From Hollywood stars to French personalities, no one escapes Gaëtan's devouring curiosity to tell stories. Feeding on Star Academy and Sous le soleil, like any good self-respecting millennial, he now takes great pleasure in deciphering PAF broadcasts. His guilty pleasure? Watch old episodes of the show Strip Tease over and over again.
In the heart of one of the most famous villages in the world, an iconic residence sits peacefully. Property of the Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, the Château de Saint-Tropez was acquired a few years ago by this deposed but extremely wealthy royal family.
The castle of Saint-Tropez, property of a royal family which no longer reigns but is extremely wealthy: the Bourbon of the Two Sicilies
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They are beautiful, they are rich, they have an immense fortune and they are direct descendants of Louis XIV! No, it's not the royal family of England that we're talking about. Although the first names of our main subjects could be confusing. It is on Charles and Camilla de Bourbon of the Two Sicilies that our attention is focused. Because the couple fascinates. It must be said that the man's pedigree is enough to make you dream. Prince Charles successively bears the titles of Duke of Noto, Duke of Calabria and, since 2008, Duke of Castro, which makes him the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (a kingdom which formerly extended over the south of Italy and Sicily). If today he only has a ceremonial role, his titles are very real. Assets which probably seduced Camilla Crociani, rich heiress to a large family of Italian industrialists whose mother would have done everything possible to push her daughters into the arms of aristocrats. It is therefore under the leadership of this matriarch and thanks to the help of the one they call their “cupid”, namely Prince Albert of Monaco, that Charles and Camilla were united in the principality on October 31, 1998. A story that had everything from a fairy tale from the start.
Five years later, the couple will silence the evil tongues who did not bet a kopeck on this marriage between a penniless nobleman and a rich heiress fascinated by the nobility. On June 23, 2003, Camilla gave birth to Maria Carolina de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles. Very quickly followed by Maria Chiara from Bourbon des Deux-Siciles who was born on January 1, 2005. Schooled at home, the two young girls who speak six languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian, editor's note) will quickly give way two magnificent blondes with dreamlike looks. Feeding on social networks, the latter are extremely followed on Instagram where between them they have no less than 285,000 followers. We follow the two princesses in their magical daily life. Between their getaways to Dubai and their ideal stays in Mauritius, the two sisters who say they are very close also regularly go to one of their family's many residences, including an exceptional apartment in Paris with breathtaking views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower, a residence in Monaco, a huge villa in Sardinia or, most impressively, a castle in the heart of Saint-Tropez.
The royal family has settled in the billionaires' village
Looking for a property for a very long time in this mythical village where she went with her parents, Camilla de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles immediately fell in love with the castle of Saint-Tropez. It must be said that she is the one who holds the purse. Heir to her father Camillo, Camilla was until recently the head of Vitrociset, a company specializing in computer systems and sold to Leonardo, an Italian defense and aerospace multinational. Pocketing in the process a secret but possibly gigantic sum. “We saw this long avenue of cypress trees, and we immediately wondered where it led. When, later, we had permission to visit the place, we fell in love immediately. Its 14 tall palm trees of 45 meters which give it the air of an oasis, its calm, its location in the middle of the city which allows you to live without a car or a vespa… It took two years to convince the English owner to sell it to us. no way Okay. It was a long and sweet conquest.”confided this bubbly fifty-year-old in the pages of Point of view in August 2016, one year after the acquisition of this exceptional property, the price of which has remained confidential but which can easily be estimated at several tens of millions of euros.
Having become in just a few years the favorite place for the jet set from around the world who like to have fun there during sumptuous parties organized by the Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, the Château de Saint-Tropez is a real gem. Located in the heart of the fishing village a few minutes from Place des Lys, the Belle époque style building has been the scene of many unforgettable evenings in recent years. We particularly remember one of the first, in 2016, on the theme of the circus, an idea whispered by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco to the hostess. For the occasion, the Saint-Tropez palace of Prince Charles and Princess Camilla was transformed into a fantastic evening to which their daughters, Princesses Maria Carolina and Maria Chiara, greatly contributed. On an authentic ring with stars covered in red under a big top set up on the lawn, not without echoing the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival so dear to the Monegasque princely family, the two teenagers proposed with a few friends a real show, in particular a choreographed number which saw them perform acrobatic postures and lifts. An evening that will remain engraved in the memories of the guests present, all handpicked.
