Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat (
néeNEE, Nee, Née may refer to:* Née or Nee, French for "born", indicates a person's birth surname* Nee , a band in Kannada* NEE, a political party in Flanders, Belgium* "Ne~e?", a 2003 single by Aya Matsuura- People with the family name :...
:
Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier), born 6 February 1976 in Paris, France, is the second wife of
HRH Prince Joachim of DenmarkPrince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is a member of the Danish Royal Family. He is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark....
.
Marie Cavallier was born in Paris, France. She is the only child of Françoise Grassiot and Alain Cavallier. She moved to Geneva, Switzerland, after her parents divorced.
She has four half-brothers, Benjamin and Gregory Grandet, both born in Switzerland, and Charles and Edouard Cavallier, both born in Paris.
After her parents divorced, Marie was sent to the Collège Alpin Beau Soleil boarding school in Switzerland
http://www.beausoleil.ch/s_en/).
Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat (
néeNEE, Nee, Née may refer to:* Née or Nee, French for "born", indicates a person's birth surname* Nee , a band in Kannada* NEE, a political party in Flanders, Belgium* "Ne~e?", a 2003 single by Aya Matsuura- People with the family name :...
:
Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier), born 6 February 1976 in Paris, France, is the second wife of
HRH Prince Joachim of DenmarkPrince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is a member of the Danish Royal Family. He is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark....
.
Early life
Marie Cavallier was born in Paris, France. She is the only child of Françoise Grassiot and Alain Cavallier. She moved to Geneva, Switzerland, after her parents divorced.
She has four half-brothers, Benjamin and Gregory Grandet, both born in Switzerland, and Charles and Edouard Cavallier, both born in Paris.
Education
After her parents divorced, Marie was sent to the Collège Alpin Beau Soleil boarding school in Switzerland
http://www.beausoleil.ch/s_en/). She attended
Babson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
in
Wellesley, MassachusettsWellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,613 at the 2000 census. It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College. The Hunnewell Arboretum abuts the Wellesley campus, and the Elm Bank Horticulture Center is also located in...
, for a brief time, to study international business and economics and then went on to study economics in Genève. Marie earned a
Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
at
Marymount Manhattan CollegeMarymount Manhattan College is a small, coeducational liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Marymount Manhattan's campus is located in the affluent Upper East Side of Manhattan. It's often referred to as MMC.-History:...
. During her years in college, Marie worked for
Estée LauderEstée Lauder may refer to:* Estée Lauder * Estée Lauder Companies...
, as assistant to the public relations manager in 1994, and as an assistant to the managing director of ING Numismatic Group SA in Genève.
After graduating, she started working for DoubleClick Inc, an international advertising agency, in New York as international marketing coordinator. Back in France, she worked for advertising agency Media Marketing. She then worked for Reuters financial news agency Radianz in Switzerland, took a position with her stepfather's company, REInvest in Geneva and worked as executive secretary in ING Numismatic Group SA until the engagement.
Princess Marie's mother tongue is French. In addition she speaks English, Spanish and Italian. In connection to her wedding with
Prince JoachimPrince Joachim may refer to:*Prince Joachim of Denmark *Prince Joachim of Prussia *Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este...
she started taking lessons in Danish.
Courtship
Marie first came to public attention when she was photographed on a private holiday in Avignon, France, with Prince Joachim in August 2005. She celebrated the New Year 2006/2007 with Prince Joachim, his former wife, the former
Princess Alexandra of Denmark now Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, their two sons Princes
NikolaiPrince Nikolai of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is a member of the Danish Royal Family. He is the elder son of Prince Joachim and his former wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He has a younger brother, Prince Felix, and a younger half-brother, Prince Henrik.Prince Nikolai was born at the...
and
FelixPrince Felix of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is a member of the Danish Royal Family. He is the younger son of Prince Joachim and his former wife, Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg. He was born at the Rigshospitalet...
, as well as close friends.
In January 2007, Marie accompanied Prince Joachim and his children on a ski holiday in Switzerland. Later that year, Marie joined the royal family for Easter at
Marselisborg PalaceMarselisborg Palace is a royal residence of the Danish Royal Family in Aarhus. It has been the summer residence of Queen Margrethe II since 1967....
, where she met
The QueenMargrethe II is the Queen of Denmark...
for the first time. There was speculation about her relationship with Joachim and regular media stories in Denmark. Marie increasingly made weekend visits from Geneva to Denmark in 2007. Marie's "trademark" companion is her
Bichon FriséA Bichon Frisé is a small breed of dog of the Bichon type. They are popular pets, similar in appearance to, but larger than, the Maltese. They are a non-shedding breed that requires daily grooming....
named Apple, which seems to go with her to work and has travelled with her on numerous occasions to Denmark.
Engagement
On 3 October 2007, it was officially announced that Marie Cavallier was engaged to Prince Joachim. On 21 November 2007, the Royal Court announced that the wedding would be held on 24 May 2008.
Marriage
The wedding took place on Saturday 24 May 2008 at 1700. (Local Time), in Møgeltønder Church. The ceremony was performed by Bishop Erik Norman Svendsen. A wedding banquet was held at the couple's home, Schackenborg Castle. Upon her marriage to Joachim, Marie's title is
Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat. Marie, who had been a French citizen and a member of the Roman Catholic Church, became, in connection with the marriage, a Danish citizen and a member of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark.
Marie's wedding gown was designed by Spanish-Italian fashion house Arasa Morelli, and was sewn by a Danish woman working for the company.
Children
On 10 November 2008, the Danish Royal Court announced that Marie expected the couple's first child, due in May 2009. Marie gave birth to a son at the
RigshospitaletRigshospitalet , or simply Riget, is the national hospital of Denmark, located in the capital city of Copenhagen...
on 4 May 2009 at 4.57am. The baby's names, Henrik Carl Joachim Alain, was revealed at his christening, which took place on 26 July 2009 at the Møgeltønder Church.
Marie is also godmother to the daughter of Britte Davisen Siesbyes, in turn Prince Henrik's godmother.
Role as Princess of Denmark
Marie started her role as princess of Denmark shortly after her wedding, while attending with her husband events and activities from his patronages. She gave an interview to Danish magazine
Billed Bladet, in which she explained that she was in the process of making a decision on her areas of interest in September 2008 and mentioned her desire to have children.
The Princess' first engagement and trip abroad was to
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
on 28 October 2008, when she handed out
LegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
toys to orphanage children in
RabatRabat , population 2 million , is the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region....
. After this trip abroad, the Princess accompanied Prince Joachim to Russia.
Marie's first patronage came shortly after her son
Prince Henrik of DenmarkPrince Henrik of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is the newest member of the Danish Royal Family.-Danish prince:Prince Henrik is the third and youngest son of Prince Joachim. The prince is Joachim's first child with his second wife, Princess Marie of Denmark...
's birth, when her patronage of Tønder Festival was announced. Tønder Festival is an international folk music festival near her official residence Shackenborg Manor in Møgeltønder, where the Princess resides with her family. Shortly afterwards, Marie took over one of the Prince Consort's duties as Patron of the Annual Literature Prize that awards an annual prize for French-language literature in Copenhagen. Marie also took the patronage of ambassador to Syddansk Universitet in Odense in September 2009.
Leisure and personal file
Marie is an avid sportswoman and has been seen with Prince Joachim and his children skiing. Marie and Joachim also share a passion for racing and cars and boxing.
Titles and styles
- 6 February 1976 – 24 May 2008: Miss Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier
- 24 May 2008 Hendes Kongelige Højhed Prinsesse Marie af Danmark, grevinde af Monpezat which translates in English to Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat
External links