We could have published this article on August 4, the night of the abolition of the nobility and feudal privileges, but Paris MatchJordan Bardella and Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon of the two Sicilies, had another agenda. An agenda which, however, did not go so badly for director Licia Meysenq, whose documentary How to flirt in high society, broadcast by “France 3”, March 26 came at just the right time. And is she able to answer this question we ask ourselves: how do you date a princess?
“You’re already not on Tinder,” asks the journalist who suffered 300 interview refusals, including that of Maria Carolina, during her investigation. Seduction occurs first through social reproduction and generally in places of association validated by parents, such as rallies, events organized and reserved for the nobility which allow you to meet people like yourself. »
Clubs, circles and closed evenings…
In the case of the “romance” made public between the presidential candidate and president of the RN Jordan Bardella, 30 years old, and Maria Carolina, 22 years old, the meeting was, according to the details distilled, established last spring on the occasion of a private evening on the sidelines of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. “Typically, this type of event which mixes political influence, aristocracy and business leaders marks the importance of places of sociability, of worldliness, reserved for an elite. Because if rallies and balls are reserved for the aristocracy, which is not the case for Bardella, “private clubs” on the other hand are the spaces where these meetings take place,” continues Licia Meysenq.
Among the best known, the Automobile Club de France and the Cercle de l’Union interalliée, both located in private mansions in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, which are only accessible by sponsorship and with entry fees and contributions capable of filling a refrigerator for more than a year. Let us also mention “the Sports Circles of the Bois de Boulogne”, notably hosting the “Paris Pigeon Shooting”, “Paris Polo” and “Lagardère Paris Racing” clubs. All having been founded by nobles in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Republic was asserting itself.
“As an average citizen, joining such private clubs is very difficult. It’s the work of a lifetime, the director noted in her investigation. It’s such a closed world that if you don’t have economic and/or political weight – in the case of Bardella – you have zero chance. It’s a give-and-take relationship, and for the aristos a kind of soft power and a means of social reproduction. »
Meetings for nobles 2.0
A social reproduction that sticks to Jeanne de Chalon’s family motto, “I will maintain”. At 30, this noblewoman launched last November the first international dating application reserved for the nobility, including some images of the launch evening at the Museum of Hunting and Nature were published on the networks.
“I started to have the idea when I arrived from Lyon to Paris, during Covid. There was no ball or rally to meet people and the idea started from there. Many communities have their own dedicated dating site and the nobility did not have one,” rewinds from 20 Minutes the co-founder about “NOB”which aims to operate on a European scale. “In France, there are 3,000 noble families and for each country there is an association like the Association of Nobles of France [ANF]which has a directory of noble people. To be registered, candidates must go through the “evidence commission” where they must present proof of nobility, a family tree, property title, etc. »
A directory to rely on when validating profiles on NOB by its administrators. “You create a profile with your surnames, first names, titles, coat of arms and motto, and for the moment, with around a thousand registered members, each member is presented with a profile and has the right to one swipe per day, in addition to access to information concerning evenings,” summarizes the entrepreneur.
Here then is the nobility able to indulge in popular and digital customs, something that Jeanne de Chalon is not very concerned about who “advocates a modern nobility. After all, one in five French people have already used a dating application. You also have to live with the times.” She regrets, however, that if she were to marry a commoner, she would, unlike a man, lose her titles and be removed from the ANF.
Difficult, therefore, without a particle or title of nobility and without sponsorship of private clubs to hope to “date” a princess. That leaves perhaps the “high-end” marriage agencies, such as ELC International, created by Valérie Bruat.
Sociology is brutal
“For example, I currently have a Spanish nobleman as a client. He is not fixated on the particle, more on the cultural level, heritage education. Then, everything generally depends on the open-mindedness of the most successful and qualified person. I remember the escapades of Stéphanie de Monaco, who had relationships with her staff. There are also princesses who break the codes,” she emphasizes to 20 Minutes. And maybe Maria Carolina,with more than 200,000 followers on Instagramis vaguely like that.
Still, when it comes to manners, there are still standards. “Not walking past, holding the door, paying the bill at the restaurant, from a certain level, it’s not a discussion, it’s an acquired knowledge in the same way as good table manners,” lists the matchmaker. What Jeanne de Chalon could summarize as follows: “In a world where everyone doesn’t care about everything, about politeness, courtesy, etc., the return “to the old values” is a good thing. »
“As in everything between you, you have social codes, a way of behaving in space, of presenting yourself,” analyzes Licia Meysenq who tried for the sake of her investigation to enter this environment for almost a year. But for the journalist, “the pro worker and the princess or fairy tales do not exist. We have to look at sociology.”
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