An Italian Princess has broken her silence on reports from an Australian tabloid claiming she is engaged to Princess Mary’s son, Prince Christian.
Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon Two Sicilies, 18, has denied she is dating the 17-year-old Danish royal, let alone engaged to him, setting the record straight in an Instagram post weeks after Woman’s Day magazine claimed the pair were set to tie the knot.
“I would like to set the records straight with regards to the unfounded rumour that has been circulating about me,” the princess – who goes by her middle name – began in the statement.
“Prince Christian and I share a close friendship. However, some inaccurate information has been disseminated. At first, this situation made me smile; however, over time, this rumour has exceeded the limits of common sense and has spiralled becoming at odds with reality.”
Chiara is the youngest daughter of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Francis II, the last King of the Two Sicilies (Sicily and Naples).
Meanwhile, Christian is the son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, the latter of whom was born and bred in Australia. The teen is the grandson of Queen Margrethe II, and is second in line to the Danish throne behind his father.
Rumours the pair were dating began after Chiara’s sister, Princess Maria Carolina, posted a photo of the two looking cosy at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
But now Chiara wants the speculation to end.
“I believe it is now time to put an end to this rumour,” she wrote. “When important events will occur in my life, I will be happy to share them with you. While we all enjoy dreaming of fairy tales, what truly matters is reality.”
Woman’s Day kicked off the wedding talk when it claimed Christian had introduced her to his grandmother.
“Chiara was presented to Queen Margrethe over the summer and they all took tea together,” an insider reportedly told the publication.
“Christian knew they’d hit it off and was thrilled that she invited them to tea. It’s an informal stamp of approval for Chiara because Margrethe doesn’t take tea with just anyone.”
The insider said that Queen Margrethe takes great interest in Christian’s personal life as he will one day be the King of Denmark.
“It [is] her duty to invest time in Christian’s happiness and his choice of partner,” added the insider.
Christian was born in 2005, one year after his father married local girl Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.
Prince Frederik was in Sydney watching the Olympics in 2000 when he met Mary at the Slip Inn pub in the CBD. She would later admit she had no idea who he was.
“The first time we met we shook hands,” she recalled in a previous interview. “I didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’”
Frederik continued to make secret trips back to Australia for the next two years before the couple confirmed their relationship and later, in 2003, their engagement.
They now share four children: Christian, Princess Isabella, 16, and 12-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.