Monday, October 26, 2009

No formal request yet for Miss Gould's hand

October 26, 1909 

 "There is no telling what may come to pass," states Col. Dosnop Chine, who is the aide-de-camp to Duke George of Leuchtenberg, and the close friend of George's son, Alexander. The Colonel spoke to a New York Times reporter regarding press reports about a proposed marriage between Prince Alexander and the American heiress Marjorie Gould. 

"But up to the present time, nothing at all has been settled regarding the marriage of Prince Alexander and Miss Gould. There has not even been a formal proposal made for her hand by the Prince's father, Duke George of Leuchtenberg. Should anything of this nature happen, I will immediately inform you. The young people have formed each other's acquaintance. That is all I can tell you now, except that Mr. and Miss Gould express their intention when here of returning to Paris in January or February." 

He added that neither Prince Alexander or Duke George have any plans to visit America. He "was expressly authorized by the Duke to deny the existence of a formal engagement between the Prince and Miss Gould." The Duke of Leuchtenberg is a wealthy landowner in Russia, but "he would not sanction a marriage merely for love, and would insist that the Prince's bride must bring with her a fortune suitable to the rank of an Imperial Princess." The marriage would also need to be approved by Nicholas II.

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