Page 89 of Reluctantly Royal
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
Las VegasSun
MONACO’SPRINCELUCIEN TOMARRYLASVEGASRESIDENTHANNAHALLEN
Prince Lucien of Monaco proposed to his American Cinderella, former Las Vegas resident Hannah Allen—giving her the ring that the prince’s grandfather gave to Hollywood film starlet Evelyn Gardner in 1955.
Prince Lucien said the ring “was very special to the family,” as was his bride-to-be.Giving it to her was his way of “honoring the connection both he and [his bride] have to [Allen’s] home country.”
The long-anticipated news that the second in line to the throne was to marry his Cinderella girlfriend was announced by the palace earlier in the day. It does not indicate a planned wedding date for the pair, who have been dating for seven months.
The proposal came six months tothe day after Allen was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After undergoing treatment, Allen is currently in remission and is now looking forward to her wedding day.
The last time Monaco celebrated a wedding was in 1983, when Lucien’s father, Prince Xavier, married Princess Vivian of York, the daughter of the Queen of England, bringing a huge royal pedigree to the tiny Mediterranean principality.
But the Greiner dynasty that has ruled for more than seven centuries is also familiar with tragedy and bad publicity: Gardner died in a 1980 car crash, and her children, Xavier, Caroline, and Arabella, regularly made headlines for the wrong reasons. The dynasty was dealt another blow when almost two years ago the plane carrying Prince Xavier and his son, Prince Julien, went down over the Atlantic,killing both princes and the ten other passengers and crew aboard.
And more recently, the Sovereign Prince Sébastien made headlines when his engagement to Princess Helene of Belgium ended last year in a scandal, as the titillating texts between the princess and her personal trainer were leaked to the press. Prince Sébastien canceled the wedding and has been camera-shy as of late.
Prince Lucienasked Allen to marry him during a private holiday in Paris last month and has, the royal press office stressed, asked her father’s permission.
Allen’s parents, Griffin and Tara, were “thrilled.” Her father, Griffin, reading a statement outside their home in Las Vegas, said they had gotten to know the prince very well: “We are extremely fond of him. We wish them happiness for their future together.”
Prince Lucien and Ms. Allen have asked that in lieu of gifts, well-wishers may donate to the American Cancer Society or to the Prince Julien Greiner Foundation in their names.
Everyone here at theLas Vegas Sunwishes the happy couple all the best.
