First Marriage
Marie went to France where she met Count George Jametel (1859–1944), the son of a patent medicine manufacturer; he had received the title of Papal Count from Pope Leo XIII in 1886. Marie and George were married on 22 June 1899, at the Catholic Chapel of St. Elizabeth in Richmond Park, near White Lodge, the home of Marie's great-aunt, the Duchess of Teck (born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge). There was a second Anglican wedding ceremony the same day at the Parish Church of Kew. In spite of the fact that the marriage was morganatic, many members of Marie's family attended the wedding, including her grandparents, parents, and three siblings. The wedding breakfast was given by her great-uncle the Duke of Cambridge at Cambridge Cottage, Kew.
Marie and George received a large financial settlement ($200,000) from Marie's father. They lived in the Faubourg St. Germain in Paris. They had two children:
- Count George Jametel (3 February 1904 - 1982)
- Countess Marie Auguste Jametel (11 September 1905 – 24 September 1969)
Marie's husband George had several affairs, most notoriously with the married Infanta Eulalia of Spain. In January 1908, Marie applied for a divorce from George. The Count was found to have married Marie for her money, and to have continued his affair with Eulalia. In August her nineteen-year-old brother, Duke Karl Borwin of Mecklenburg, decided to defend her honour and challenged George to a duel in which Karl Borwin was killed. Marie and George were divorced 31 December 1908. Having lost her fortune due to the divorce, Marie resumed the use of her Mecklenburg title and lived in the Blasewitz section of Dresden.
Read more about this topic: Duchess Marie Of Mecklenburg
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“In all perception of the truth there is a divine ecstasy, an inexpressible delirium of joy, as when a youth embraces his betrothed virgin. The ultimate delights of a true marriage are one with this.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Women hope men will change after marriage but they don’t; men hope women won’t change but they do.”
—Bettina Arndt (20th century)