Personal Life
Deslys' celebrity rose following newspaper stories which gossiped about King Manuel II of Portugal's infatuation with her. During the king's visit to Paris in December 1909,he was introduced to Deslys and immediately began a relationship with her
It was thought that after this first meeting the King sent Deslys a pearl necklace worth $70,000. Their relationship was anything but discreet (she would arrive before night at the Palácio das Necessidades and would pass through Portugal unnoticed); abroad, meanwhile, they were on the front pages of newspapers in Europe and North America, especially after he was deposed in 1910. In public interviews, usually on trips, Deslys never negated the obvious, but always refused to comment on her relationship with the deposed King. After his exile, they would continue to meet, especially while she had stage engagements in London. When Deslys moved to New York, in the summer of 1911, their relationship cooled off; Deslys became involved with a fellow stage actor Harry Pilcer, and Manuel married in 1913. Despite this Deslys maintained her contacts with the ex-King's personal secretary, the Marquês of Lavradio.
Deslys' was rumored to be engaged to Pilcer. She denied this as well as any other reports that suggested she had married one of her many wealthy admirers. Pilcer acted with Desyls in three of her films as well as the production of Vera Violetta.
Read more about this topic: Gaby Deslys
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