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| Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Infant von Spanien |
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| Mrs. William Ellis Corey (geb. Mabelle Gilman); beinahe eine Infantin von Spanien |
Im April 1929 konvertierte Frau Mabelle Gilman Corey zum römisch-katholischen Glauben, da sie den spanischen Infanten Luís Fernando heiraten wollte. Luís Fernando (1888–1945) war der jüngste Sohn des spanischen Infanten Antonio (1866–1930), Herzog von Galliera, und seiner Frau Infantin Eulalia (1864–1958), einer Tochter der spanischen Königin Isabella II.
Mrs. Corey stammte aus San Francisco und wurde am 4. Dezember 1874 als Mabelle Lavona Gilman als Tochter von Charles Henry Gilman (1845-1909) und seiner Frau Jeannette Curtis (1854-1946) geboren. Mabelle Gilman besuchte das Mills College in Oakland, Kalifornien. Mabelle wurde später Bühnenschauspielerin, insbesondere in der Musicalkomödie. Sie trat in vielen Aufführungen in den Vereinigten Staaten und Europa auf.
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| Herr William Ellis Corey |
1905 traf Mabelle Gilman zum ersten Mal William Ellis Corey (1866-1934) in Pittsburgh. William Corey war Präsident der Carnegie Steel Company. Er hatte Laura Cook (1866-1960) 1883 geheiratet; das Paar hatte einen Sohn, Alan Lyle Corey (1889-1970). William Corey und Mabelle Gilman begannen eine Beziehung, die zur Beendigung von Coreys Ehe mit Laura führte. Bei ihrer Scheidung 1906 in Reno, Nevada, wurde Laura Corey das Sorgerecht für den Sohn des Paares Alan sowie eine Abfindung von 3 Millionen Dollar (heutiger Gegenwert: etwa 84 Millionen Dollar) zugesprochen. Am 14. Mai 1907 heirateten William Corey und Mabelle Gilman im Hotel Gotham in New York City. Corey kaufte seiner neuen Frau ein Schloss in Frankreich, beschenkte sie mit wertvollem Schmuck und schenkte ihr eine Million Dollar als Hochzeitsgeschenk. Coreys Scheidung von seiner ersten Frau Laura in Reno und seine anschließende Heirat mit Mabelle trugen dazu bei, dass Reno als Ziel für Schnellscheidungen bekannt wurde.
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| Frau Mabelle Gilman Corey |
The marriage of William and Mabelle Corey ended in divorce at Paris in November 1923. In 1924, newspapers spread rumours that Mabelle was engaged to Luís Fernando of Spain, but these reports were denied. Five years later, the reality had changed. In April of 1929, it became public knowledge that Mabelle Gilman Corey was affianced to Infante Luís Fernando of Spain (1888-1945). Mabelle took the step on 20 April 1929 by converting to the Roman Catholic Church, to which her future husband and his dynasty belonged. Infanta Eulalia, Luís Fernando’s mother, was present for Mabelle’s first communion. Mabelle hoped that she and the infante would be wed within a few months at her French residence, the Château de Vilgenis.
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| Mabelle Gilman Corey and Infante Luís Fernando of Spain in 1929 |
The marriage plans came to naught. Luís Fernando and his lawyer kept trying to extract a higher and higher annual allowance from the wealthy Mabelle, who refused to budge beyond a certain point. By June 1929, Mabelle had decided that her engagement with Luís Fernando had run its course. She gave a rare interview in which she discussed the situation:
Everything is finished. I met Don Luis on my honeymoon. We have loved each other for twenty years or more. It’s hard to be broken off, but it is impossible to turn the sacrament of marriage into a bargain counter. I don’t know if I’ll ever love another man. For the present, I don’t care. I have always said that American men make the ideal husbands, although they lack the polish that many Europeans possess.
It was noted that her closest companion was her Great Dane. “There is an advantage in dogs over men,” Mabelle quipped. “They at least are faithful.”
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| Infanta Eulalia of Spain, Duchess of Galliera |
Infanta Eulalia, the mother of Luís, was also rather disappointed at the breakdown of her son’s engagement to the eligible (and rich) Mabelle. “I deeply regret the marriage will not occur because Mrs Corey took such a deep interest in my son, who needs a wife who is devoted but severe.”
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| Vittel Interment Camp |
Mabelle continued to reside in France after her terminated royal engagement. In October 1942, she was briefly interred at the Vittell Internment Camp in Vichy France. However, she was released from Vittel soon after her arrest, as the Nazis determined she posed no threat to their schemes.
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| Mabelle Gilman Corey’s 1921 application for a US passport: she chopped 12 years off of her age. |
Mrs Mabelle Lavona Gilman Corey died on 14 November 1960 at the Blessed Trinity Missionary Cenacle in Brooklyn, New York. Per her wishes, she was cremated, and her ashes were spread in the garden of Blessed Trinity. She was eighty-five years-old. Mabelle had never remarried after her engagement to Infante Luís Fernando of Spain, who she survived by fifteen years.
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