TO WED A PRINCE

Taranaki Daily News, 22 July 1929, Page 7

TO WED A PRINCE

ROMANTIC CAREER OF MRS. COREY. From gaiety girl to wife of millionaire; from wife of millionaire to bride-to-be of a royal prince of Spain, such is the romantic history of beautiful Mabelle Gilman Corey, one time a scintillating star on the London musical comedy stage, whose forthcoming marriage to Don Luis Ferdinand d’OrjeansBourbon, son of the Infanta Eulalia, and cousin to King Alfonso, has just been announced, says a London paper.. To the friends and intimates of Mrs. Corey the news will not come as a surprise, for the pretty actress and Don Luis have been great friends ever since that .day 20 years ago when, visiting Paris with her husband on their honeymoon trip, she was invited to dinner with Mis. Charles Caroll, a well-known society hostess on the Continent. Among the guests whom they met on this occasion was Don Luis, then a youth of 19, and it was from this first meeting that there sprang up a friendship which has now ripened int» love. Five years ago, in fact, a few months after Mrs. Corey had secured a divorce from Mr. Corey after 10 years of married life, the announcement of the engagement of the handsome young Spaniard to the actress was announced, but owing tt the difficulty of obtaining the necessary royal consent to the marriage, it fell through. This consent has now apparently been obtained, for the wedding is to take place at San Remo. The story of the pretty and charming woman Is well known in society

circles, spending a portion of every year in England, where she entertains lavishly, is one of the most amazing that even the comoination of millions and-the footlights has given to the world. Born in San Francisco 43 years ago, Mabelle was seized with a desire to go on the stage. Graceful, charming, with a beautiful voice, she danced her way into the hearts of audiences in America, but it was not until she went to England that she achieved her greatest fame and popularity. This was at the Gaiety .theatre, where there was a nightly queue of admirers haunting ti c stage door and seeking to obtain introductions to the young beauty. More than once it was rumoured that she was to marry some titled celebrity, and there was a tremendous sensation, when it was declared that there was every possibility of her becoming the wife of the Crown Prince of Siam, who was then at Oxford, and was one of her most persistent admirers. In fact, it was a matter of common knowledge that he indicted some very passionate love letters to the fair Mabelle, and even broke into verse, both letters and poems finding their v.ay into the columns o the American Press by some unaccountable leans «»r other. The Crown Prmp was sen off to Russia, and afterwards returned to his native land, wheie. ne now reigns as king. In the meantime, too, Mabelle Gilman had returned to the States, where, with her English reputation, she jumped to stardom and became the toast of New York. It was at this time, in 1906, that Mr. Corey was at the zenith of his power as the head oi the huge steel trust in which he had succeeded Mr. Schwab.. Mr. Corey was a nephew of Andrew Carnegie

by marriage to his first wife, from whom 1 he had been divorced. He fell a rapid i victim to the charms of Mabelle Gilman, and there was a whirlwind wooing, ending in one of the most amazing marriage ceremonies ever solemnised. The bride was anxious to be married on May 13, but her friends were aghast at this flouting of superstition, and at length the bride compromised by agree- 1 ing that the marriage should take place . at precisely one minute after midnight on May 14. The wedding took place in ( a room at the hotel where the bride and her mother was staying, the place be- ’ ing transformed into % veritable chapel 1 with specially built altar and pews all 1 complete. Banks of gorgeous blooms be- « decked the place, and it was there just after the hour of midnight , had struck, 1 and in the presence of forty guests, that ] the actress-bride became the wife of a multi-millionaire. There was a honey- ‘ moon spent on the Continent, and it 1 was during this period that Mr. Corey 1 purchased the one-time palace of Jerome Bonaparte, the Chateau . Villegenis, one j' of the most sumptuous places in the vic- ’ inity of Paris. There they entertained on a very ' grand scale, and there one could meet ! people of highest rank in Continental so- j. ciety. No more popular hostess existed than Mrs. Corey, and for 16 years husband and wife got on very happily together .Unfortunately, business ties claimed the husband to a large extent, and he haS to be in America a lot. In the end there were rumours that there were matrimonial difficulties, and in 1923 Mrs. Corey secured a divorce in Paris. It was first of all rumoured that she was to wed the Due d’Orde,-of Italy, and then came the report of her engagement.

to Don Luis. Now comes the announce ment of her approaching marriage to the latter.