Marie Josephine von Delanoringen

## Marie Josephine Amelie von Delanoringen

Marie Josephine Dubois in 1891

**Marie Josephine Amelie von Delanoringen** (née **Dubois**) (b. 6 July 1870) is a French socialite, former professional dancer, and a member of the prominent Delanoringen family a noble and political Austrian family from Tyrol by marriage. She is the wife of Nicholas Augustus von Delanoringen the incumbent head of the Delanoringen family. Born into an upper-middle class family to Henri Lucien Dubois a French politician, writer, and author in the French Third Republic and his wife Juliette Elise Dubois, Marie enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle through her father's source of income in his multiple professions and received an excellent education in Paris and Switzerland in private educational institutions. Over the years, she became a renowned professional dancer in Paris with her personally enjoying fame in Europe, North America, and beyond which allowed her to connect with many High Society circles and attend numerous luxurious events. Described as calm, collective, and organised but intelligent in her own right Marie's tenure as the respective wife of the incumbent head of the family has been praised by contemporaries.

Born in the city of Paris, during the rapidly waning months of the Second French Empire as the only daughter of Henri Lucien Dubois and his wife Juliette Elise Dubois, Marie exhibited talent, grace, kindness, and devoutness to her personal work from an early age. She was particularly adored and cherished by her loving and close family and was referred to by her father Henri joyfully as "notre premier enfant" (lit. our first child). She was calm, collective, emotional, intuitive, mirroring her mother but bright, intelligent, and strong in her own right like her father Henri. Marie grew up divided between her parents' residences in Paris, and Bordeaux during the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the transition into the democratic French Third Republic. She received an excellent education at multiple private schools in France and Switzerland where she learned history, geography, arithmetic, literature, science, languages, (mainly Latin, German, and her native French), artistic skills, music, and most importantly dancing which quickly became her passion and her unknowing future career. She was placed in multiple dance academies in Paris as a child by her father, who wanted the best for his only daughter. She managed to earn an internship thanks to her hard labour and extensive training at the L’Étoile de Paris (lit. the Star of Paris) that competed with Moulin Rouge. She quickly became an extremely successful professional ballet dancer in Paris and managed to achieve fame throughout Europe entirely in part through her strong work ethic. Notable places where she performed include England, Germany, and briefly the Austrian Empire but she mostly performed in her home country of France. She was seen by many within French High Society as a charming but talented beauty and had many suitors throughout Europe and beyond the continent, (with some of her suitors being particularly the wealthiest men in Europe at the contemporary time). Nevertheless, she continued to perform at her dance studio with elegance, and talent which earned her great praise and allowed her to achieve into a stable position of European High Society, where she was able to attend lavish balls, events in Paris, and beyond. However, despite her many suitors Marie remained elegant but also charming and flirtatious until her eventual marriage to the heir of the Delanoringen family; Nicholas Augustus von Delanoringen.

Later in early 1890, while attending a lavish ball in the heart of Paris, France she met Nicholas Augustus von Delanoringen the heir to the wealthy Delanoringen family a dynastic family which had roots in Tyrol. Nicholas who previously witnessed one of Marie's performances in Paris was deeply captivated by Marie's beauty, talent, and charm and entered into a deep state of affection towards her. He travelled to Bordeaux to ask her parents if he could receive their blessing to court their daughter, which her parents accepted upon recognizing Nicholas's formal mannerisms and demeanour despite his inexperience in age. He began to court her upon meeting her at the lavish ball, but he also respected Marie's independence, intelligence, and her boundaries while also remaining to his own character. While she initially invested little interest in him due to his youthful age and inexperience, she came to view him in a brighter light as her intellectual equal. She was impressed particularly by his kindness, generosity, and humility and enjoyed how Nicholas did not flaunt his wealth or status and was not arrogant or rude but instead quiet and considerate. They shared a close relationship as time began to pass, with Marie laughing at Nicholas's witty quips and stories and he in return, listened to her with his utmost respect and attention. Their courtship was not without its problems, however, and Marie was often cold and contrasting towards Nicholas especially in the midst of their relationship where Marie did not particularly feel affection towards him. Nevertheless, they continued seeing each other and shared common interests such as an admiration for nature, a love for artistic works, classical music, literature, and for Marie a devotion to family despite challenging circumstances in the modern world which Nicholas did not particularly agree with. They also enjoyed fine Bordeaux wine that was produced at her father's estate in the French countryside. Marie eventually embraced Nicholas's loving courtship and his natural knowledge of the world with Nicholas attempting to provide the best he could manage, which included gifts, jewellery and took her out to various restaurants and luncheons in an attempt to know her better, along with romantic strolls alongside the Seine River. She did not care for wealth or status but cared for his adherence to proper etiquette, mannerisms, and his fluency in French. The pair became increasingly affectionate towards each other in the following months, with Nicholas and Marie not showing affection in public or in private until marriage was arranged. Marie was particularly heartbroken when Nicholas had to unexpectedly return to his estate in Austria to perform his familial duties at the Delanoringen Palais in Vienna with Nicholas promising to write to her every day and swore to return to Paris the following year, or as soon as possible. In January 1891, Nicholas kept his promise and returned the following year earlier than expected by his stern father Boris von Delanoringen who allowed him to return two-weeks before schedule but instructed Nicholas to propose and marry Marie. He secretly brought her a diamond ring in Vienna before returning to Paris. Nicholas and Marie became increasingly fond of each other with Nicholas privately asking permission from Marie's father Henri Lucien Dubois to take his daughter's hand in marriage, which he joyfully accepted. He finally proposed to her on 6 July 1891; her birthday with his reason being he wanted Marie to be "his gift". Marie accepted his proposal with euphoria, and the two made plans to get married at Nicholas's familial estate in Graz named Schloss Delanoringen with Marie still continuing her dancing career and their respective families attending the marriage. A year after the marriage, Marie discovered that she was pregnant with her and Nicholas's child with Nicholas supporting and comforting her through her pregnancy and gave birth to a son and the primary heir of the Delanoringen family's fortune, named Roger William von Delanoringen who despite being born prematurely was a healthy child. The birth of a son overjoyed the Delanoringen family, and over the next few years Marie and Nicholas enlarged their families with another son named Hamilton being born in 1895, another son named Justin born in 1896, and finally Ava, a daughter born in 1898. Each birth overjoyed the family, and the birth of three sons in succession secured Marie's position as the Matriarch of the Delanoringen family.