Édouard de Montmirail

## TheMarquis de Montmirail

 Monsieur de Montmirail
 Édouard (by this mother)
 Édo (by Robert Crawley, Cora Crawley, and Rosamund Painswick)
 Uncle Édo (by The Fellowship)

## Coat of Arms

Arms of the Marquis de Montmirail (1927-)

**Édouard, Marquis de Montmirail** (b. 14 March, 1873) is the current patriarch of the **de Montmirail Family** and co-owner of **Château de Montmirail** (alongside his son). He is the only child and son of Xavier, the late Marquis de Montmirail and Marie, Madame de Montmirail.

He is also an honorary member of the Crawley Family,

## Biography

* Early Life
* Education
* Marriage and Children

Édouard de Montmirail was born on the March 14, 1873 in Château de Montmirail in Sarthe, France. He was born three years after the marriage of his parents: Xavier and Marie, Marquis and Marquise de Montmirail.

Being a child of an arranged marriage, he never really felt such warmth and love that children usually will have with both their parents. Nonetheless, Édouard was loved and cared for by his father, with the older de Montmirail spending time with him as much as he can despite his busy schedule. Édouard's mother, on the other hand, only spent a few hours with him in the afternoons, and none more after that.

Édouard was homeschooled with the help of his governesses until the age of 11. He then studied in Chavagnes International College in Chavagnes-en-Paillers, France, where he learned to speak fluent English. At age 15, he then enrolled at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Rue Saint-Jacques, Paris.

After his secondary education, he was enrolled by his father at the L'École Militaire, but he dropped out of the school after only 6 months, saying it wasn't destined for him to be in the military. Instead, he enrolled in the Collège de France, where he eventually graduated with a double degree in Liberal Arts and Philosophy.

While studying at Collège de France, he met Cecilia Bernard—a young lady from a non-aristocratic, lower middle-class background. They fell very much in love with one another, and once decided to elope right after their graduation. They were eventually caught by the Marquise, and separated the couple for a year—where Édouard took a semester at the University College, Oxford.

Unfortunately for the Marquise, the couple are still in love once Édouard got back, and she had no other option but to give them her blessing in their marriage. With the parents of both families giving their blessings, he and Cecilia got married at the Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris, France on the 16 May, 1892.

After three miscarriages, Édouard and Cecilia finally had a child—a son whom they named Nicolai Xavier, after the child's both maternal and paternal grandfathers. But despite the birth of the future Marquis, things took a turn for worse when Cecilia—only hours after holding their son in her arms—began to experience a series of severe fits and spasms due to the eclampsia and was unable to breathe. She eventually dies, with only her husband present and holding her close in his arms. She was buried in the cemetary of the Cathédrale St-Julien du Mans in Le Mans, France.
## Appearance and Personality

A man of average height, Édouard is a mix of both of his parents—his father's features being dominant on him. His features were inherited by his own son.

While he was quite a chatterbox when he was young, Édouard grew more and more quiet as he grew older—knowing his parents are too busy to even have time for their only child. He grieved heavily on the death of wife, and didn't much with his own son on the first year of the child's life. He then eventually makes it up to him, not wanting Nicolai to have same relationship he has with his mother.

Édouard was also the first person that Nicolai told about in regards the latter's homosexuality. He was surprised at first, but then assured his son that he is still his child no matter what, and that he will accept him wholeheartedly and keep his secret for his and their family's safety.

After his father's death, the rift between him and his mother got worse, and while he still maintained respect for the matriarch, he was never close to her. He was more than simply lengthening his patience whenever he is with her.

## Name Etymology

* **Édouard** is male name of English origin, meaning *“wealthy guard”*.

* **Xavier** is a male name of Arabic, Basque origin, meaning *"new house"*.
	+ He was named after his father, Xavier de Montmirail.