Prince Marco-Vicenzo

**Marco-Vicenzo** (born **Marco-Vicenzo Alfredo di Togliaro**; 18 August 1967) is the husband of Princess Úlfhildur, a member of the Velkanian royal family, and a Venutian former model.

Born into the noble House of Togliaro in Pavoli, Marco-Vicenzo is the eldest child of Count Alfredo di Togliaro and former fashion model Valentina Crescente. After completing his secondary education in 1985, Marco-Vicenzo moved to Orgland to enroll in Foxford University, graduating with a degree in finance in 1989. While in university, he began working as a male model, and began pursuing his modeling career full-time after returning to Pavoli after his graduation. He left modeling in 1995, beginning a career as a financier at his father's hedge fund.

Marco-Vicenzo began a relationship with Princess Úlfhildur in 1997, later becoming engaged in 1999, and marrying the following year. With their marriage, Marco-Vicenzo became only the second foreigner to marry into the Velkanian royal family, after his brother-in-law, and the first Eurean Catholic. Since becoming a public figure in the Velkanian Isles, Marco-Vicenzo has elicited widespread controversy for his demeanor and perceived arrogance, with commentators previously labeling him as the "Most Hated Man in the Velkanian Isles." He and Úlfhildur have two children together: Rósa Graziella di Togliaro (born 2004) and Róman Alessandro di Togliaro (born 2006).

## Early life and education

Marco-Vicenzo was born on 18 August 1967 in Pavoli to parents Alfredo di Togliaro (1930–2002) and Valentina Crescente (born 1941). His father came from the noble House of Togliaro and held the title of Count of Togliaro, while his mother was a fashion model during the 1960s. Due to his noble birth, Marco-Vicenzo was born with the title Count of Togliaro, and would pass the title onto both his wife and children. His father ran a successful hedge fund, and the family resided in the affluent town of Casa di Modilano, just outside of Pavoli. Marco-Vicenzo is the eldest of three children and only son; his younger sisters are Melisa, born  (1970-02-13) 13 February 1970 (age 53), and Anasofia, born  (1973-09-20) 20 September 1973 (age 50). His parents divorced in 1993, and his father later died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 2002.

Marco-Vicenzo began his education in 1973, attending a private primary school in Casa di Modilano. While in primary school, he began playing amateur tennis and was a popular student at school. Marco-Vicenzo graduated from primary school in 1981, and afterwards enrolled in a *liceo economico* in Pavoli, where he was a popular student. He graduated in 1985, and afterwards moved to Orgland to enroll in Foxford University, graduating with a degree in finance in 1989.

## Adulthood, modeling, and finance career

Marco-Vicenzo began his modeling career in 1985, shortly after arriving in Orgland. Eager to earn money of his own, he had considered various methods of employment, but was persuaded by his mother to pursue modeling. Soon after, he was signed by the international modeling agency Bell-Thyme Models out of their Dollchester and Altavorno offices. While a university student, Marco-Vicenzo spent most of his free-time outside of class working as a model, making frequent trips to Dollchester on weekends in order to go on photoshoots. In a 2000 interview, he stated that it was "worth it" giving up much of his free time, as he soon began earning "more than $2,000 a week."

In 1986, Marco-Vicenzo walked in four shows at Dollchester Fashion Week, later expanding to six shows at Altavorno Fashion Week. During the summer of 1986, he additionally lived in Okoya for three months in order to break into the Drutanese market. His modeling career expanded in 1987, booking twelve shows in Dollchester Fashion Week, and additionally walking in a combined forty-nine shows during fashion weeks in Altavorno, Delmas, and Okoya. He saw similar levels of success in 1988 and 1989, additionally landing the covers of a number of internationally published fashion magazines. In 1989, he was ranked as the thirty-second highest-earning male model in the business, earning more than $670,000 in annual income; he additionally was the highest-earning Venutian male model of the year.

After graduating from university in 1989, Marco-Vicenzo returned from Orgland to Venutia, settling in Pavoli. He continued modeling professionally, and was listed as the "face" of Pavoli Fashion Week in 1990, becoming the highest-paid Venutian model of the year with an annual income of $710,000. Throughout the 1990s, Marco-Vicenzo began to gradually leave his modeling career, later stating that he began to find the work "uninteresting." He officially retired from modeling in 1995, and afterwards was hired as a financier at his father's hedge fund.

## Marriage and family

In 1997, Marco-Vicenzo became introduced to Velkanian royal Princess Úlfhildur in Pavoli. Úlfhildur was attending a dinner with her cast and crew during the Venutian leg of the Eurean tour for *That's What I Call Love!,* the musical she was starring in. Their mothers were acquaintances, so they knew of each other's existences but had never previously met. They later went on a date the following night, and Marco-Vicenzo decided to follow the tour throughout Venutia and Regia to continue seeing Úlfhildur.

After several months apart when the tour left Regia, Marco-Vicenzo and Úlfhildur became reintroduced when she returned to Pavoli after the tour's completion in April 1998. They returned to Narísandur together the following month, where they resided together. Marco-Vicenzo and Úlfhildur became engaged in June 1999, later marrying in a royal wedding on 27 May 2000 in Narísandur. A week after the Velkanian wedding, they had a traditional Eurean Catholic wedding ceremony and reception in Pavoli. After marrying, Marco-Vicenzo received Velkanian citizenship and the title Prince of the Velkanian Isles, while Úlfhildur received the noble title Countess of Togliaro. They subsequently began residing in a five-bedroom home in Húsavík, which was purchased by the royal family two years prior to function as their eventual home. This made Úlfhildur the first royal not to settle in a home on the grounds of Árbæjarheimar Palace since Princess Dóró.

Marco-Vicenzo and Úlfhildur have two children together:

* Rósa Graziella di Togliaro (born 17 November 2004)
* Róman Alessandro di Togliaro (born 2 December 2006)

### Controversy

Upon Úlfhildur publicly introducing Marco-Vicenzo as her fiancé to the Velkanian public in June 1999, he began to receive widespread criticism from the public due to his perceived arrogance and unlikable demeanor. After being introduced to the public, Marco-Vicenzo refused to attempt to speak the Velkanian language, alleging that his skill in the language was "non-existent," and made numerous references to Venutia and Eurean Catholicism in a televised interview, which elicited negative responses from Velkanians. In August 1999, the media dubbed Marco-Vicenzo as the "Most Hated Man in the Velkanian Isles," and commentators jokingly alleged that he and Úlfhildur were the "world's worst couple."

In September 1999, entertainment journalist Saldís Anna Guðmarsdattir stated that Marco-Vicenzo and Úlfhildur were "the most hated Velkanian couple since Dóró and Hólmgeir Sigurgestarson," the man whose property the deceased Princess Dóró was found at. The comment was swiftly criticized by the public as being insensitive, and Saldís was publicly condemned by Ragnhildur I and the House of Ásthildur for her remark; she later apologized and called her comment insensitive.

Amidst the controversy and disapproval, Úlfhildur publicly defended her fiancé in a televised interview in February 2000, stating that she "wouldn't be marrying him if [she] didn't think he was worthy." Marco-Vicenzo also was reported to have begun classes in the Velkanian language, and was "deeply troubled" by his unpopularity in the "country that he intends to spend the rest of his life in." As is the case with other Velkanian royal weddings, their wedding was aired live on Velkanian National Television (VNT), but saw dismal ratings, with only 80,000 viewers watching live compared to the 500,000 who watched the wedding of Úlfhildur's elder sister just three years prior.

## Titles

* **18 August 1967 – *present***: *Count* Marco-Vicenzo di Togliaro
* **27 May 2000 – *present***: *His Royal Highness* Prince Marco-Vicenzo of the Velkanian Isles