Coming under the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, here’s the latest unusual story connected to the Isle of Wight.
There’s a court case going on in Italy where an adopted brother and sister are fighting over a £1 billion fortune … oh and 14 noble titles and one of the world’s greatest art collections.
When they were babies they were separately adopted from a Roman Catholic orphanage in London and brought up by an Italian princess, living in a 1,000-room palazzo in the centre of Rome.
One of them, Princess Gesine, was originally called Mary as a baby. After her adoption she was renamed and she was educated at a public school on the Isle of Wight (which one it isn’t clear).
The disagreement and court case came following their mother’s death in December 2000 and the leaving of her fortune.
The gay, elder brother with the rather grand name of Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphili, had a son and daughter by a surrogate mother, but under Italian law they are not recognised, so Princess Gesine has taken to the courts to try and get a ruling that her brother’s children are not legitimate heirs.
Amazing how complex some people’s lives are – especially where’s there’s £1 billion at stake.
More details on the Telegraph site.
image: aresauburnâ„¢ under CC BY-SA 2.0
