María Margarita Vargas Santaella

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vargas and the second or maternal family name is Santaella.

Princess Marie-Marguerite of Bourbon, Duchess of Anjou^[1] (née María Margarita Vargas Santaella; born 21 October 1983) is a Venezuelan-born heiress and wife of Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, who is considered by Legitimists to be the rightful king of France, which would make her the queen consort of France and Navarre.

Marie Marguerite
Duchess of Anjou
Marie Marguerite in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, 2015
Consort of the Legitimist pretender to the French throne
Pretendence	5 November 2004 – present
Born	María Margarita Vargas Santaella (1983-10-21) 21 October 1983 (age 41) Caracas, Venezuela
Spouse	Prince Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou ​ ​ (m. 2004)​
Issue	Princess Eugénie, Madame Royale Prince Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy Prince Alphonse, Duke of Berry Prince Henri, Duke of Touraine
House	Bourbon (by marriage)
Father	Víctor José Vargas Irausquín
Mother	Carmen Leonor Santaella Tellería

Early life

María Margarita Vargas Santaella was born on 21 October 1983 in Caracas.^[2] Her father, Víctor José Vargas Irausquín, is the owner of Banco BOD or Banco Occidental de Descuento (BOD Bank or Western Bank of Discount - WBD).^[3] Her mother is Carmen Leonor Santaella Tellería. She has a sister, María Victoria, who is married to Francisco Javier d'Agostino Casado. She also had a brother, Víctor José, who died young. She studied at the Colegio Merici de las Madres Ursulinas in Caracas and did her degree on pedagogy at the Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas.

Personal life

She married Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou in a civil ceremony in Caracas on 5 November 2004 and in a religious ceremony the following day at La Romana, Dominican Republic. The couple have a daughter, Eugénie, Madame Royale (born 5 March 2007) at Mount Sinai Hospital, Miami, Florida. She also gave birth to twin boys, Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy and Alphonse, Duke of Berry (Spanish: Luis and Alfonso), on 28 May 2010.^[4] The couple had their fourth child, Henri, Duke of Touraine, on 1 February 2019 in New York. They currently live in Madrid, Spain.

María Margarita obtained French nationality in 2012.^[1]

Heraldry

Arms of Marie Marguerite, as titular queen of France and Navarre

As the current titular queen of France and Navarre, Marie Marguerite had her arms remade by French heraldists Hervé, Baron Pinoteau and Xavier d'Andeville in 2016.^[5] Her arms include, as heraldic tradition expects, a parti (per pale) of her husband's arms (in this case the full arms of France) and her father's (here the remade arms of the Vargas family); surmounted by the royal crown of France.

Ancestry

Ancestors of María Margarita Vargas Santaella

8. Simón Vargas Falcón 4. Víctor José Vargas Hernández 9. Emelina Hernández Hernández 2. Víctor José Vargas Irausquín 10. Pompeyo Irausquín Vargas 5. Noemí Irausquín Suárez 11. Carmen Suárez 1. Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou 12. Juan Santaella López 6. Héctor José Santaella Guerra 13. Carmen Guerra Rauseo 3. Carmen Leonor Santaella Tellería 14. Rodolfo Tellería Alcaldepiña 7. Margarita Tellería Villapol 15. Concepción Margarita Villapol Santana