The comments were made by princess Camilla Bourbon de Deux Siciles, daughter of 60s filmstar Edoarda Crociani, in French Paris Match magazine following a five-year court battle that concluded in September.
A ‘golden hell’
The case involved a $200m (£150m, €168m) trust fund, numerous financial structures and jurisdictions spanning Jersey, the Bahamas, Holland, Mauritius and the US.
Camilla’s sister and Crociani’s other daughter, Cristiana, took her family to court alleging she had bee locked in a “golden hell” by her mother, who had been obsessed with marrying her daughters to princes.
While Camilla succeeded in marrying a prince, Cristiana failed and subsequently millions of the family’s wealth was restructured into Camilla’s favour.
The restructuring of the trust included appointing the vast bulk of the family’s artwork, a number of properties and a company that was “the jewel of the family crown” to Camilla.
The court found in favour of Cristina and ordered the family trust to be reconstituted.
Appeal planned
Camilla, who declined to give evidence at trial, now disputes this ruling and says she too was a victim of the wealth restructuring and would appeal the decision.
“The beneficiaries of these structures have always been my mother, sister and myself. Contrary to what one reads, our mother did not lock us in a “golden cage” – on the contrary, she created her own fortune that she always shared with us,” Camilla said.
“I firstly owe her one thing, education and the fact that she gave us a global openness, having enabled us to study in New York and travel the world, learn languages and open us to different cultures… Since she became a widow when I was nine years old, she dedicated her life to her two daughters,” she said, according to a translation by the Bailiwick Express.
An appeal against the Royal Court decision will begin in February 2018.
