Luxembourg’s royal family will soon be infused with Maltese blood as Prince Louis’s future spouse has ancestors who originate from the island.
The great-great-grandmother of Parisian lawyer Scarlett-Lauren Sirgue, who is engaged to Prince Louis, was Marie Micallef. She was of Maltese origin, according to an article published in Histoire Royales, a website that focuses on dynastic histories.
Sirgue’s great-great-grandmother bears the name Mikalif, which “is written in many ways, with a double “l” or double “f”. It is possible that it was transcribed in “Mikhalef”, genealogist Jean-Louis Beaucarnot tells the website.
It goes on to add that the family is a “100 per cent Maltese family whose members had spread in the 19th century to the Levant, Tunisia and Algeria, where they were married to Italians, Jews and Arabs”.
Earlier this week, the Luxembourg royal family announced, on Instagram, that Prince Louis was officially engaged to Sirgue, sparking interest in the background of the young woman.
The 29-year-old made her first public appearance alongside Prince Louis, 34, during an awards show a year ago. He has two young sons – Prince Gabriel, 14, and Prince Noah, 12 – with his previous wife, Tessy Antony.
In a statement, the Royal Court said: “We are happy to announce the engagement of our son, Prince Louis, to Miss Scarlett-Lauren Sirgue.
“Princes Gabriel and Noah join us in surrounding the new couple with all our affection. We wish them immense happiness.”
Sirgue was born in Bordeaux on August 8, 1991. Daughter of Pierre Sirgue and Scarlett Berrebi, her parents are both lawyers and she has two older siblings, Elisabeth and Archibald.
Sirgue works for the firm which was founded by her parents, specialising in family law and victims’ law, which is also where Prince Louis works as a mediator.
Her father, Pierre Sirgue, is the grandson of Jean-Baptiste Sirgue and Pauline Vincent.
According to Histoire Royale, Pauline Vincent was born to a Swiss father, George Vincent, while her mother, Marie Micallef, was of Maltese origin.
It is not the first time Malta has been linked to royalty: Meghan Markle, married to Britain’s Prince Harry, is the great-great-granddaughter of Mary Bird, who was born in Malta in 1862.