The Puerto Rican and Venezuelan press are focusing on the Saturday, 6 November royal wedding to take place at the Altos de Chavon chapel in Casa de Campo, La Romana. The ceremony will wed 30-year old Duke of Anjou, Luis Alfonso de Borbon and 21-year-old Venezuelan heiress, Maria Margarita Vargas Santaella. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Victor Jose Vargas, the president of the Banco Occidental de Descuento of Venezuela, and Carmen Leonor Santaella, and her wedding dress is from Spanish designers Vitorio y Lucchino, according to El Universal of Caracas. Televicentro of Puerto Rico says that the popular Spanish performer David Bisbal will sing during the ceremony.
Luis Alfonso gained notoriety in Europe when monarchy supporters in France proclaimed him their heir to the French throne in the hope he would reinitiate a royal family in that country. He is the son of the late Duke Cadiz Alfonso de Borbon, cousin to King Juan Carlos, and Carmen Martinez, a granddaughter of Dictator Francisco Franco.
The Listin Diario said that while the grand event has not received much local attention, it may be another 100 years before a wedding such as this takes place in the country again. World-famous figures have been invited, potentially including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who will coincidentally be in the Dominican Republic on that date to sign an oil agreement with the Dominican government.
The betrothed couple has plans to take up residence in Venezuela, as reported in the Venezuelan press. It has also been reported that the rights to the ceremony have been sold and that the funds will be donated to a La Romana charity.