France's far-right presidential hopeful Jordan Bardella is in a relationship with Italian socialite Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, according to celebrity magazine Paris Match.
In what has all the hallmarks of a staged scoop, this week's front page carries photographs of the couple taken recently on holiday in Corsica with the headline The idyll that no-one expected.
Rumours of a love affair have been circulating since January when the pair were seen together at an event in Paris to mark the 200th anniversary of Le Figaro newspaper.
But the 30-year-old president of the Rassemblement National (RN) party has consistently deflected interview questions, saying that his private life was his last space of liberty. The Paris Match story suggests the decision has been taken to make the relationship official.
Bardella will run for the French presidency next year if a court rules in July that historic party leader Marine Le Pen is ineligible because of a conviction for misuse of EU parliamentary funds. Polls say either RN candidate would stand a good chance of winning.
Press commentators on Thursday emphasized the importance for Bardella to clarify his personal life as he enters a presidential campaign and consider how this may affect his potential role as first lady.
However, they also warned that the RN must preempt any resentment among poorer voters regarding their leader's ties to an ultra-rich aristocrat.
Maria Carolina – also Duchess of Calabria and Palermo – is the 22-year-old daughter of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, a contender for the leadership of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies royal house which ruled parts of Italy in the 19th century. Although her title holds no legal weight in the Italian Republic, she carries a lineage that traces back to France's Sun King, Louis XIV.
She is well-educated, speaks six languages, and is engaged in cultural, social, and humanitarian initiatives. Her father has recently abolished the Salic law, allowing her to potentially head her royal house in the future.
The couple reportedly met during the Grand Prix in Monaco last May, and their relationship may reshape Bardella's public persona as they navigate the intersection of politics and royal identity in contemporary France.
