Marie Say


Marie Say was a French heiress and socialite.

Early life

Marie Say was born on August 25, 1857 in Verrières-le-Buisson near Paris. Her paternal grandfather, Louis Auguste Say, was the founder of the Say sugar company. Her father, Constant André Say, ran the family business, which sold sugar made from beetroot. Her uncle, Jean-Baptiste Say, was an economist and formulator of Say's law.
Her sister, Jeanne, married Roland, Marquis de :fr:Maison de Cossé-Brissac|Cossé-Brissac, and her brother, Henry, succeeded his father at the Say refinery.

Adult life

Say purchased the château de Chaumont with her inheritance in 1875, at the age of seventeen. Shortly after, she married Prince Amédée de Broglie, at the Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris.
Say became known as Princess Amédée de Broglie. The couple entertained George V, Isabella II of Spain and Reza Shah as guests, receiving the gift of an elephant from another guest, Jagatjit Singh. The Say couple organized performances by the Paris Opera and the Comédie-Française for their guests. They also resided at the Hôtel de Broglie, an hôtel particulier in Paris.
Say was widowed in 1917. In London on 19 September 1930 she non-dynastically married the former Spanish infante, Prince Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, he being then 41 years old and she 72 years old. According to Pierre de Cossé, Duc de Brissac, her second husband spent the vast majority of her fortune.

Death

Say died on July 15, 1943 in Paris.

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