All Of The RHONY Housewives Royal Connections

Let’s start with the obvious: the Countess formerly known as LuAnn De Lesseps. LuAnn was given her title when she married a french businessman, Count Alexandre de Lesseps, in 2003.

So, why exactly is Alex a Count? The title, passed down through the generations, dates way back to the 1800s. Alex is a descendant of a notable diplomat, Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the Suez Canal, but the title actually goes back even further. Ferdinand’s father Mathieu was made a count by Napoleon.

What exactly IS a count? It's a noble title that means, in short, a pal of the emperor. Countess is simply the female version of the title. It's a mid-ranking title, lower than Duke or Prince, but higher than Baron. And, as we’ve learned from Lu, she lost her title not after her divorce from the Count, but when she remarried.

Related: The nastiest Real Housewives divorces

Like LuAnn, Carole received her title via marriage. Her late husband’s full title is His Serene Highness, Prince Anthony Stanislaw Albert Radziwill. The Radziwill family has its own Princely arms and deep history in Poland and Lithuania.

Anthony may have come from nobility, but much of his family's money was lost during the Second World War. They also left Poland and became British subjects. Anthony chose not to use his title, which is likely why Carole doesn’t refer to herself as a Princess.

Anthony’s family was also linked to the closest thing America had to royalty, the Kennedys. His mother Caroline Lee Bouvier was a socialite and her sister Jacqueline Lee Bouvier married John F. Kennedy and became Jacqueline Kennedy (later Onassis). So not only is Carole a Princess, Jackie-O was also her aunt via marriage.

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Sonja claims she once dated Prince Albert, the reigning monarch of Monaco (and son of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco). It’s within the realm of possibility: Albert married his wife Charlene in 2011. And, as we know, Sonja’s spent plenty of time in St. Tropez over on the other side of the French Riviera. But apparently they also hung at in New York, at, where else? The Regency.

Related: See if you can guess if Sonja has dated these celebs

During her messy split from her high school sweetheart, Topper, Tinsley briefly dated a German Prince, Prince Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. Casimir is a descendent of James II of England, who was King of England and Ireland in the 1600s.

Casimir was on Tinsley’s ill-fated reality show, High Society, and he was a real jerk to her. He’s now married to an American model, but can we just stop for a second and think of an alternate timeline in which half the cast of RHONY are legitimate royals?

Back when she lived in London, Dorinda was neighbours with Sophie, Countess of Wessex (then Sophie Rhys-Jones), who went on to marry one of Queen Elizabeth’s sons, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

It was Sophie who introduced Dorinda to Princess Diana. Dorinda had her own clothing line, DCL Cashmere, and one day Sophie brought Diana by to check it out. The Princess liked what she saw and became a regular client.