Maria, Duchess of Royal Amosseri

Princess Maria, Duchess of Royal Amosseri, (Maria Penelope Annabella Bonnecelli; born 3rd August 1983), is the youngest daughter of Prince George and Duchess Adriana, and the sister of Queen Alexandra V. When she was born, Maria was fifth in line to the throne, but after her father's death she became third in line. Following the birth of her two nephews and niece, Maria has become sixth in line to the throne.

As the youngest sibling to the Queen, the Princess grew up surrounded by the royal household and the life of a royal. Maria was eleven when her nephew was born and is seen as a link between the current ruling generation and the next generation of royals. As Duchess of Royal Amosseri, she holds the most esteemed duchy and lives in one of the grandest palaces in Cattala, outside of Celeste. Her roles within the royal household have included raising the three heirs to the throne, Crown Prince Edward, Princess Helena and especially Prince Louis, who she helps educate in royal etiquette and the responsibilities of a prince.

Early Life
Maria Bonnecelli was born in Vittoria Palace, Celeste, on the 3rd August 1983, in Prince George's apartments, and was baptised in the Celestine Cathedral on the 11th December 1983, by the Divina Anima Della Chiesa. Maria was the third daughter and child of Duke George and Duchess Adriana and was not automatically styled as a Princess due to her being the great-niece of King Roger XVI. Her great-uncle granted her the Duchy of Royal Amosseri upon her birth, as a gift to the young royal. Maria was aged three when her father died in a car accident and did not attend his funeral, but spent the next three years away from the public eye and was rarely seen outside of the palace where she was being educated by a governess. When King Roger died less than a year after her father, Maria became Her Royal Highness and was elevated to fourth in line to the throne. Maria and her sister Gabriella were raised and educated in the private estate of her mother whilst her elder sister Princess Alexandra was educated and trained for the role of Queen. At the age of ten, Maria began attending court alongside her older sisters as Queen Elizabeth's health began to fail but swiftly left for boarding school in rural Amosseri following her sister's coronation in March 1994. Maria achieved seven A's and two A*s in English and Latin at secondary school and passed three A-levels at Celestine Academia in 2001.

Princess of Amosseri
After completing her studies, Princess Maria returned to court for the first time since her sister's coronation. She had been out of the public eye for a number of years, due mainly to Queen Alexandra's insistence that the media leave the younger members of the family alone during her reign. Maria became an integral part of the high society in Celeste, attending functions and gatherings of the affluent and social elite. She was branded the "Socialite Princess" when she was photographed alongside bankers, financiers and Italian supermodels at a ball in Jennai in 2004.

Return to Palace Court
In 2005 it was announced that Maria would begin full duties as a member of the Royal Household and would be made a Counsellor of State, a position enabling her to represent the House of Bonnecelli and the Monarchy of Cattala at state occasions and granted her a seat at the Council of State. Her first role as a Counsellor was to sign off on an Education Act in place of Queen Alexandra, who was in East Africa at the time. She continues to stand in for the Queen during her tours and is the only royal Counsellor who attends all meetings, due to Princess Gabriella residing in the Cape and the Queen conducting regular international tours and state visits.

Following her return from a luxury penthouse in Jennai, Princess Maria began residing outside of Celeste in Reiham Manor, one of the numerous State Palaces of Amosseri. She moved into Vittoria Palace temporarily in 2007, whilst a multi-million lira refurbishment of her residence was under way. She stayed in the Crown Princess' apartments, which her sister Alexandra lived in during the early 1990s and are now home to Princess Helena when she is not away on tour or at school.

After the Manor's restoration was complete, images of Maria with a mystery man were printed in a British newspaper. She had met Ferdinand Ariales, a baron's son and financier, in 2006 and began a close friendship with the young heir and after the images became front page news in Cattala, Reiham Manor's press office announced that they were a couple and a press blackout was lifted, allowing Cattalian newspapers to publish pictures and details on their relationship.

Marriage
On the 9th August 2008 it was announced by Vittoria Palace, Reiham Manor and the Barony that Maria and Ferdinand were to marry. It was later confirmed that Ariales proposed to the Princess during a family retreat in Cape Point two weeks earlier, and that they would be marrying the following summer. The wedding took place on the 17th June 2009 at Oragate House in Amosseri and was attended by 600 guests, including all members of the House of Bonnecelli and the Barony of Ariales. The bride wore a Valentino dress and a tiara belonging to the last Duchess of Amosseri, Elisabetta Celestine, the only sibling of an 18th century King of Cattala.

Royal duties
Since 2005, when Princess Maria was 22, she has served as a Counsellor of State, beginning her position by signing off on an Education Act in place of Queen Alexandra, who was in East Africa at the time. She conducted an official tour of every village and town of Amosseri in 2006 and continues to support local charities within her Duchy. Maria opened the new Royal Amosseri Research Institute in 2009, as part of her role as a commissioner of Cancer Research Cattala and a supporter of children's cancer provision in the Duchy.

As the youngest member of the third generation of Bonnecelli royals, and being only 11 years older than her nephew, Crown Prince Edward, Princess Maria has taken on a substantial role in the tuition and support of the three heirs to the throne, Crown Prince Edward, Princess Helena and most notably Prince Louis, who she continues to help educate in royal etiquette and the responsibilities of a prince. Maria accompanied Prince Louis on his first trip to his Duchy, Roumeli, in 2010, and co-ordinated the Royal Ball in 2010 and again in 2011, this time alongside Princess Helena.

Duchy Wealth and Property
As Duchess of Royal Amosseri, Princess Maria owns a substantial number of properties across the province, which was the ancestral home of the House of Celestine, the royal house of Cattala for 800 years. Maria is the wealthiest of all the Dukes and Duchesses of the realm, with a property estate including several dozen manor houses and palaces and thousands of acres of land, including farming, residential, and commercial properties. Maria also owns apartments in Nyhaven, Milan and Klow. The Duchy pays 50% of its profits, reportedly £15 million in 2010, towards the maintenance of Princess Maria's estates and assets, with excess going to the Crown, and 50% being paid directly to the Treasury in taxation.

Titles and Styles

 * 3 August 1983 - 13 November 1987: Maria Bonnecelli, Duchess of Royal Amosseri
 * 13 November 1987 - : Her Royal Highness Princess Maria, Duchess of Royal Amosseri

Princess Maria's current informal title is "Princess Maria" or "Duchess of Amosseri". Upon her birth she was granted the highly sought-after dukedom of Amosseri, and took possession of some of the kingdom's largest palaces upon reaching the age of 16, but only began living on the Reiham Manor estate six years later. Upon her marriage in 2009, Maria became Duchess Maria Ariales of Royal Amosseri, and her husband was elevated to Duke Ariales of Royal Amosseri.

Her formal title, in full, is Her Royal Highness The Princess Maria Penelope Annabella of House Bonnecelli, Duchess of Royal Amosseri and the Western Realms, Lady of the Silver State and Grand Duchess of the Golden Eagle Empire.

Ancestry
Princess Maria is descended from noble houses across Europe, especially the English, Spanish and Italian royal families. The Celestine household regularly married children into dukedoms and lesser royals from across Europe, right up to the late 19th century, to ensure the diplomatic and trade benefits of relations with European kingdoms was maintained. Maria's line through her great-grandfather Marco Bonnecelli links her to the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg through his female-line descendancy from Queen Michéle Celestine, daughter of the prince of Schleswig. The Bonnecelli crown can trace its lineage to the House of Bourbon through French and Spanish paternal and maternal ties.