Lorenzo Borghese

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Lorenzo Borghese
Prince Lorenzo Borghese.jpg
Born (1972-06-09) June 9, 1972 (age 40)
Milan, Italy[1]
Occupation Entrepreneur, television personality
Parents Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese and Amanda Leigh

Lorenzo Borghese (born June 9, 1972), also known as Prince Lorenzo Borghese, is an Italian-American businessman. He is a member of the House of Borghese, a cosmetics entrepreneur and animal advocate, and the featured bachelor on the ninth season of ABC's The Bachelor. He is the son of Prince Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese (born 1938) and his American wife, Amanda Leigh. Borghese's paternal grandmother was Princess Marcella Borghese, who founded the Borghese cosmetics line in 1958; it was a subsidiary of Revlon and then sold in 1992 to Mawarid Trading, a cosmetic division of Mawarid Holdings[2][3], a private company owned by billionaire, Saudi Royal[4], Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Al Abdulrahman Al Saud and his four sons: Prince Saud bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman, Prince Fahd bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman, Prince Salman bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman and Prince Ahmed bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman.

His storied paternal ancestors include Napoleon's sister, Paulina Bonaparte Borghese (whose famous statue by Canova is displayed in the Galleria Borghese and is the focal character in Borghese's new book, The Princess of Nowhere.[5]), Pope Paul V (ne Camillo Borghese) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese. To honor Paul V, the Borghese family name (spelled in Latin, Bvrghesivs) and coat of arms (eagle and a dragon) can be found on the façade of the famous basilica. The Borghese family received their Papal Titles (Prince and Princess) from Pope Paul V in the early 1600s. During that time, the Pope could raise armies and often had powers equal to a king, like a king, he had the power to bestow noble titles, called "Papal" titles, on people. These titles were often tied to territories of land. Lorenzo's branch of the family received five different titles, which include the Prince of San Paolo and Prince of Sant'Angelo and Duke of Bomarzo.[citation needed]

Prince Lorenzo's ancestors were also one of the largest owners of property and art throughout Italy. While Pope Paul V was in power, he purchased entire towns and approximately 1/3 of the land south of Rome. As a family, the Borgheses became the largest landowners of the "Roman Campagna", the central region in Italy, which is an area of approximately 1,300 square miles. The Borghese name is displayed throughout Italy, including Florence at the Palazzo Borghese, Siena, where the family began and Rome where the name is most prominent. Rome's largest Park, Villa Borghese gardens, was owned by the family until 1902, and one of Rome's largest museums, Galleria Borghese, holds the family's art collection. One of Rome's most famous streets is also named after the family, Via di Fontanella Borghese, and the family's crest can be found in many piazzas throughout Italy. The family also has a private chapel in one of Rome's most famous basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore. Beneath this Basilica is a private crypt where many of the famous Borgheses are laid to rest, including Pope Paul V, Paulina Borghese and her husband, Camillo Borghese as well as Lorenzo's grandparents, Princess Marcella Borghese and Prince Paolo Borghese.

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Background [edit]

Lorenzo Borghese was born on June 9, 1972 in Milan and lived in Rome before moving to Paris and then to the United States. He holds dual U.S./Italian citizenship. Raised in Short Hills, New Jersey, he attended elementary school there. He attended Pomfret School in Connecticut. He graduated from Rollins College in Florida in 1995, where he was initiated into the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He later earned his MBA from Fordham University in New York City.[citation needed]

Business [edit]

Lorenzo Borghese currently resides in New York City. He is the founder and president of Royal Treatment, a high-end bath, body and skin care line for pets, using organic ingredients and fragrance oils from Italy, which can be found in hundreds of boutiques nationwide and on the television station Home Shopping Network. He is a managing partner in LB2, LLC, a private label Italian cosmetics company that sells numerous brands to major department stores and direct retail outlets.[6]

In 2011 he founded and became President of Animal Aid USA,[7] a not-for-profit focusing on saving animals and changing laws to stop animal cruelty. Borghese is executive vice president of Multimedia Exposure, Inc., a family-owned business that acts as an agency for various products for television shopping channels in the U.S. and Europe.

Reality television and author [edit]

In the fall of 2006, Borghese starred in the ninth season of ABC's popular reality show The Bachelor.[8]

In the summer of 2009, Borghese announced he would be searching for his "princess" on a web reality show titled America's Next Princess.[9] The show was to coincide with the launch of Royal Pet Club,[10] an online shopping destination for his Royal Treatment pet products.[11]

However, when the show debuted online on August 17, 2009, the series was actually revealed to be a spoof of celebrities and reality TV shows,[12] with the premise of a millionaire dog searching for love among ten finalists, who are also dogs. Borghese appears on the show but portrays the dog's butler. The series also revealed its new name, America's Next Top Dog: The Princess.

In 2010 Borghese starred in the Dutch SBS6 show Coming to Holland: Prins Zoekt Vrouw (Dutch for 'Prince looks for wife') as one of the three bachelor princes. This reality show was based on the movie, "Coming to America" in which Eddie Murphy went undercover and exchanged his crown for a job at a fast food restaurant.[citation needed]

In December 2010, Borghese's first novel, The Princess of Nowhere,[5] published by Harper Collins, debuted. This historical fiction romance novel is a re-imagining of the life of the author's ancestor, Pauline Bonaparte, who became Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese after her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese.[citation needed] In January 2012, his house search was featured on HGTV's Selling New York. In August/September 2012 he appeared on the 10th season of Celebrity Big Brother UK and finished 7th.[citation needed]

References [edit]

Links [edit]

Preceded by
Travis Lane Stork
The Bachelor
Season 9
Succeeded by
Andrew Baldwin