Lorenzo Borghese
| Prince Lorenzo Borghese | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1972 Milan, Italy |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Parents | Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese and Amanda Leigh |
Lorenzo Borghese (born June 9, 1972), commonly known as Prince Lorenzo Borghese, is a member of the House of Borghese, a cosmetics entrepreneur and animal advocate, and the featured bachelor on the 9th season of ABC’s The Bachelor American television show. Lorenzo is the son of Prince Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese (born 1938) and his American wife, Amanda Leigh. His mother's stepfather was sign and lighting designer Douglas Leigh. Lorenzo Borghese's paternal grandmother was Princess Marcella Borghese, who founded the Borghese cosmetics line in 1958; it was a subsidiary of Revlon.
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 ,.[1] ), Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, both of whom had an enormous influence on Italian art and beautifying Rome in the 1600s, and who helped finish St. Peter's Basilica. To honor Pope Paul V’s accomplishment, 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 1600’s. 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 Royal titles, called “Papal” titles, on people. These titles were often tied to territories of land. Prince 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.
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 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 huband, Camillo Borghese as well as Lorenzo's grandparents, Princess Marcella Borghese and Prince Paolo Borghese.
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[edit] Personal life
Prince Lorenzo Borghese was born in Milan on June 9, 1972. He is an Italian and American citizen who has lived in Rome, Paris, and moved to Connecticut when he was five years old. He was raised in Short Hills, New Jersey and attended elementary school there.[2] Prince Lorenzo 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 received his MBA from Fordham University in New York City.
[edit] Business
Prince Lorenzo currently resides in New York City. He is the founder and president of Royal Treatment Italian Pet Spa,[3] 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. In 2009, he started a luxury pet shopping site, Royal Pet Club,[4] which sells prestigious pet items as discount prices. Prince Lorenzo is also a managing partner in LB2, LLC, a private label Italian cosmetics company that sells numerous brands to major department stores and direct retail outlets.[5]
In addition, Prince Lorenzo is executive vice president of Multimedia Exposure, Inc.,[6] a family-owned business that acts as an agency for various products for television shopping channels in the U.S. and Europe.
[edit] Reality television and author
In the fall of 2006, Borghese starred in the ninth season of ABC’s popular reality show The Bachelor.[7]
In the summer of 2009, Borghese announced he would be searching for his "princess" on a web reality show titled America's Next Princess.[8] The show was to coincide with the launch of Royal Pet Club,[9] an online shopping destination for his Royal Treatment pet products.[10]
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,[11] 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.[12]
In December of 2010, Borghese's first novel, The Princess of Nowhere,[1] published by Harper Collins, debuted. This historical fiction romance novel is a re-imagining of the life of the author’s famous ancestor, Princess Pauline Bonaparte, who became Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese after her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese.
In January 2012 Borghese's house search was featured on HGTV's Selling New York.
[edit] References
- Libro d'oro della nobiltà italiana. Rome. 2002.
- ^ a b http://www.princessofnowhere.com.
- ^ Staff. "The Bachelor Less Italian and Princey Than Originally Thought", Us Magazine, October 3, 2006. Accessed August 10, 2011. "Though ABC's Web site claims he was born in Milan and raised in Connecticut, his parents, Princess Amanda Borghese and Prince Francesco Borghese, have lived in Short Hills, New Jersey, since 1979, and his permanent addresses prior to 2001 all list him as a resident of the Garden State."
- ^ http://getroyaltreatment.com
- ^ http://royalpetclub.com
- ^ "Marcella Borghese; Princess, 90, Began a Line of Cosmetics". The New York Times: p. 21, column 5. 8 February 2002.
- ^ http://mmetv.com
- ^ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-bachelor/another-breakup-for-the-bachel-4727.aspx
- ^ http://www.americasnextprincess.com
- ^ http://www.royalpetclub.com
- ^ Prince Lorenzo Borghese Searches for his Princess on "America's Next Princess"
- ^ "America's Next Top Dog - The Princess" Reveals Big Twist in New Web Series with a Cast Made up Entirely of Dogs
- ^ http://www.sbs6.nl/web/show/id=528477
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Travis Lane Stork |
The Bachelor Season 9 |
Succeeded by Andrew Baldwin |
