Switzerland<\/a>, which one visitor described as a \u201cmini Louvre\u201d.<\/p>\nThe Rothschild family maintains a code of silence over the exact contents of the chateau overlooking Lake Geneva \u2013 where photographers and nosy visitors are banned \u2013 but they reportedly include treasures including Louis XVI furniture and works by Goya, Rembrandt, Fragonard, El Greco and Boucher.<\/p>\n
Nadine claims that her husband, who died in 1997, bequeathed her a substantial part of this collection, which she wants to put in a new museum in Geneva, dedicated to displaying the collection of the Edmond and Nadine de Rothschild Foundation she has created.<\/p>\n
Ariane \u2013 who was married to Edmond and Nadine\u2019s only child, Benjamin, who died in 2021 \u2013 insists the collection must remain intact and in the chateau.<\/p>\n
In court documents, Ariane, 60, has accused the elder baroness of being influenced by her advisers, drawing a parallel with the late L\u2019Or\u00e9al heiress Liliane Bettencourt. In 2011, Bettencourt\u2019s daughter sought to have her declared of unsound mind after she lavished an estimated \u20ac1bn in gifts on a young photographer friend.<\/p>\n
Nadine de Rothschild in France in 1993. Photograph: Luc Castel\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Speaking from her home in the Swiss countryside, Nadine, who used to appear regularly on television chatshows talking about manners and etiquette, told the Guardian: \u201cI knew Liliane and I can tell you she was absolutely not a woman you could make do anything she didn\u2019t want. And neither am I under anyone\u2019s influence. You can tell from my voice and answers that it would be hard to influence me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the last Rothschild baroness of my generation. All the others have died. To end my life with a major legal battle like this of course upsets me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning I opened my arms to my daughter-in-law; there are photos of us together, I was generous in my personal gifts to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nadine and Edmond de Rothschild in 1964. Photograph: Henri Bureau\/Corbis\/VCG\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The senior baroness has known harder times. Born Nadine Lhopitalier, she grew up in a communist-supporting family and left home at 14. Two years later, she was sewing poppers on Peugeot sunroofs and working as an artists\u2019 model. Later, she took the stage name Nadine Tallier and played in music halls and small film roles.<\/p>\n
In the early 1960s, she met Edmond de Rothschild. She later recalled their first meeting, saying: \u201cHe looked at my ring and he said, \u2018It\u2019s lovely, but unfortunately the diamond is fake.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple married in 1963. From then on, all the jewels were real.<\/p>\n
As the wife of the wealthiest member of the banking family, Nadine oversaw the running of their 14 properties, where, over several decades, they received the beau monde \u2013 including the Kennedys, Audrey Hepburn, Maria Callas, Princess Diana, Romy Schneider and Greta Garbo.<\/p>\n
Nadine admits that she was an absent mother to Benjamin, who was brought up by nannies. He claimed she treated him as \u201can heir\u201d and not a son. She insists she welcomed his wife, Ariane, into the family in 1999 and moved out of the 1,126sq metre Chateau de Pregny into a pavilion in the 18-hectare (44-acre) grounds, leaving the family home to the young couple, who had four daughters.<\/p>\n
Nadine says that relations between the two baronesses became \u201cirreparable\u201d after Benjamin\u2019s death. She has since left the estate and lives \u201ccomfortably\u201d in the countryside outside Geneva.<\/p>\n
Today, both sides have won legal battles, but the family war rages on. Ariane lost her attempt to ban Nadine from using Edmond\u2019s name for her foundation; Nadine has lost any legal right to enter the ch\u00e2teau. A third lawsuit over ownership of the artworks and other items is dragging on.<\/p>\n
A source close to the family said Ariane and her daughters would not discuss the falling out.<\/p>\n
Chateau de Pregny in Switzerland is reported to house art by Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco and others. Photograph: J\u00e9r\u00e9my Toma<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of respect for all parties involved, the family is not commenting on this matter, which it is dealing with with the utmost restraint,\u201d the source said in a statement. \u201cThe family is fully committed to its family activities, working daily to preserve and pass on its heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nadine is less restrained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI inherited from my husband many objects that are in the Chateau de Pregny, but it has been impossible to recover them since my son\u2019s death. That is why, sadly, I have been forced to take legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Representatives for Ariane have argued that Nadine made no claim on the works of art until after Benjamin\u2019s death and this being the case, she no longer has a valid claim to them \u2013 a question at the heart of the current ongoing legal case.<\/p>\n
Ariane de Rothschild in 2017. Photograph: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about major objects, classified historic objects that belong in a museum,\u201d Nadine says. \u201cI hardly see the younger generation [of Rothschilds] wanting to be burdened with such things, but in any case my granddaughters will inherit from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t lost hope that my granddaughters will understand that this battle is between their mother and grandmother and not against them. My only hope is that one day they will appreciate that I am doing this for the honour of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After three generations of genteel discretion bordering on secrecy, the international banking family the Rothschilds has been riven…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-346943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}