The Duchess de la Rouchefoucald was American her name was Mary Jane she was my friend and date for the Marbella Club Gala 1971. She and the Duke were very good friends of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were staying at the Marbella Club Hotel.. Jean Marie we called her, the Duke changed it from Mary Jane was sitting at there table. I was at the Agnelli table (Fiat) - he said he had the most stock of any man in Italy.
Ari Onassis had his yacht anchored off shore and he came over on Riva motor boats, Jackie Kennedy Onassis stayed on the ship with her binoculars you could see her looking from the deck.. The hotel put a stage on and above the beach club pool and Ari Onassis and I danced together to Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 , Mas Que Nada , both of us were more than a little drunk. The Rothschilds next to Stavros Niarchos. The most famous clientele of the club were there, they all wanted to please the Duke it was his night really the ex King of England and his American wife. A very jolly atmosphere the Arabs had not taken over yet. The Old Fame was in town . I was not even living in the Puerto Banus yet , it was not built yet and there was no place for the yachts to dock .. I had rented an old mansion in the village .. two story -- with a wall and a garden , you could see the sea and Africa on a clear day from upstairs . It was next to the La Fonda Hotel, a 17 room boutique style, chic hotel. Were, I lived, for six months when I first arrived in Marbella. I had my apartment in Paris at - 69 Blvd. De Beausejour in the 16eme Arrondissement, on the Right Bank. I was commuting and had a little boutique, in the village on the Orange Square. The Duchess was fun.. She, made a point to introduce me to the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson.. He died soon after .. she lived another 10 years.. He was a very formal & funny man, when he came down from his room at the Marbella Club Hotel to the pool and saw we were all in elegant "informal" dress. He took off his bow tie and threw it into the pool, went to his suite and came back wearing a Hawaiian shirt open at the collar! I danced with Gina Lolobrigida - WOW - what an hourglass fiqure she had! Audrey Hepburn was beautiful. Also there were the Furstenbergs, Bismarks, Metternichs, Archduke of Austria , Ava Gardner, Oppenheims , Henry Ford. It was like a fairy tale, something out of classical antiquity !!!! I liked the Duchess she was not pretentious at all and could of been. As the first Duchess in line to be the Queen of France !!!!
