Adorable Story #77: Patricia "Honeychile" Wilder (Part 2)
“I could have been a queen, but I settled for being a princess”
“I could have been a queen, but I settled for being a princess”
— Patricia “Honeychile” Wilder
Table of Contents: Origins / New York City / Hollywood / Halcyon Days / Truman Capote / WWII & South America / Egypt / King Farouk / Alexander Hohenlohe / Ian Fleming / Marbella / Later years / Did you know?
This is the second part of the Adorable Story #77. The first part can be found here.
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Egypt
After becoming the “Playgirl of the International Set,” Honeychile traveled to Egypt in 1949 with her husband Alberto Cernadas, who was busy on a polo tournament.
Traveling along with them was a glamorous group that included the American tobacco heiress Doris Duke and her then husband, legendary Dominican diplomat and playboy Porfirio Rubirosa.
With most of Europe busy in postwar reconstruction, Egypt was the place for the international crowd to bask under the sun.
In fact, Egypt was at the time at the peak of its glamour, since it was probably the last real kingdom where royalty proceeded unabashed: no royal was less abashed than King Farouk.
King Farouk
The trip to Egypt proved a fateful one for Patricia.
In her life spent getting to know celebrated and charming bon vivants, she was about to meet a man who would eventually be ranked close to the top: His Majesty King Farouk of Egypt.
According to Honeychile, Farouk was instantly struck with her, and vice versa.
Farouk had recently divorced his first wife, Farida and he was certainly the most eligible king — if not bachelor — in the world.
Recalling years later those times, Honeychile said:
“he had the most mellifluous voice, the most perfect manners and the greatest sense of humor”.
From palace balls, and horse races to duck shoots along the Nile, Farouk and Honeychile traveled all around his kingdom.
What had initially started for Honeychile as a naïve jealousy plot to upset her busy husband, ended up as a fully fledged love affair.
Not long afterwards, Alberto Cernadas went big game hunting in India and Honeychile remained behind in Egypt, eventually moving into Cairo’s magnificent Abdeen Palace with the king.
Recounting to a friend years later after her third marriage, Honeychile said:
“I could have been a queen, but I settled for being a princess.”
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