Don’t lie, women of New York: Many of you are secretly wishing you’re the one being whisked down a royal wedding aisle today.
But don’t despair. Even though William is off the market, princes abound in Manhattan. Prince Peter of Serbia, 31 — his father is exiled Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia — lives on the East Side. Prince Philippos Constantine of Greece works for a hedge fund in Midtown. And Prince Lorenzo Borghese, 38, of Italy now dwells on the Upper West Side and owns a line of pet-grooming products.
It’s not impossible to land your own royal hunk, says Christie Nightingale, owner of high-end matchmaking service Premier Match. “A lot of men of this caliber gravitate toward educated and cultured women,” she notes. “It helps to speak several languages.”
“It’s all about the qualities in your heart,” says Prince Dimitri, who descends from Yugoslavian royalty. “You should be simple and nice. This goes for everybody, not just women who want to meet a prince.
“The royals are interested in serving their county, that is the main concern. It’s a sense of duty.”
Prince Dimitri was raised in Versailles, attended boarding school in Switzerland, and now calls swanky Sutton Place on the Upper East Side home. He summers in the Hamptons, naturally, but prefers beaches to polo matches.
“Long Island beaches are the best in the world, much better than European beaches,” said the prince. “You can go to the beach in the middle of August, the height of the summer, and it’s not crowded. That’s not the case in the south of France. In Long Island, you can walk for miles and miles along the beach.”
How to: Wrangle a royal
Middleton who? You too can marry into a royal line. Just follow the advice of our experts:
» “Your style should be classic,” advises Nightingale of Premier Match. “Couture all the way. Wear St. John, Prada and Yves St. Laurent. If you can’t afford those labels, shop at high-end consignment shops. You should look clean, slick and stylish. Think ‘Mad Men.’ You have to spend money to attract money.”
» Attend as many charity events as you can. Even better, try to land a spot on a non-profit board.
» “A good place to meet rich men is at the Mark Hotel, Nobu and Lavo,” said Nightingale. “And summer in the Hamptons.”
» What’s the biggest mistake a commoner can make when trying to attract an aristocrat? “The worse thing a person can do when they meet a royal is to become immensely grand,” said Prince Dimitri. You’ve been warned.
