Joan de Noailles, Dowager Duchess of Mouchy (née Joan Douglas Dillon, later Princess Charles of Luxembourg; born 31 January 1935) is an American-born and French duchess, the first commoner to marry into the reigning dynasty of Luxembourg, and is the former president of French Bordeaux wine company Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Biography

Joan Dillon is the daughter of U.S. Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon and his wife, Phyllis Chess Ellsworth. She came to live in Paris, France, with her family when her father was appointed American Ambassador in the 1950s. She initially found work with the Paris Review.

After her marriage to Prince Charles of Luxembourg she discovered an interest in wine and the family interest in Haut-Brion. From 1975 to 2008, Joan Dillon held the presidency of Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Her third husband, Philippe de Noailles, 8th Duke of Mouchy, was general manager. Under their direction the company bought Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Château Laville Haut-Brion and Château La Tour Haut-Brion in 1983.

In 2008, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, her son by her marriage to Prince Charles of Luxembourg, became president of Domaine Clarence Dillon. Wine Enthusiast Magazine describes Dillon as "a larger-than-life lady, with an indefinable, cultured, mid-Atlantic accent."

Family

Joan Douglas Dillon was married three times:

  • Dillon married firstly in Paris, France, on 1 August 1953 James Brady Moseley, great-grandson of industrialist Anthony N. Brady, grandnephew of philanthropist Nicholas Frederic Brady and first cousin of U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady. She converted to Catholicism accordingly. The couple divorced in Washoe County, Nevada, US, on 12 December 1955; the marriage was annulled in Rome, Italy, on 22 June 1963. They had a daughter, Joan Dillon Moseley Bryan Frost (born 1954).

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