Guy Georges Vĩnh San

Guy Georges Vĩnh San (born 31 January 1933), also Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Ngọc, is a son of Vietnamese emperor Duy Tân, reigned from 1907 to 1916. Since 2017, he has been the head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc, Vietnam's former imperial house.[1] Georges lives in France.[2]

Guy Georges Vĩnh San
Head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc
Georges Vĩnh San and wife Monique
Head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc
Pretence15 March 2017 – present
PredecessorBảo Thăng
Born (1933-01-31) January 31, 1933
Saint-Denis, Réunion
SpouseMonique
IssueSon: Patrick
Daughters: Chantal, Annick, Pascale
HouseNguyễn Phúc
FatherEmperor Duy Tân
MotherFernande Antier

Duy Tân was deposed by the French administration after he attempted an uprising in 1916. He was exiled to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. There he met and married Fernande Antier. Georges was their first child.[3]

During World War II, Duy Tân sided with Charles de Gaulle against the pro-German French government of Philippe Pétain.

"In 1940 my father read de Gaulle's summons to the resistance," Georges recalled. "Then he called all his friends and said: 'I do not know de Gaulle, but I should follow him, because he is on the right track.' My father was very close to France, but not the France of Pétain."[4]

Duy Tân served with De Gaulle's Free French and died in a plane crash in 1945, cutting short a planned return to Vietnamese politics.

Duy Tan was more popular than Emperor Bảo Đại and ranked higher in the genealogy of the Nguyễn Phúc clan.[5] Bảo Đại's pro-Vichy government attempted to head off a claim to the throne by Georges by treating him as illegitimate. In 1946, a French court sided with Georges and declared him to be a legitimate son of Duy Tan.[4]

In 1987, Georges traveled to Hue, the former imperial capital, for the reburial of his father.[6] In 2016, he went to Hue to attend a family death anniversary.[2]

Georges was educated at Lycée Leconte-de-Lisle in Réunion and at Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat in Saigon. He served in the French Army from 1956 to 1967. He worked for the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at Orly Airport in 1969–1981 and later at St Denis de Réunion (1991–1996).[3]

Georges married Monique at Fort de France, Martinique, May 1954. He has one son, Patrick, and three daughters, Chantal, Annick, and Pascale.[3]

References
  1. Vĩnh, Cao, Nguyễn Phúc tộc thế phả, Hue, Thuan Hoa Publishing House, 1995, p. 327. On the royal clan's genealogical table, only Emperor Bảo Đại and his children come after Duy Tân's children. Bảo Đại's legitimate male line ended in 2017 with the death of Prince Bảo Thăng. Duy Tân is designated head of the 17th generation of Nguyễn Phúc ("17.I"). This suggests that his eldest son is head of the 18th generation.
  2. "Cháu nội vua Thành Thái lần đầu về Huế dự giỗ ông", Thanh Nien, March 24, 2016. This article has pictures of Georges in a traditional outfit.
  3. Buyer, Christopher, The Royal Ark, "Vietnam: The Nguyen Phuoc Dynasty."
  4. Tuyet-Tran, Mathilde, "Rencontres avec le prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Ngọc, alias Guy Georges Vinh San," 2008 (French). A Vietnamese translation is here.
  5. The clan genealogy ranks Duy Tan as "17.I" (head of the 17th generation) while Bảo Đại is "17.II." See Nguyễn Phúc tộc thế phả, pp. 325, 327.
  6. Xuan Nham Thin, "Gặp những người con vua Duy Tân," Thanh Nien, Jan. 21, 2012.
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