Duchesse Renée du Val d'Odène

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Duchesse Renée du Val d'Odène
Renée during Exercise Odentia Steadfast 2018
Crown Princess of Odentia · Duchess of Val d'Odène · Lord of Odèneville
PredecessorMathieu I
Governor-General of Val d'OdèneJean-Paul Blarte
Born (1989-07-22) 22 July 1989 (age 34)
Forteresse d'Odéneville, Val d'Odene, Odentia
Full name
Renée Irene Eva Odène de la Forteresse d’Odèneville
HouseOdène
FatherAuguste III
MotherValerie II
Military career
Other name(s)Arielle de Noir
Nickname(s)Royal Flush, Royal Pain
Allegiance Acronia 2009-2016
 Odentia 2014-present
RankCaptain Acronia
Major Odentia
Unit5th Special Operations Group Acronia

Duchesse Renée du Val d’Odene (born Renée Irene Eva Odène de la Forteresse d’Odèneville, July 22, 1989) is the current heir presumptive of Odentia, Duchess of Val d’Odène and the first woman to hold the duchy. She is the youngest child of Auguste III and Valerie II. She has two older brothers, Mathieu I and Victor III. Mathieu is the current King of Odentia, while Victor was famously, suddenly and controversially stripped of his right to succession by his father. Upon Mathieu’s accession to the throne on 21 August 2015, Renée was made heir presumptive over her eldest brother Victor and given the customary titles of Duchess of Val d’Odène and Lady of Odèneville.  

Renée was born at the  Forteresse d'Odèneville during her father's reign as King of Odentia. She attended public school in Odentia, but attended higher education at the prestigious Mont Chagrin Academy. Following the completion of two simultaneous bachelor’s degrees in political science and military history, she joined the Acronian Foreign Legion and attained the rank of captain. Following her discharge from the Legion, she joined the Armée Royale d'Odentia as a captain. She currently holds the rank of Major.

Early life and education[edit]

Renée Irene Eva Odène de la Forteresse d’Odèneville was born at 2:53 PM on July 22, 1989 at the Forteresse d’Odèneville, the same place all other Odentian royals have been born since the country’s founding.

Renée excelled athletically from an early age. She began taking ballet at the age of four, began learning martial arts at the age of ten, and played football at the varsity level in high school and college, graduating from high school in three years. At one point, she was considered a possible recruit for FC CSR Val d’Odene, unheard of for a female at that time. She was made captain of the football team at Mont Chagrin Academy in her senior year. Like her older brother, Renée attended the prestigious La Mascarade, a ball for the children of world leaders and other important figures. Under the rules of La Mascarade, should multiple suitors court a single attendee to the ball, said suitors must undergo three trials of combat for the right to attend the ball with the attendee. Notably, Renée successfully defeated three would-be suitors for her own hand, and attended the ball by herself. The rules were subsequently amended to prohibit attendees from fighting for themselves.

Military service[edit]

Immediately upon the completion of her degree, Renée, under the assumed name Arielle le Noir, enlisted in the Acronian Foreign Legion as a first lieutenant. At some point, she was transferred to the regular Acronian Army, where she was attached to the 5th Special Operations Group. She proved herself a model soldier and advanced to the rank of captain by the end of her seven-year enlistment, in command of a formation of 250 soldiers.

Renée elected not to re-enlist in the Foreign Legion, instead returning to Odentia and enlisting in the Armée Royale d'Odentia. Although her current posting is not public, her military biography and royal profile state that she currently holds the rank of major.

Controversy[edit]

Cover of the March 2016 issue of Metropolitan
During her time as Arielle du Noir, Renée practically disappeared from the public eye. Although she occasionally released statements and responded to press inquiries (usually to the effect of "no comment"), she was otherwise absent from public duty. For an unknown period of time from about 2013 to 2016, all communications from the princess ceased. The issue came to public attention when the Brytisc newsmagazine Metropolitan prominently featured her "disappearance" on the cover of their March 2016 issue. Metropolitan investigative journalists John Marble and Annie Savell scrutinized documents from Renée's Mont Chagrin education and various press documents and photos released by the princess since she had left Mont Chagrin. Their investigation concluded that Renée was an active-duty soldier in the Acronian army, with evidence strongly suggesting she was attached to the secretive 5th Special Operations Group. Despite the apparent secrecy, it is implied that her identity was an open secret within the SOG - her callsign as an SOG commander was "Royal Flush", and "Royal Pain" was reportedly a common epithet for her by her subordinates.

The service of an Odentian royal in the special forces of a foreign country drew criticism from political commentators. Some commentators, especially Conservatives such as Paul Lethy, denounced Renée as a "traitor" and called for her removal from the line of succession. To date, neither Mathieu I nor Auguste III have commented on the issue. The Barré-Karrigan Madrigal later asserted that the Metropolitan report strongly influenced Renée's decision to enlist in the Armée Royale d'Odentia rather than re-enlist in the Acronian army.

Public service[edit]

Although not technically a government official, she has acted as an informal advisor to her brother on numerous occasions. Additionally, given her status, she has been involved in numerous public relations campaigns, leading one commenter to dub her the “Face of the Armée Royale”.

Personal life[edit]

Renée is fluent in French, but speaks English fluently. She has achieved black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and aikido.

She is an avid fan of football and supports F.C. CSR Val d’Odéne.