Column: There's nothing like a dame ... especially when it's Mary
If you see Mary Ourisman Dawkins at next month's Red Cross Ball, check out the new bling on her ambassadorial sash.
On Thursday, the former U.S. ambassador to Barbados will be invested as a dame in the Royal Order of Francis I, a dynastic honor institution.
The Order is bestowed by HRH Prince Charles, The Duke of Castro, as head of the Royal House of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, and a great-great-great-great grandson of the Order’s founder.
And also, in a bizarre irony, married to Princess Camilla. Yup ... Charles and Camilla.
Today, the knights and dames of the Royal Order of Francis I, support and actively participate in the Order’s national and international interfaith, humanitarian, hospitaller and charity initiatives and projects.
And it comes with a handsome piece of bling.
The award recognizes merit on the part of government officials, diplomats, military officials and clerics, in addition to those who have made achievements in commerce, the sciences, arts, letters and literature.
Yep, Mary's pretty much all that. She's quite a dame.
Hands across the bridge ...
Speaking of great dames, ebullient centenarian Iris Apfel — who refers to herself as the ''world's oldest teenager'' — extended her charitable reach across the bridge to launch a study tour for the teenage debutantes of the Frances J. Bright Woman's Club.
The Taste History Art & Culture Study Tour, which took place Feb. 4 as part of the celebration of Black History Month, was developed by Lori Durante to highlight ethnic art, culture, cuisines, architecture and design.
The all-day tour included the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in the historic El Cid neighborhood; the historic 1948 Osborne School house in the Lake Worth's Osborne neighborhood, a community established by Black Bahamian settlers; and a multi-course lunch at Don Ramon Cubano Restaurante & Social Club in West Palm Beach.
“The study tour is a multi-sensory tangible experience designed for students to complement their classroom learning,” said Durante, who developed the program as a volunteer.
The mission of FJBWC debutante program is to provide mentorship and etiquette training for African American high school girls who are invited into the program based on academics and good character.
Hey, aren't you ?...
Yes, that was actor Lorenzo Lamas at Swifty's, with his fiancée Kenna Scott, his sister Carol DeLouvrier, and his stepfather Marc Rosen.
The en famille dinner, hosted by Rosen, was to mark Lorenzo's 65th birthday.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Column: There's nothing like a dame ... especially when it's Mary
