Tag Archives: French

Shoes of the Baron de Redé

Baron de Redé was a committed aesthete. In 1949, he moved into the ground floor of the 17th century Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris and restored the building and its décor. In 2003, he was appointed a commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,[12] for his restoration of the Hôtel Lambert.[13]

Redé’s notoriety rested on being a kept man. His wealth derived from his lover, Arturo Lopez-Willshaw (1900–62), a married millionaire Chilean, who settled $1 million on Rédé shortly after they became a couple. Lopez-Willshaw, however, continued to maintain a formal residence with his wife, Patricia, in Neuilly.[5] As Rédé recalled of the beginning of his relationship with Lopez-Willshaw, which commenced when he was 19 in 1941, “I was not in love. But I needed protection, and I was aware that he could provide this.”[6] In addition, he observed, “The money gave me the security I craved, and it would also enable me to look after my handicapped sister.”[7]

In 1953, author Christian Mégret published Danaé, a roman à clef based on Redé’s and Lopez-Willshaw’s life together, the racy details provided by one of their close friends, Mégret’s companion, Ghislaine, Princess de Polignac.[14][8]

Lopez-Willshaw’s wife, a first cousin born Patricia Lopez-Huici, was cool towards her husband’s companion though the three often traveled together and attended social events as a group.[8][15] In 1962, when Arturo Lopez-Willshaw died, Redé inherited half of his fortune;.[8] To manage it, he joined Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein in taking control of Leopold Joseph & Sons, a bank where he served as the deputy chairman. With Loewenstein, Rédé was closely involved in managing the money of the Rolling Stones; and he was a founder of Artemis, an investment fund specializing in the purchase of fine art.”

From Baron_de_Redé