Hello to all! I am a new registrant here, and, after having read about Opal Whiteley, of whom I knew nothing prior to having seen her discussed at this forum, I have some comments to make concerning her possible true identity, circumstantial as they may be, but of circumstance that no one else has had the knowledge or familial insight to have pointed out previously. I know for certain, that the Famille Orleans has had the custom of masquing certain members, and of certain members masquing themselves by adopting pseudonyms for one reason or another. By these actions, many of them have not been historically documented and thus have become Crypto-Orleanists for all practical purposes, even if they themselves and the rest of the famille still knew who and where they were at all times.
Point 1) If find it quite fascinating that Henri's mother had funded Opal's trip to India and had gotten her admitted to the Royal Court there. If there were not a connection, she ceratinly would not have done this, and she, above all would certainly have known all about the girl Opal.
Point 2) I do also know for certain, that some of the Crypto-Orleanists, under pseudonyms, and because of the Exile in the 1880's, did migrate to Oregon around the end of the 19th into the 20th century and established themselves in local industry and business in the Eugene/Cottage Grove/Bend, OR region. I know this because my paternal grandfather, being a relative, had visited them nearly every summer since around 1920. I, myself did accompany my grandparents to that locale once in the early 1970's and met the realtives and saw their orchards there, which had been established in the early 20th century about.
Point 3) Because of this circumstantial knowledge, which I doubt any other interested party ( at least to my knowledge) has ever presented in connection with Miss "Whiteley" , I do believe that it is preponderosuly possible that she WAS the daughter of Henri d'Orleans and that, upon the death of her natural mother, and of Henri, in 1901, as her mother and Henri, had never been properly wed, it was decided by the Famille to send her to far-off Oregon for adoption by someone in close proximity to the Crypto-Orleanists residing there, which happened to be, of course the Whiteleys' who were probably in their emply at the lumber camp. I believe that with great probability, the Crypto-Orleanists there had been in the lumber business at that time, although I do not have ample historical ereferneces yet to substantiate this theory, which would have created the connection between the Whiteleys' and the Famille. Opal would have been only about 4 yo at the time, but old enough to have learned some French and to remember certain things. Once she was placed there in adoption, the cover story about her family having moved from WA State, where Opal was supposedly born, to OR, had been agreed upon by all concerned and an oath of secrecy also agreed to by the Wheteleys to never openly or willingly reveal the true identity of "their" new child.
Point 4) Another reason I believe her story, is that her abilities, outlook on life and nature, and her apparent feeling of being out of place amongst her adoptive family, in addition to their abusing her, since she was NOT their natural child and they could not communicate with nor control her, all fits the circumstance as well. Her energies were naturally turned toward what she felt she could communicate with and that was the Natural World and that also would have given her a spirtual connection with her natural father. That is the only way in which she could have, in the absence of emotional care and nurturing in the home where she now lived, given herslef that which she was lacking in her new familial environment. I also feel that as one of the Crypto-Famille myself, she was very similar to the way I was as a child and her inclinations toward plants and animals. I am also a descendent of Robert D'Chartres, but through another child of his than Henri. I really think that it runs in the family, but does not come out in every generation, nor does the artistic ability, the high IQ level, or other similar attributes. Such is the nature of recombinant DNA.
Point 5) While the physical characteristics of her natural mother are unknown, it would be difficult to say with certainty whether her actual physical appearance would have been attributed more to the natural mother or to the natural father, it is still quite probable that much of her "looks" are from Henri. If you will notice his hair color, his basic stature/frame/build and facial characteristics- shape of nose, eyes, mouth, etc., he very well COULD be the natural father. Her claim that a boating accvident on the Seine killed her mother and that her father died elswhere, also is in keeping with the fact that her father died abroad and not at the same time supposedly (according the her claimed memories) as her mother. Again, recombinant DNA gives us a "Russian Roulette" of possibilties of phenotypic expressions in any given offspring with the same family tree.
I may think of more points to add to this later on. I invite anyone on this forum to respond to the forgoing that I have posted above and would be very interested in their comments and may even learn a thing or two myself of facts about the Famille of which I am unaware.
