How an aristocratic family feud led to murder: The life and times of baroness ... trends now
A billionaire art collector shot dead on her doorstep. Her stepson - a disgraced spy - arrested on suspicion of her murder. And an 88-year-old noble and philanthropist left in shock at the brutal death of his wife of 24 years.
Baroness Myriam Ullens, originally a cake-maker from Cologne, lived an extraordinary life, falling in love with a married nobleman, brushing shoulders with the world's royals and funding passion projects around the world.
She was executed in front of her house on Wednesday, shot four times in the head, reportedly after an argument with her stepson over 'squandering his billionaire father's money'.
Reports say Nicolas, 57, ambushed Myriam and her husband, ramming them in their car as they left the family estate and firing multiple shots in their direction. The next day, he walked into a police station, handed over a handgun and told police he had shot his stepmother.
'Mimi devastated the family,' was the initial reaction of Nicolas' sister, Brigitte, after the killing. 'She wanted everything for herself. We weren't even allowed to see dad any more.'
'Only one thing mattered to Myriam: she wanted the family fortune for herself.'
MailOnline looks at the life of the woman at the heart of the family feud.
King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, with Myriam Ullens and Yan Pei-Ming's portrait
Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten and Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten pose during the Don Quichotte Ballet Hosted By 'Reve d'Enfants' Association and AROP at Opera Bastille in 2012
'Mimi' Ullens de Schooten is today known as a luxury fashion designer, philanthropist and prominent art collector.
Through her marriage to her husband, she became affiliated by name with centuries of Dutch nobility dating back to King Charles II of Spain. The family overlaps with the Swedish nobility and, by extension, many of those across Scandinavia.
Guy, her husband, was appointed as officer of the Legion d'honneur in France, and awarded the Commander of the Order of Leopold II in Belgium.
The couple enjoyed the company of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium at their Swiss chalet for skiing holidays. The royals even wore Mimi's brand on official state visits to China.
In 2013, Myriam partnered with the royal resident Clarence House and split the profits of a portrait of King Charles (then the Prince of Wales) to support their philanthropic ambitions.
This was not always so.
Myriam Lechien was born to a Belgian army officer in Cologne in 1952, the year the East German government closed the border with West Germany. At 18, she moved back to Belgium to finish her studies before promptly marrying and having two children at 21 and 24. She was entrepreneurial and opened a small restaurant on the famous Avenue Louise thoroughfare in southern Brussels, before closing to raise her children.
Myriam never gave up hopes of owning her own business and, once able, began making cakes at home to sell. She did well and the house soon filled up. Myriam expanded her empire, hiring a team and moving operations to a workshop.
It was around here, in 1991, she met her future husband, the Baron and son of a Belgian diplomat Guy Ullens. Ullens was immediately smitten with his 'queen of pastry' - but it would be another eight years before he could settle the divorce to his first wife and marry her.
After 44 years of marriage and four children with Micheline Franckx, the Baron followed his heart and married Myriam Lechien in 1999.
Multimillionaire Guy Ullens (left) is pictured with his wife, Myriam, in Versailles in 2017
Myriam first visited Nepal in 1990, amid a revolution that resulted in violent clashes with the authorities, the arrest of journalists and the torture of peaceful protestors. The nation suffered from food shortages as trade deals failed. International support was marginal. Many were locked up and forgotten about in the process.
In this environment she saw the opportunity to help people. Her visits to Nepal started before she met Guy, but the two found a common interest and Ullens would come to use his influence to fund large scale projects in aid of malnourished children, suffering disease and left in run-down institutions when their mothers were locked up.
In 1996, Myriam - with help from a social worker - rented a house and set up an orphanage. Parents could visit their children during holidays and weekends, and the team ensured all received a good quality of education and skills for later employment. Soon after, they opened a second, and then a third. Today, the centres look after some "10,000 children.
Myriam finally married Guy in 1999 and settled in Verbier, Switzerland. It was the same year he, as CEO of Artal Group, oversaw the $735mn buyout of Weight Watchers. The company sold stocks and earned $3.8bn while retaining
