Vanessa Walker, Duchess of Valtoria

Her Grace The Duchess of Valtoria
File:Lady Riley Lopes.png The Duchess in 2021.
Tenure	3 June 2021 – present
Predecessor	Agatha Koch, Duchess of Valtoria
Full name Riley Mae Lopes
Born	(1993-11-05) 5 November 1993 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Father	Immanuel Lopes
Mother	Joan Kennedy
Religion	Judaism
Occupation	Waitress (2010–2021)

Riley Lopes, Duchess of Valtoria (Riley Mae Lopes; born 5 November 1993), is an American-born Skavandian peeress and political advisor. She is a member of the King's Royal Council and head of state of the duchy of Valtoria. Before entering Skavandian civil life, she was a former civil servant and waitress. She is the fiancée of Sir Drake Walker.

Born in The Bronx, New York City, she attended The Bronx High School of Science and later studied at New York University graduating with a bachelor in communications in 2016. While attending post-secondary education, Riley worked as a waitress at a local Bronx café from 2009–2018. She subsequently accepted a job in 2018 on the congressional campaign of U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and later in her congressional office in Parkchester, Bronx. She later left that job a year later resumed her work as a waitress at Windows on the City, Lower Manhattan restaurant.

While waitressing in February 2021, Riley met Lord Maxwell Beaumont, Drake Walker, and then Liam, the Prince of Skavand and heir apparent of the Skavandian throne, while they were visiting the city for the Prince’s bachelor party. She later became friends with the group. After spending time with the Prince, Lord Beaumont invited Riley to live in Skavand to join the 2021 social season, a series of events held from March–June to honor the royal family and nobility in the Commonwealth. Speculation was raised that she was invited to attend the social events as an opportunity to get to know the Prince and possibly court him.

She became an honorary member of the House of Beaumont and was raised to the peerage as a condition to join the events. She became Her Grace The Countess Beaumont in March 2021 and moved to Cordonia, the capital of Skavand. During the social season, tabloids described Riley as "the Bronx princess" and gained praise for her humility and knowledge in international relations and has been compared to American-born British royal Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Though the press speculated a courtship between King Liam and Riley, she later made a statement to the public following the King's coronation that she was not romantically interested in him. She and Drake Walker announced their engagement on 15 June 2021. The engagement came after a frameup against Riley.

Early life and education

Riley was born Riley Mae Lopes on 5 November 1993 in The Bronx, Bronx County, New York, New York, United States, to Joan (née Kennedy), a former member of the the New York City Council from the 18th district; and Immanuel Lopes, a businessman. Riley identifies as mixed-race as her mother is white and her father is black. She is the cousin of the late American rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes through her father Immanuel. Her father is the younger half-brother of Lisa's father, Ronald Lopes. Asked about the connection in a Trend magazine interview, Riley mentioned her father was raised by his mother and was not close to the immediate family of the rapper. "I am a fan of TLC and their music, but regrettably never met my cousin Left Eye, T-Boz or Chili," Riley said. She is the only child.

Growing up in The Bronx, the Queen attended New York City public schools. She attended Public School 106X Parkchester for elementary school and later attended The Bronx High School of Science to study physics, music theory, and U.S. government and politics. Riley was pursing an education for a potential career in politics or law like after her mother. She was raised in her mother's Jewish faith though her father was Protestant. While in high school, Riley started her job as a waitress at a local Bronx café. She graduated from high school in 2012 and was accepted at the New York University, majoring in communications and international relations. She interned in the school's law department and frequently visited the United Nations headquarters for her studies. She graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in 2016.

Private career

After graduating from post-secondary education, the Duchess continued to work as a waitress until she accepted a job on a congressional campaign for activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in April 2018. She worked as a secretary for the campaign and organized events, would frequently be an advisor on local New York policy, and would occasionally run telephone banks to reach potential voters. She never publicly campaigned for Ocasio-Cortez as that was not her specialty. She never personally spoke to the now-Congresswoman but would speak to her when campaign officials needed input on policy. After Ocasio-Cortez became U.S. Representative-elect, Riley accepted a job in her congressional office at her Parkchester office. The Duchess managed communications between their office and offices in Washington, D.C.. Riley only traveled to D.C. once as part of official business.

After being dissatisfied with political life, Riley quit in May 2019 and found a job waitressing at Windows on the City, a five star restaurant located in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. She worked as a regular waitress and as a bartender. It is there she would met her future husband King Liam, then the Prince of Skavand, Lord Maxwell Beaumont, Drake Walker and Tariq Fayed.

Relationship with Drake Walker

First encounter

During the evening of 21 January 2021, Riley was working a late night shift at Windows on the City, a restaurant in the Financial District located at One World Trade Center. Her collogue waiter Daniel reportedly had to leave his work shift early and Riley decided to finish his shift. She then preceded to serve King Liam of Skavand, then Prince of Skavand, his best friend Drake Walker and noblemen Lord Maxwell Beaumont and Lord Tariq Fayed. The pair of three were visiting New York City to celebrate the King's last year as a single man, as he'd have to marry within a year of turning 30 in order to inherit the Skavandian throne in accordance with the country's constitution. According to Lord Beaumont's memoir The Royal Romance, Liam and Riley instantly made a connection and the pair made light conversation. Riley didn't know that Liam was a royal prince at this time. The group later left the restaurant at around 11 pm and came back at midnight after Riley's shift to celebrate with them. She accepted and they preceded to sightsee Manhattan. Liam confided in Riley that he always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and she later set up a private tour of the statue which impressed the prince. In the memoir, Lord Beaumont said that at this point the prince knew he wanted to marry The Bronx woman. The next day, Lord Beaumont invited Riley to move to Skavand and become a member of the House of Beaumont to win favor with Prince Liam and court him. Though she accepted, she originally did not have the intention to go to Skavand to court the prince. When she arrived in the country and thought about what happened, she decided to give the social season and courtship competition as a try, though she confided in Lady Hana Lee and Lord Beaumont that she knew Drake would be her future husband. However, during the first weeks in the country, Riley was unsure about whether she would fit into Skavandian noble life.

Lopes–Al Saadi scandal

Main article: Lopes–Al Saadi scandal

Titles, styles, honors, and arms

Titles and styles

• 5 November 1993 – 1 March 2021: Miss Riley Mae Lopes
• 1 March 2021 – 3 June 2021: Her Grace The Countess Beaumont
• 3 June 2021 – present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Valtoria

Ancestry

Biological

Ancestors of Vanessa Walker, Duchess of Valtoria
16. Charlie Lopes 8. Emanuel Lopes 17. Lenora Lopes 4. Charles Lopes 18. Robert Smith 9. Almira Smith 19. Hattie Taylor 2. Immanuel Lopes 5. Kathryn Hargrave 1. Riley of Skavand 6. Mike Kennedy 13. Mary Kennedy 3. Joan Kennedy 7. Sarah Dunham

Honorary

Ancestors of Vanessa Walker, Duchess of Valtoria
4. Benjamin Beaumont, 8th Duke of Ramsford 2. Barthelemy Beaumont, 9th Duke of Ramsford 5. Anneliese Beaumont, Duchess of Ramsford 1. Riley of Skavand 3. Annabelle Beaumont, Duchess of Ramsford