Henry Hager was an Eagle Scout.

From all indications -- including recent televised comments by his mother-in-law-to-be, first lady Laura Bush -- he still is.

Just a regular guy . . . about to marry the president's daughter.

Celebrities, near celebrities, wannabe celebs and faux celebs lust after limelight. Richmond native Hager is not so enamored of the lights fantastic.

Nor is his fiancée, first twin Jenna Bush. The couple, in fact, have made a point to steer clear of publicity when it comes to their wedding.

Which makes it a little difficult to write about if you're interested in facts rather than fiction. We called friends, we called family, we even called 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"It's not the White House, it's the couple," explained Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush's office. "The couple is just very interested in maintaining privacy around their plans."

The White House has yet to officially confirm the wedding date.

On the other hand, an interview last week on NBC's "Today" with Laura Bush, Jenna and her fraternal twin Barbara pretty much sealed the deal: May 10 it is, at the previously revealed location, the Bush family's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch 7 miles outside Crawford, Texas.

The interview also allowed Jenna Bush a shout-out to Hager, about whom little is known and much is speculated.

"He's really fantastic and smart," said the brown-eyed blonde.

"It's really great to be marrying someone who's very supportive and encourages me to have a career and pursue things I'm passionate about. . . . That's a really cool position to be in."

. . .

Bush and Hager, whose relationship was rumored long before it was confirmed, met and started dating during her dad's 2004 re-election campaign.

Hager, at the time a recent graduate of Wake Forest University, grew up in Richmond with his parents, John and Maggie Hager, and his older brother John, aka Jack.

John Hager, former lieutenant governor of Virginia and assistant secretary of education for the Bush administration, now is chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.

"John is one of my heroes," said Roy Atwell of Richmond. "His motto is to turn challenges into opportunities."

Atwell, a retired nuclear engineer, lives a couple of blocks over from the Hagers' home in posh Windsor Farms.

Henry Hager's mother, Maggie, is often described as the consummate Southern gentlewoman. Because her husband contracted poliomyelitis from the oral Sabin polio vaccine in 1973, she became interested in promoting residential accessibility and disability awareness.

She has held positions with a number of organizations such as the National Council on Disability, Mayor's Commission for the Disabled and Very Special Arts, Virginia.

She's also an excellent cook, Atwell said.

"She's unbelievable. She will not buy a cake from a bakery. When they had those Christmas parties back when John was lieutenant governor, they'd serve wonderful coconut cakes.

"She'd grate the coconut herself."

In Atwell's experience, the Hagers are nice, down-to-earth folks who happen to be among Richmond's movers and shakers. Plus, he said, they throw the best Christmas parties on the East Coast.

"Their idea of hors d'oeuvres is venison and caviar."

The parties, he said, used to last three full days. "It's good they're within walking distance, let's just say that."

The parties are shorter now, Atwell sighs. But he still receives the annual Hager family Christmas card.

"It's a beautiful tradition. No matter where anyone is, they all come together."

. . .

The 2008 Christmas card, of course, is sure to feature Jenna along with Henry, his parents and brother Jack and his wife, Katharine.

Marrying a president's daughter, especially one who has matured from mischief-maker to educator, is making Henry Hager a household name.

"He never sought the spotlight," Atwell said. But, he added, "Henry's a good boy. I watched him grow up."

The Rev. Melissa K. Hollerith, upper school chaplain for St. Christopher's School, heartily concurs.

"As one of Henry Hager's former teachers, I can honestly say that Jenna is marrying a wonderful young man.

"Henry is bright, articulate, polite and kind. . . . She chose a keeper!"

It was in early 2005 that relationship rumors began to take form. Questioned about Hager on ABC's "Good Morning America," Laura Bush replied, "This is not a serious boyfriend. . . . But he's a very nice young man."

Several months later, the couple appeared together at a White House dinner for Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

When Jenna Bush started visiting Richmond, Atwell said, she didn't bring an entourage. But the Secret Service detail was always in evidence.

Atwell suspected the romance was in full bloom last summer when Hager -- by then working on his master's degree at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business -- got an internship at ConocoPhillips.

"Henry and [George] Bush would ride bikes together at Camp David," Atwell said. "He had a lot of time to get to know them [the Bush family] personally."

Hager family friend Fontaine Minor of Richmond said Henry Hager actually reminds her of his future father-in-law (whom she has met but doesn't know).

"He has that easy smile. I wasn't surprised Jenna Bush would fall for him. He's a real Virginia gentleman."

. . .

Once Jenna fell, the rest was easy.

"She acts like Henry is so much fun to be with," said Minor. "It's so romantic."

Any and all "Jennry" sightings were regularly reported by The Washington Post. And though the couple tended to lay low when visiting Richmond, they were spotted running the 2006 Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K (along with Jenna's twin) and dining, later, at Joe's Inn in the Fan.

In February 2007, Hager's brother Jack married Katharine Thayer Bigelow, whose father is a former president of HBO. Jenna Bush accompanied Hager to the Manhattan wedding.

When he decided to propose, Hager consulted Jenna's sister, even discussing the engagement ring -- which belonged to his great-grandmother -- with her as well as with his mother and the first lady. He also asked the president and first lady for Jenna's hand in marriage.

Speaking of the twins' close bond, Jenna Bush joked on "Today" last week that she and her sister had already told Hager they still plan to sleep together every Christmas Eve.

Hager popped the question Aug. 15 during a hike in Maine's Acadia National Park.

"Everyone is very happy," Maggie Hager told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "The Bushes are very happy, and we're very happy."

That was one of the last times his mother spoke to the press before family and friends, according to the couple's wishes, stopped talking about the Hager-Bush union.

In September, however, Laura Bush couldn't resist bragging a bit about her future son-in-law. "He's very smart," she told Diane Sawyer on ABC's "20/20."

"He's a hard worker. He's open-minded. He's extremely outdoorsy. . . . He's a lot of fun. He's very supportive."

In an interview published in November, Texas Monthly writer Skip Hollandsworth asked Jenna Bush a rather private question: "I assume that if Henry comes to visit you at the White House, he stays in his own room."

"Oh, yeah," she shot back. "Dad's still the traditionalist, you know."

In early February, John and Maggie Hager hosted an engagement party at their Richmond home. In late February, Hager reportedly went to South Beach, Fla., for an early bachelor party.

And last month, when President Bush spoke to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he joked, "I had to face some very difficult spending decisions and I've had to conduct sensitive diplomacy. That's called planning for a wedding."

On "Today" last week, Laura Bush said, "I think [George] is practicing to dance at his daughter's wedding.

"He can actually dance."

. . .

And so the wedding is right around the corner. The Western White House will play host to about 200 guests, beginning at 7:30 p.m. two weeks from yesterday.

Jenna Bush thinks of Texas as home. She lived in Washington but not at the White House.

In the May issue of Vogue, Bush said she and Hager wanted an informal, organic and low-key wedding.

She described her embroidered-organza Oscar de la Renta wedding gown as simple. No photos or sketches of her dress will be released because Hager, "a major traditionalist," feels the groom shouldn't see it before the wedding.

Her sister Barbara will be maid of honor; 14 attendants will wear short chiffon dresses by designer Lela Rose in blue, green, lavender and yellow.

And after the nuptials?

A lengthy honeymoon to Europe is rumored -- presumably after Hager picks up his MBA May 18 and the couple move into the 128-year-old, two-bedroom townhouse they've reportedly purchased in South Baltimore ($440,000 with a 5.5 percent adjustable-rate mortgage, if you must know).

Who knows, it might just be happily-ever-after.

"He's a good guy," Laura Bush said of Hager on CBS' "Early Show" in February.

"He's finally going to be the son that George never had."
Contact Cynthia McMullen at (804) 6496361 or cmcmullen@timesdispatch.com.