The Greek Royal Family news, current events and general discussion

Started by Jennifer, August 30, 2015, 11:25:35 AM

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Jennifer

A thread  for the non-reigning Greek Royal Family's news, current events and general discussion.



QuoteToday's birthday girl is the former Queen of Greece, Anne-Marie, as she celebrates her 69th birthday. And her story is quite incredible too.

She grew up in Denmark as the youngest child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid. When she was only 13, she met her third cousin, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece, for the first time, as he accompanied his parents on an official visit to the Scandinavian country.

Read more:
The incredible story of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece | Royalista
"You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination". ~ Ralph Marston

LouisFerdinand

Anne-Marie's bridal attendants were Princess Anne of Great Britain, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Princess Margareta of Romania, Princess Christina of Sweden, Princess Clarissa of Hesse, and Princess Tatiana Radziwill.  :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower:


Curryong

As a gathering of European royalty the wedding of King Constantine and Anne-Marie was one of the last of the great spectaculars, and that's reflected in the guest list and the bride's attendants. Of course, Constantine's mother Frederika was related to many of the guests and his sister Sophia became doubly so when she married Juan Carlos, the King of Spain. There's some video about on YouTube that shows them all going to a ball the day before.

TLLK

Quote from: LouisFerdinand on September 24, 2015, 12:40:42 AM
Anne-Marie's bridal attendants were Princess Anne of Great Britain, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Princess Margareta of Romania, Princess Christina of Sweden, Princess Clarissa of Hesse, and Princess Tatiana Radziwill.  :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower:
I think that the only wedding that has recently has featured with royal attendants from outside the bride's home was when CP Victoria had her Godchildren:Amalia, Ingrid Alexandra, and Christian in her wedding.

Curryong

Yes, TLLK, and Vic's bridesmaids were all children and very sweet. Constantine's mother was a formidable woman and went all out with this wedding. I'm sure none of the Scandi monarchies would have wanted such a show. Anne-Marie's attendants were all around her age or a few years younger, I believe. She was only just eighteen. Princess Anne, for instance, was fourteen, Margarita of Romania fifteen.

The bride's age and everything about this wedding really, reminded me of those old gatherings of royalty for a wedding of one of their own before the First World War. Everyone related to everyone else etc! For instance the BRF turned up! Constantine's supporters included three future Kings, the Prince of Wales, Carl Gustav of Sweden and Harald of Norway, as well as Michael of Kent and Michael of Greece.

About Royalty: Golden Wedding Anniversary of King Constantine & Queen Anne-Marie

There are photos here of the wedding party and the bridesmaids in white and tiaras. Spectacular! You can tell I enjoy all this, can't you?

TLLK

AAAHHHH it was truly one of the glittering royal events of the past century wasn't it @Curryong.

cate1949

the Greek RF sure have had difficulties -

But this is a lovely story - considering how young she was and all the pressure on their marriage from their political problems - they stayed together and seem genuinely happy

TLLK




Prince Achilles' aunt Princess Theodora is also a cast member on this long running soap opera.

King and Queen of Greece?s grandson has debut on American soap opera ? Royal Central

QuotePrince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark, the grandson of Their Majesties King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, had his debut on the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

PrincessOfPeace

Their Majesties King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie are delighted to announce the engagement of their youngest son HRH Prince Philippos to Nina Nastassja Flohr, daughter of Thomas Flohr and Katharina Flohr.

Another royal wedding! King and Queen announce couple's engagement with sweet photos | HELLO!

TLLK


Curryong

Yes, congratulations to the couple. That's wonderful news. I wondered when Philippos was going to marry.

LouisFerdinand



Curryong

Quote from: LouisFerdinand on September 02, 2020, 11:31:58 PM
Will Nina have the title of Princess Nina?

Yes, she will. Even though the GRF have even less chance of being restored to their Throne than the Romanians.

TLLK

Twitter

QuoteThe graves of Greece?s King Paul and Queen Frederika have been vandalized.

The couple are the parents of King Constantine II of Greece, Queen Sofia of Spain & Princess Irene.

Curryong

That's awful. However the Royal properties in Greece have not been well cared for anyway, and the security surrounding Tatoi s rotten. I remember seeing fountains choked with weeds in the gardens and plaster dropping off buildings years ago. Tatoi is a very melancholy place, if the photos of it are anything to go by.

Amabel2

Quote from: Curryong on September 03, 2020, 12:36:33 AM
That's awful. However the Royal properties in Greece have not been well cared for anyway, and the security surrounding Tatoi s rotten. I remember seeing fountains choked with weeds in the gardens and plaster dropping off buildings years ago. Tatoi is a very melancholy place, if the photos of it are anything to go by.
Is there much ointerest in the RF, in Greece?  I get the impression that they were not all that well liked and are unlikey to get back

Curryong

Historically George I (Prince Willem of Denmark) was well liked, though he was assassinated abroad as an old man. He was placed as King of Greece by the Great Powers in the 1860s when he was only 17. Since then the GRF have had troubles and been exiled several times. King Constantine, the present ex King, was believed to be under his mother Queen Frederika's thumb and was tossed out. I don't think he or his children are well-liked. IMO the Greeks are naturally a republican-minded people. There's no appetite for a monarchy there. 

Amabel2

That was my feeling, that the RF might have been accepted years ago because new monarchies with royals from other countries were often accepted and provided a focus for loyalty.. but quite a few of the more recent kings were sent into exile. I gtather that Constatine and his wife do visit Greec but the Crown Prince is seen as leading a very lavish lifestyle and might not be tolerated.  I fel that royal families that have had a fairly short stay in their new countries, should give up expecting a restoration, pay the odd visit, keep ion touch but basically retire inot private life.

Curryong

Constantine and his wife Queen Anne-Marie (a Princess of Denmark, sister of Queen Daisy) were permitted to return home to live in Greece in 2013. Constantine published his memoirs in a Greek newspaper two years later. I believe they spend the majority of their time in their villa in Greece now, as Constantine is in bad health. He can't walk properly any more.

Anne Marie has been a good wife to him. He and Juan Carlos of Spain, his brother in law, were reputedly very good mates and fond of European fun times with various ladies if you know what I mean, in their younger days, though Constantine was never so blatant as JC has been.

Constantine and Anne Marie have five children. The majority live and work in the US and Britain. The eldest son Crown Prince Pavlos married heiress Marie-Chantal Miller, from an enormously wealthy family (British-born.) She's something of a socialite, but is also a very smart business woman on her own account.

Her money has proved very useful and handy to the Greek Royals, as Constantine practically lived on donations from wealthy supporters for many years. Pr Charles is close to him and reputedly was generous.

TLLK

Quote from: Curryong on September 03, 2020, 12:36:33 AM
That's awful. However the Royal properties in Greece have not been well cared for anyway, and the security surrounding Tatoi s rotten. I remember seeing fountains choked with weeds in the gardens and plaster dropping off buildings years ago. Tatoi is a very melancholy place, if the photos of it are anything to go by.

And as I recall there was a lengthy court battle over who actually owned Tatoi (government or the GRF). For decades the GRF could only visit the cemetery for a few  hours at  a time for memorial services until they were allowed to settle in Greece. It's a shame that this type of vandalism did occur though.

Curryong

Yes, I believe Constantine 'won' the court battle but received much less compensation for it than he had asked for. His younger sister Irene got an even smaller sum, can't remember whether Sophia was given anything, perhaps not as she was in much better financial circumstances.

Double post auto-merged: September 04, 2020, 12:37:17 AM


With regard to the smashing of the stone over King Paul and Queen Frederika's grave, it is said that there is a saying in Greece 'If you want to start a fight in any taverna just propose a toast to the memory of Queen Frederika!'

There's a large Greek population in Melbourne and I can honestly say that of the Greeks that I've talked with about the GRF over the years I've met only one, a woman who thought she was alright. The rest made jokey 'Devils' horns', spat, told me the various uncomplimentary names she had among the population, etc. None wanted any royals back at all.

TLLK

The Greek government announces plans for the former summer palace. It would like to have the estate converted to a five star hotel and spa. Former King Constantine does not wish to have the palace back but would like to see the royal tombs preserved.

Greek government plans to turn former Royal Palace into five-star spa-hotel ? Royal Central

QuoteThe former Greek Royal Palace of Tatoi is to re-open, but not as a royal palace. The Greek government, who seized the property when the Greek monarchy collapsed, plans to reopen the palace as a hotel. Tatoi Palace is the former summer palace of the Greek royal family and is located at a 10,000 acres estate, 27 kilometres from the city centre of Athens. For the last 50 years the Palace has been abandoned. Now the Greek government wants to redecorate the estate and open caf?s, restaurants and a five-star hotel with a spa on the property.

The government also wants to renovate the gardens, which house several royal tombs. The farm that is connected to the palace will also be given new life and be able to deliver exclusive agricultural products. The government believes the farm can offer products on a par with the some of the most exclusive products currently on the market.

The Greek Republic?s Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, is heading the project. She told the Greek press: ?The government want Tatoi to be a year-round attraction with environmentally friendly infrastructure. It is a hugely ambitious project. The biggest challenge will not be completing the project, rather it will be sustaining the massive running costs that it will incur once operational.?

The old palace itself will have a role as a museum or centre of Royal Greek history. The building from 1872 is now heavily dilapidated and has not been used for more than 50 years. The cost of the project, both renovating the old palace and building a hotel, restaurant and farm will be great. The Greek government now hopes that private investors will come forward and contact the government. The Greek government believes the project will have a budget of 130 million euros and hopes this can help strengthen the Greek economy and attract more tourists to Greece. They make no secret of the fact that it is the royal history of the property that will be able to attract more tourists to this part of the country.

Curryong

The younger Greek royals obviously can't remember Tatoi when it was a (rather inconvenient) family home. King Constantine and Anne Marie do though, and the announcement that the palace is going to be a hotel (even a five star one) must evoke mixed feelings at least. However Constantine just wouldn't be able to keep up the maintenance of Tatoi as a private home and better that it become a hotel than in the unkempt and tumbledown condition it has been in for many years, masonry dropping off, ponds overgrown with algae etc.

Of course the ex King is naturally worried about the family graves of his ancestors and other relatives and they must be preserved. For better or for worse, the Greek Royal family was part of the nation's history on and off for nearly a hundred years, at least the Sonderberg-Glucksberg lot were, King Otto was from a different family!

Amabel2

Might it not be better to have the RF reburied somehwere else?  however unpopular they have become, vandalising graves is horrible behaviour...

Curryong

I think it would be much nicer if the Greek royals were all removed to a nice secure mausoleum in a cemetery in Athens. The graves are all in a rather remote wooded spot on the Tatoi estate and probably vandals would find it quite easy to damage the graves again.

However Comstantine doesn't seem to want them moved, maybe he regards the graveyard as sacred ground for his family, and then the Eastern Orthodox Church would have to get involved, I suppose, and maybe it's all too complicated. Personally, if I were Constantine and Anne Marie, the last place I'd want to be buried is in this abandoned and melancholy spot, but they obviously feel differently.