 The couple's dual cypher | |
| Date | 18 September 1964; 61 years ago (1964-09-18) |
|---|---|
| Venue | Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens |
| Location | Athens,Kingdom of Greece |
| Participants | Constantine II of Greece Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark |
The wedding ofConstantine II, King of the Hellenes, andPrincess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place on Friday, 18 September 1964, at theMetropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
Constantine II was the reigning Greek monarch, while Princess Anne-Marie was the youngest daughter ofKing Frederik IX andQueen Ingrid of Denmark. It was the second, and to date, the last wedding of a reigning Greek monarch, and the first to be held in Greece.[1]
Chrysostomos II,Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, presided over theChurch of Greece ceremony. The ceremony was attended by the bride's and groom's families, as well as members of foreign royal families, diplomats, and various Greek and Danish officials.
The couple, third cousins through bothQueen Victoria of the United Kingdom andKing Christian IX of Denmark, first met in 1959 at a performance of the Circus Benneweis atGråsten Palace. Then Crown Prince was 18 and Princess Anne-Marie was just 12 at the time. They met again in 1961, and in 1962, Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid atthe wedding of Constantine's older sister,Princess Sophia, toInfante Juan Carlos of Spain. In 1962, Princess Anne-Marie was on holiday with her governess in Norway, where Crown Prince Constantine was attending a yacht racing event. He proposed and she accepted. King Frederik IX initially withheld his consent, as Anne-Marie was only 15 at the time, but eventually relented on the conditions that she finish her education and the wedding not be held before her 18th birthday.[1]
On 23 January 1963, the Danish royal court announced the engagement. The wedding was initially set for January 1965. Following the death of Constantine's father,King Paul, on 6 March 1964, the date was moved forward to 18 September 1964.[2]
The celebrations began in early September 1964. On 7 September, Constantine arrived in Denmark where a private dinner was held atFredensborg Palace. The next day, there was a gala performance at theRoyal Danish Theatre followed by a banquet atChristiansborg Palace. The next morning, a reception was held atCopenhagen City Hall.[2]
King Constantine II, Princess Anne-Marie, together with her parents King Frederik IX, Queen Ingrid, and her elder sistersPrincess Margrethe andPrincess Benedikte sailed to Greece on board the Danish royal yachtDannebrog. A reception was held in honour of the Danish royal family at theHotel Grande Bretagne.
On 16 September, most of the royal guests arrived in Greece by plane. That evening, a gala was held at theRoyal Palace for 1,600 invited guests.[3]
Constantine and Anne-Marie were married on 18 September 1964, two weeks after Anne-Marie's 18th birthday.[4]
TheGreek Orthodox marriage ceremony took place in theMetropolitan Cathedral of Athens, and was conducted byChrysostomos II,Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.[3]
Princess Anne-Marie wore a relatively unadorned gown by Danish designerHolger Blom, assisted byJørgen Bender.[5] Her Irish lace veil, worn by her maternal grandmother,Princess Margaret of Connaught at her wedding in 1905, was anchored by aCartier diamond tiara given to Princess Margaret by theAbbas II, Khedive of Egypt. The veil had also been worn by her mother,Queen Ingrid, in 1935. The veil and tiara together have been worn by all of Ingrid's female descendants.[6][3]
King Constantine II wore the ceremonial uniform ofstratarches (field marshal) of theHellenic Army. He wore the insignia of the GreekOrder of the Redeemer,Order of Saints George and Constantine,Order of George I and the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece, as well as with the insignia of the DanishOrder of the Elephant andOrder of the Dannebrog.[6]
The wedding was attended by 1200 guests from around the world.[8] As both the bride and groom were descendants ofVictoria of the United Kingdom andChristian IX of Denmark, they were closely related to almost all of the royal houses in Europe, many of whom were in attendance.[2][a]
TheKing andQueen of Denmark,the bride's parentsPrincess Margrethe of Denmark,the bride's sisterPrincess Benedikte of Denmark,the bride's sisterTheHereditary Princess of Denmark,the bride's paternal aunt by marriage and first cousin once removedPrincess Elisabeth of Denmark,the bride's first cousinPrince Ingolf of Denmark,the bride's first cousinPrince Christian of Denmark,the bride’s first cousinPrince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg, andPrincess Viggo, Countess of Rosenborg,the bride's first cousin twice removed and his wife[9]Princess Axel of Denmark,the bride's first cousin once removed (also widow of the bride'sfirst cousin twice removed)Prince andPrincess Georg of Denmark,the bride's second cousin and his wife
TheKing of Sweden,the bride's maternal grandfatherPrincess Birgitta andPrince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, the bride's first cousin and her husbandPrincess Christina of Sweden,the bride's first cousinTheCrown Prince of Sweden,the bride's first cousin
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent,the groom's paternal first cousin once removed, and the bride's paternal second cousin once removedPrincess Alexandra, The Hon. Mrs Angus Ogilvy, andThe Hon. Angus Ogilvy,the groom's paternal second cousin (also the bride and groom's mutual third cousin) and her husbandPrince Michael of Kent,the groom's paternal second cousin (also the bride and groom's mutual third cousin)TheDuke of Edinburgh,the groom's paternal first cousin once removed (representing theQueen of the United Kingdom)ThePrince of Wales,the groom's paternal second cousinPrincess Anne of the United Kingdom,the groom's paternal second cousin
TheKing andQueen of the Belgians,[3]the bride's second cousin and his wife
TheKing andPrincess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan
ThePrince andPrincess of Liechtenstein
TheHereditary Grand Duke andHereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg,[3]the bride's second cousin and her husband (representingThe Grand Duchess of Luxembourg)
ThePrince andPrincess of Monaco
Prince Moulay Ali of Morocco (representing theKing of Morocco)
TheQueen andPrince Consort of the Netherlands,the bride's first cousin twice removed, and her husbandPrincess Beatrix of the Netherlands,the bride's second cousin once removed
TheKing of Norway,[3]the bride's paternal first cousin once removed TheCrown Prince of Norway,the bride's paternal second cousin
TheKing andQueen of Thailand[3]Prince Richard of Gloucester,the bride and groom's mutual third cousin TheEarl Mountbatten of Burma,the bride and groom's mutual second cousin once removed
