| Princess Marina | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Kent (more) | |
.jpg) Marina at thecoronation of George VI in 1937 | |
| Born | (1906-12-13)13 December 1906 Athens,Greece |
| Died | 27 August 1968(1968-08-27) (aged 61) Kensington Palace,London,United Kingdom |
| Burial | 30 August 1968 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Glücksburg |
| Father | Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark |
| Mother | Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia |
| Signature |  |
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (bornPrincess Marina of Greece and DenmarkGreek:Μαρίνα; 13 December [O.S. 30 November] 1906 – 27 August 1968), was aGreek andDanish princess by birth and aBritish princess by marriage. She was a daughter ofPrince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark andGrand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, and a granddaughter ofKing George I andQueen Olga of Greece. MarinamarriedPrince George, Duke of Kent, fourth son ofKing George V andQueen Mary, in 1934. They had three children:Prince Edward,Princess Alexandra, andPrince Michael.
Marina was widowed in 1942, when her husband waskilled in a plane crash on active service. In later life she carried out many royal engagements, including the independence celebrations forGhana andBotswana. She died on 27 August 1968 at Kensington Palace, aged 61.
Marina was born on 13 December 1906 inAthens, Greece, during the reign of her paternal grandfather,George I of Greece.[1] She was the third and youngest daughter ofPrince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, and his wifeGrand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia.[2] Her father was the third son of George I of Greece andQueen Olga,[3] while her mother was the only daughter ofGrand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich andGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia. Her father was a grandson ofChristian IX of Denmark, while her mother was a granddaughter ofEmperor Alexander II of Russia.[4]
Marina had two elder sisters,Princess Olga andPrincess Elizabeth. Olga marriedPrince Paul of Yugoslavia in 1923. After the assassination of his cousin,Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Paul served as Prince Regent of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1941. Elizabeth marriedCarl Theodor, Count of Toeering-Jettenbach in 1934.[5] One of their paternal uncles wasPrince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, the father ofPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (making Marina and her sisters Philip's first cousins).
Marina spent her early years in Greece, and lived with her parents and paternal grandparents atTatoi Palace. Along with her sisters, she was raised to be devout and religious, which was encouraged by her grandmother,Queen Olga of Greece.[6] Marina's family travelled outside of Greece often, especially during the summer months. Her first recorded visit to Britain was in 1910, when she was 3, after the death of her godfather, Edward VII. During that visit, she met her other godmother and future mother-in-law, Queen Mary, who treated Marina and her sisters like her own children.[7]
The Greek royal family was forced into exile when Marina was 11, following the overthrow of the Greek monarchy.[4] They later moved toParis, while the Princess stayed with her extended family throughout Europe.
In 1932, Marina andPrince George (later the Duke of Kent), a second cousin throughChristian IX of Denmark, met in London.[4] Their betrothal was announced in August 1934.[3] George was created Duke of Kent on 9 October 1934.[8] On 29 November 1934, they married atWestminster Abbey,London.[9] The wedding was a grand affair, as it had been more than eleven years since the last royal wedding withPrince Albert, Duke of York, andLady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother). The wedding of George and Marina was the first royal wedding ceremony to be broadcast by wireless, and with the use of other technology, such as microphones—the control room was located underneath the Unknown Warrior's tomb of Westminster Abbey. The service was broadcast locally and abroad to other nations, and loudspeakers allowed spectators from outside the Abbey to hear the proceedings.[10] The wedding was followed by a Greek ceremony in the private chapel atBuckingham Palace, which was converted into an Orthodox chapel for the ceremony.[9] The wedding was the most recent occasion on which a princess from another royal family married into the British royal family.
The Duke and Duchess set up their first home at 3 Belgrave Square, close to Buckingham Palace.[11] She became a patroness of several organizations and charities, including theElizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Women's Hospital Fund, and theCentral School of Speech and Drama. She would continue to support these charities and institutions for the rest of her life.[12] She became very close to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, with whom she would usually spend time while her husband was off performing his own royal duties.[13]
The couple had three children:
The Duke of Kent was killed on 25 August 1942, in anairplane crash at Eagle's Rock, near Dunbeath,Caithness, Scotland, while on active service with theRoyal Air Force. The Duchess, according to royal biographerHugo Vickers, was "the only war widow in Britain whose estate was forced to paydeath duties".[14]
During World War II, Marina was trained as a nurse for three months under thepseudonym "Sister Kay" and joined the civil nurse reserve.[2]
After her husband's death, the Duchess of Kent continued to be an active member of the British royal family, carrying out a wide range of royal and official engagements.[1] She was the president of the WimbledonAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club for 26 years.[2] She was also the president of theRoyal National Lifeboat Institution from 1943 until her death and was awarded the RNLI's gold medal in 1967 to mark this contribution.[15]
In 1947, Marina visited Greece and Italy.[16][17] In June 1952 the Duchess laid the foundation stone of the newSt Mark's Church inBromley, London, which had been damaged in the war.[18]
In 1952, the Duchess also visitedSarawak (then a BritishCrown Colony), where she laid the foundation stone of the Cathedral of St Thomas inKuching. She also visited theBatu Lintang camp, a Japanese internment camp duringWorld War II which had been converted to a teacher training college, and the city ofSibu, where she opened the outpatient department of the Lau Kheng Howe Hospital.[19]
In 1954 Marina was granted an Apartment atKensington Palace as a permanent grace-and-favour residence in London. During her early widowhood Marina had often stayed with her mother-in-lawQueen Mary at the latter's London Residence atMarlborough House; however the old Queen's death in 1953 had created a need for Marina to have a London base on her own. The Apartment had stood vacant for nearly fifteen years, having previously been the home ofPrincess Louise, Duchess of Argyll prior to her death in 1939. Louise's apartment was deemed too large for Marina's needs, its eastern half was divided to create Apartment1A. The budget for the conversion and renovation works was budgeted at £80,000 but ultimately cost £127,000. During the works, Marina was reportedly on the verge of removing an original Wren staircase inside Apartment 1, finding it "too much like a servant's staircase", and too narrow for descending in full evening dress; the staircase was preserved after palace officials intervened to prevent its destruction.[20] Marina and her three children took up residence in October 1955, and Apartment 1 continued to be her home until her death in 1968.[21]
In March 1957, when theGold Coast achieved independence from Britain asGhana, the Duchess of Kent was appointed to represent the Queen at the celebrations.[22] Fifty years later, at the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, her son, Edward, Duke of Kent, was appointed by the Queen to represent her.[23]
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Marina earned a place in theInternational Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960 together with thePrincess of Monaco, Patricia Lopez-Willshaw andMerle Oberon.[24] In 1964, she took an extensive tour of Australia and officially openedGladesville Bridge inSydney.[25]
In September and October 1966, when the British Protectorates of Bechuanaland and Basutoland became the new Republic ofBotswana and the Kingdom of Lesotho respectively, Marina was appointed again to represent the Queen at both celebrations.[26] The main public hospital inGaborone, the new Botswana's capital, is named "Princess Marina Hospital". She was the Chancellor of theUniversity of Kent at Canterbury from 1963 until her death.
Marina died of abrain tumour atKensington Palace at 11.40 am on 27 August 1968, aged 61.[27][1] Her funeral service was held atSt. George's Chapel on 30 August.[28] She was buried at theRoyal Burial Ground, Frogmore.[29] Her funeral was the last royal ceremony attended by her brother-in-law, the former kingEdward VIII.[30] Her will was sealed in London after her death in 1968. Her estate was valued at £76,166 (or £940,600 in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).[31]
Princess Marina gave her name to many facilities, including:
Marina was known as the Princess Marina of Greece.[36] Upon marriage she became known asHer Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent,[37][38] and was later titledHer Royal Highness The Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.[39]
Commonwealth
Foreign
Dynastic
House of Romanov:Dame Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine[46]
Kingdom of Greece:Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Family Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
Colonel-in-Chief,The Essex and Kent Scottish (1942 – 1968)[47]
Colonel-in-Chief, ofThe Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment[48][49] Colonel-in-Chief, of theRoyal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers[50][39] Honorary Colonel, of the Buckinghamshire Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry[51] Honorary Colonel, of the Buckinghamshire Regiment, RA (Territorials)[52]
Commandant,Women's Royal Naval Service (1940–1968) (Chief Commandant from 1951)[53] |  |
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| Coat of arms of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent | Royal monogram of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent |
Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Cadet branch of theHouse of Oldenburg Born: 13 December 1906 Died: 27 August 1968 | ||
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| Preceded by New university | Chancellor of the University of Kent 1963–1968 | Succeeded by |
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*also a princess of Denmark See alsoHouse of Glücksburg | ||
Generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
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1 Also princess of Norway 2 Also princess of Greece 3 Also princess of Iceland 4 Not Danish princess by birth, but created princess of Denmark Princesses that lost their title are shown in italics | ||
