Earlier today, royals from across Europe gathered in Windsor for a service celebrating the life of the last King of Greece, and there were some special pieces of jewelry on display for the occasion.
King Constantine II, the last King of the Hellenes, ascended to the Greek throne on the death of his father in 1964. His brief reign was upended by a coup in 1967, followed by a referendum that ended the monarchy for good in 1974. Constantine, who married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark in 1964, went into exile with his family, first in Italy and then in the United Kingdom. A cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, King Constantine had strong family ties to the British royals, and he continued to have close friendships and connections with numerous royal relatives and friends in Europe and the Middle East.
King Constantine served as a godfather to numerous royals, including the current Prince of Wales, who was due to attend the service but prevented from doing so by a personal conflict. (Kensington Palace assures us that Kate, still recovering after her recent hospital stay, is doing fine.) After his death in January 2023, funeral services were held in his native Athens. On Tuesday, many royals who were unable to travel to Greece for the funeral were able to remember their late family member and friend at the memorial service at St. George’s Chapel.
The attendance list was impressive. I’ll just go through the first few rows of seating on each side of the main aisle, though there were additional extended family members present as well. From left to right in the first row are Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece; Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece; Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark; Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark; Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark; Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark; Queen Sofia of Spain; and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. In the second row, you’ll see Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark; Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark; Carlos Morales Quintana; Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark; Matthew Kumar; Princess Nina of Greece and Denmark; Prince Odysseas-Kimon of Greece and Denmark; and Prince Aristides-Stavros of Greece and Denmark. (I’m not able to identify the woman sitting on the end of the second row–at first I thought it was Marina Karella, wife of Prince Michael of Greece, but I don’t think that’s right.)
From left to right in the third row are King Felipe VI of Spain; Queen Letizia of Spain; King Juan Carlos of Spain; Princess Benedikte of Denmark; Princess Alexandra of Greece; Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia; Crown Princess Katharine of Serbia; Infanta Cristina of Spain; and Infanta Elena of Spain. In the fourth row are Queen Noor of Jordan; Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleberg; Princess Carina of of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleberg; Princess Alexandra, Countess Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille; Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille; Prince Kyril of Bulgaria; Prince Hassan of Jordan; and Princess Sarvath of Jordan. And in the fifth row, you’ll see Darius Mirzayantz; Juan Urdangarin y Borbón; Prince Bernhard, Margrave of Baden; Princess Stephanie, Margravine of Baden; Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse; Prince Ernst August, Hereditary Prince of Hanover; Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Jean Henri Fruchaud; and Princess Tatiana Radziwill.
Members of the extended British royal family were seated across the aisle. From left to right in the first row are Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy; Marina Ogilvy; the Duke of York; the Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Gloucester; Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence; the Princess Royal; and Queen Camilla. In the second row you’ll see Princess Michael of Kent; Prince Michael of Kent; Princess Beatrice of York; Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi; Sarah, Duchess of York; Lady Helen Taylor; and the Duke of Kent. Seated in the third row are Julia Ogilvy; James Ogilvy; the Countess of St. Andrews; the Earl of St. Andrews; Daniel Chatto; Lady Sarah Chatto; Mike Tindall; and Zara Tindall. And behind the Tindalls are Countess Mountbatten and her daughter, Lady Alexandra Hooper, with Alexandra’s husband, Thomas.
Most of the Windsors in attendance are descendants of Greek royals. The Princess Royal, Zara Tindall, the Duke of York, and Princess Beatrice of York are all grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. The Duke of Kent, the Earl of St. Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, Princess Alexandra, Marina Ogilvy, James Ogilvy, and Prince Michael of Kent are all children and grandchildren of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. The empty chair beside Princess Michael was likely for their daughter, Lady Gabriella, who was also one of the late King’s godchildren. She was unable to attend the service under tragic circumstances. Her husband, Thomas Kingston, passed away this weekend.
With such a huge royal guest list, there was a whole lot of royal jewelry on display, most of it simple and subdued. But there were some special pieces worth spotlighting as well. I’ll go over a few of them for you here. Queen Anne-Marie wore a special ruby and diamond brooch for the occasion. The jewel belonged to her mother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark. The brooch features gemstones in the red and white colors of the Danish flag, so it’s appropriate that Ingrid wore it for several early pictures taken around the time of her marriage in 1935.
Crown Princess Marie-Chantal wore several diamond earrings in each ear, plus a lovely diamond ring on her left hand.
Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark wore a pair of pearl drop earrings with long diamond strings. The earrings feature round diamonds, plus an arrow-shaped element, dotting the string section. She’s worn the earrings on previous occasions, including a notable appearance during the 70th birthday celebrations for her aunt, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, in 2010.
For Tuesday’s memorial service, Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom once more dipped into the royal vaults for a jewel from the collection of her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. With her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings, Camilla wore the Greville Ivy Leaf Clips. Cartier finished the set of clips for Dame Margaret Greville in the 1930s, and she subsequently left them to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as part of her famed jewelry bequest. The late Queen received the clips from her parents as a 21st birthday present in 1947, and she was still wearing them in the last year of her life. This is the first time the clips have been pictured on a member of the royal family since her death in 2022.
An increasingly-frail Princess Alexandra made a rare public appearance at the memorial service for her Greek royal cousin, wearing a favorite pearl choker necklace with a geometric diamond clasp. She also added pearl cluster earrings and her lovely diamond brooch, worn vertically.
The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant in vintage jewels as usual. With a single strand of black pearls, she wore ruby and diamond earrings, plus a single diamond and ruby clip brooch pinned to her collar.
The family of King Constantine’s elder sister, Queen Sofia of Spain, was well-represented at the service. Queen Letizia wore modern diamond and pearl drop earrings for the memorial.
The King’s sister, Infanta Cristina, wore a special brooch for the occasion. The diamond and emerald jewel was left to her by her grandmother, the Countess of Barcelona.
King Constantine’s sister-in-law, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, was on hand for the memorial as well. She wore pearls with a special heart-shaped diamond and pearl scroll brooch. The brooch was a gift from her mother, Queen Ingrid. Depending on your source, it may have belonged to one of Benedikte’s grandmothers, either Queen Alexandrine of Denmark or Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden.
Princess Benedikte’s daughter, Princess Alexandra, also wore pearls with an interesting brooch. The modern cross brooch is set with a bright blue central gemstone.
And finally, our jewelry roundup wraps up today with a lovely floral brooch worn by the elegant Countess Mountbatten for the memorial service.
I’m publishing this post on Tuesday instead of holding it back for Wednesday morning, so you can enjoy the sparkle early! I’ll be back here on Thursday morning with more.
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