Princess Theodora Sparkles in the Khedive Tiara on Her Wedding Day in Athens

Earlier today in Athens, Princess Theodora, the daughter of the last King and Queen of the Hellenes, married her American fiancé in a glittering ceremony at the Metropolitan Cathedral. Let’s take a closer look at the bride’s fantastic heirloom jewels, as well as some of the interesting pieces worn by the royal guests at the ceremony.

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark arrived at the cathedral in Athens on the arm of her brother, Crown Prince Pavlos, for her wedding to Matthew Kumar on Saturday, September 28.

Theodora and Matthew announced their engagement in the autumn of 2018. Their wedding was postponed more than once, due to the global pandemic and the death of Theodora’s father, King Constantine II, in 2022.

The bride wore a wedding gown made by the designer Celia Kritharioti for the Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony, which was held almost exactly sixty years after her parents, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie, were married in the same church. In several photographs, large white rose petals can be seen peeking out from the dress’s neckline. These were showered on the bride and groom inside the cathedral during the ceremony.

As we expected, Theodora wore some very important accessories with her wedding gown. She became the seventh royal bride to wear the Khedive of Egypt Tiara, which dates to 1905, with her bridal ensemble.

She also wore the antique Irish lace veil that belonged to her great-grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught. Numerous family brides have worn the veil, including Queen Ingrid of Denmark (and all her daughters and granddaughters) and Queen Mary of Denmark.

The Khedive of Egypt Tiara, with its lovely scroll design, was a wedding gift from Abbas II of Egypt to Princess Margaret of Connaught when she married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden in June 1905. The tiara was bequeathed to Margaret’s only daughter, Ingrid, in 1920 and has been owned by Queen Anne-Marie of Denmark since Ingrid’s passing in 2000.

Princess Margaret didn’t wear the Khedive Tiara for her wedding ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, but she did wear the Irish lace veil.

Princess Theodora’s mother, Queen Anne-Marie, wore both the tiara and veil for her wedding at the cathedral in Athens in September 1964, and Theodora’s sister, Princess Alexia, also wore both the veil and the tiara on her wedding day in London in 1999.

Theodora also wore three more interesting pieces of jewelry with her bridal ensemble. Her earrings are the same diamond drop earrings worn by her sister, Princess Alexia, for her wedding in 1999. (I think these also belonged to Margaret of Connaught.) On her right wrist, Theodora wore part of the diamond sautoir that belonged to her Danish great-grandmother, Queen Alexandrine, and on her left wrist, she wore the gold bangle traditionally worn by all female descendants of Queen Ingrid.

The entire Greek royal family was on hand in Athens to attend Theodora’s wedding. Her mother, Queen Anne-Marie, arrived on the arm of Prince Nikolaos. Crown Prince Pavlos’s wife, Marie-Chantal, was there, as were all five of their children. Prince Philippos attended with Princess Nina, and Princess Alexia was there with her husband, Carlos, and their four children.

Queen Anne-Marie was elegant in light blue for the ceremony. Her jewels included a pearl necklace with the diamond cross pendant that she wore on her wedding day in September 1964.

She’s worn the same cross for several family weddings, including the nuptials of Crown Prince Pavlos in 1995, Prince Nikolaos in 2010, and Prince Philippos in 2021, and for the funeral of King Constantine in 2022.

Here’s Crown Princess Marie-Chantal arriving for the ceremony with her four sons.

She wore small gold hoop earrings and bracelets on both wrists with her peach-colored dress.

Marie-Chantal’s daughter, Princess Maria-Olympia, was a bridesmaid, as was Arrietta Morales y de Grecia, the eldest daughter of Princess Alexia. Both wore subtle jewelry with their dresses for the wedding.

Princess Alexia, who arrived with her husband and three of their children, wore red with diamonds, including a diamond necklace with a distinctive v-shape. One of her daughters, Ana Maria, wore the same sparkling gown that Alexia wore for her own pre-wedding dinner in July 1999.

Alexia’s necklace, shown in more detail here, does appear to be the same one worn by her mother at her christening in 1965, minus the pendant that Anne-Marie wore for that occasion.

Princess Nina, who arrived with her husband, Prince Philippos, and her father, Thomas Flohr, made a statement with a major necklace at the wedding. The fringe design features pearls at the tip of each section.

Here’s a closer look at Nina’s necklace. She also wore a sparkling diamond bracelet set with either emeralds or sapphires on her right wrist.

There were many more royals at the wedding from the extended family, too. Here’s a look at Crown Prince Alexander, whose grandfather was King Alexander of the Hellenes, and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia. She wore a shimmering dress and diamonds for the celebration.

The bride’s aunts, Queen Sofia and Princess Benedikte, each wore elegant earrings, necklaces, and brooches for the wedding. Sofia opted for diamonds, including a diamond bow brooch from her collection.

Benedikte wore pearl drop earrings, a double strand of pearls, and an elegant pearl and diamond pendant that belonged to her mother, Queen Ingrid.

Queen Sofia was joined by her daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, as well as three of Cristina’s children, Juan, Miguel, and Irene Urdangarin. Elena wore an interesting choker necklace, while Cristina opted for dramatic ruby and diamond earrings. (Sofia’s sister, Princess Irene, did not enter or exit the cathedral with the rest of the family, but she was included in the official group photograph taken after the ceremony.)

Benedikte was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Alexandra, who was joined by her husband, Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, and her son, Count Richard von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth. Alexandra wore sparkling earrings–which, interestingly, share major design similarities with a much-discussed pair worn by the Duchess of Sussex–plus the central section of her mother’s Floral Birthday Tiara as a brooch on her gown.

It’s tough to see accessories on most of the rest of these guests, but I thought I’d include them anyway. Here’s the Duke and Duchess of Aosta. The Duchess was born Prince Olga of Greece. Her father, Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, recently passed away, and it was lovely to see her mother, Marina, attending the wedding with the rest of the family.

Here’s another royal cousin: Princess Tatiana Radziwill, who arrived with her husband, Jean Henri Fruchaud. Tatiana’s mother was Princess Eugenie of Greece and Denmark.

And here are even more extended royal relatives: Princess Ekaterina, Prince Christian, and Princess Alessandra of Hanover, who were joined by Christian’s mother, Chantal Hochuli. The Hanoverians are connected to the Greek royals via Queen Friederike of the Hellenes, who was born a Princess of Hanover.

And that’s a wrap on our wedding coverage! What are your thoughts on the jewels of this Greek royal wedding?