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. 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.
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. Two of Theodora’s nieces, Princess Maria-Olympia and Arrietta Morales y de Grecia, were bridesmaids.
Queen Anne-Marie was elegant in light blue for the ceremony. Her jewels included 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. (No major jewelry on display that I could see.)
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.
Princess Nina made a statement with a major necklace at the wedding. The modern fringe design features pearls at the tip of each fringed section.
There were many more royals at the wedding from the extended family, too. Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katharine of Serbia were there. His grandfather was King Alexander of the Hellenes. You’ll also spot members of the Spanish and Danish royal families here, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Aosta with Marina Karella.
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 pendant earrings. (Sofia’s sister, Princess Irene, was at last night’s pre-wedding dinner, but she does not appear to have attended today’s wedding, unless she arrived and departed privately.)
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, plus a brooch on her gown. I think it’s the central section of her mother’s Floral Birthday Tiara.
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 for now! I’m planning on updating the post with higher-resolution photographs when they become available via my photo agency (fingers crossed!). In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the jewels of this Greek royal wedding?
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