Monday, December 13, 2010

Death of Princess Marie of Greece



December 13, 1940


Princess Marie of Greece, sister of the late King Constantine of Greece, died today in Athens.  She was 64 years old.  The cause of death was a heart attack, according to the Associated Press.

The princess was born in Athens on February 20, 1876.  She was the younger daughter of King Constantine and Queen Olga.  In 1900, in an Orthodox ceremony on Corfu, the Princess married her cousin, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia.  When the first world war broke out, then Grand Duchess Marie and the couple's two daughters, Princess Xenia and Princess Nina were in England and were unable to return to Russia.   Grand Duke George was shot by the Bolsheviks in January 1919.

Three years later,  she married a retired Greek admiral Pericles Joannides.
She was the aunt of King George II of the Hellenes and the Duchess of Kent.   Princess Marie is survived by her daughters, Princess Xenia, the former wife of William B. Leeds Jr., and Princess Nina, the wife of Prince Paul Chavchavadze, and two grandchildren, Nancy Leeds, and Prince David Chavchavadze.
William Leeds' mother was married to Princess Marie's brother, Prince Christopher, who died in Athens in January.

For more information on the life of Princess Marie of Greece:  


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