Irene and Katherine plan to visit the USA

February 6, 1932

Princess Irene and Princess Katherine of Greece are making plans to visit the United States, reports the Associated Press.  They are the two younger daughters of the late King Constantine and the late Queen Sophie of the Hellenes.

The two princess had been living with their mother in Florence for nine years, "but her recent death left them without a home."   Irene, 28, and Katherine, 18, will travel first to England. Their maternal grandmother was Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria, the Princess Royal, who married Friedrich III of Germany. 

They may settle in England, but the two princesses "expect to visit America," and perhaps "take up residence" in the USA.

The two princesses' lives have been "adventurous and tragic."  Irene was fifteen, and Katherine, 3, when their father, King Constantine, was forced to leave Greece.  Their brother, Alexander, succeeded to the throne, but he died in 1920 after being bit by a pet monkey.

King Constantine was restored to the throne after Alexander's death.  He reigned for only two years before he was forced once again to leave the country.  He abdicated in favor of his eldest son, George, and he died a year later in Palermo.  

George remained on the throne for two years, before, he too, was forced to leave, and Greece became a republic.

Irene and Katherine's elder sister, Princess Helen, was married to King Carol II of Romania.  This marriage was dissolved by divorce, and Helen now lives outside Romania.

The two princesses are "well liked by the large American colony" in Florence.  Princess Irene often represented her mother "at all except the most important social events."  Both young women are "earnest social workers," and assisted their mother, after Queen Sophie established a bread line for Florence's unemployed.

Princess Irene is a trained nurse.   Both princesses speak perfect English, as English was the primary language in their home.