Mrs. Leeds marries Prince Christopher

January 31, 1920


Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and Mrs. William B. Leeds were married today in a civil ceremony at 11:00 am in the Geneva Town Hall, reports the New York Times.

The Greek Orthodox service will take place tomorrow at Vevey, near Montreux.

The bride's witness was A.W.S. Piccard, a New Orleans lawyer and Captain Stocker, Prince Christopher's aide-de-camp, "acted in the same capacity" for the prince. 

The only two "onlookers" were the American Consul and an Associated Press reporter.

Mrs. Leeds was dressed in a "dark, tailor-made suit, black furs, and a toque."

After the brief ceremony, the newlyweds had lunch in Geneva, and then left for Montreux.  The religious wedding will take place in the Russian Church.

The wedding service took less than 15 minutes.  Prince Christopher and Mrs. Leeds arrived at the Town Hall by motor car at exactly 11:00 a.m., and left the building at 11:15.

Mrs. Leeds is the widow of William Bateman Leeds, the "Tinplate king" of America.  She brings into the royal family an "amassed fortune estimate at $14,000,000, a wonderful collection of jewels, one string of pearls alone being valued at $340,000 when it was bought in Paris by Mr. Leeds."  She owns considerable property in London, Paris and in the United States.

Her son, William Bateman Leeds, Jr., is a student at Eton,

The new Princess Christopher has had a "remarkable and successful social career.  This is her third marriage.  Her first marriage to George H. Worthington ended in divorce in 1898.  She married William Leeds in August 1900 home at the Cleveland, Ohio, home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Stewart.

Since the death of her husband in 1908,  the princess has spent most of her time in London and in Paris, which increased her "connections in English and Continental society."