December 15, 1930
Princess Sophie of Greece and Prince Christoph of Hesse were married today in Greek Orthodox and Lutheran services at Schloss Kronberg near Frankfurt.
Prince Christoph Ernst August of Hesse was born on May 14, 1901, the 6th son of Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse and Princess Margarete of Prussia, the youngest daughter of Emperor Friedrich III and his wife, Princess Victoria, eldest child of the late Queen Victoria. Christoph has a twin brother, Prince Richard.
Margarete's eldest brother is the former Kaiser Wilhelm II, who has lived in exile in the Netherlands since November 1918.
The new Princess Christoph is only 16 years old. She is the fourth daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. She is a granddaughter of King George of the Hellenes and Grand Duchess Olga of Russia.
Sophie was born in Corfu, Greece on June 26, 1914. She has three older sisters, Princess Margarita, Princess Theodora, and Princess Cecile, and a younger brother, Prince Philip.
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| Both photos: Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection. |
The bride and groom are both descendants of Queen Victoria. Christoph is a great-grandson of Victoria and Sophie is a great-great-granddaughter. Sophie's grandmother, Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven, was the eldest daughter of Princess Alice, Queen Victoria's second daughter and third child, and Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine.
Sophie was named for her paternal aunt, Queen Sophie of Greece, the consort of King Constantine of the Hellenes, who abdicated twice, first in 1917, and again in 1922, nearly two years after he was restored to the throne. He died in 1922.
Neither Queen Sophie, who was Margarete's sister, nor Sophie's mother, Princess Alice, were able to attend the wedding.
Prince Christoph and Princess Sophie became engaged in June. A joint celebration with Sophie's sister, Cecile, and her fiancé, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse and By Rhine, took place at Wolfsgarten.
Sophie's trousseau was made in France. Her sister Cecile, described Sophie's wedding dress as "too beautiful for words." The satin gown was "quite simple," according to Cecile.
Sophie's siblings, Theodora, Cecile, and Philip, helped her get dressed for the wedding. Prince Friedrich Karl loaned his future daughter-in-law Empress Friedrich's diamond tiara.
The couple was married in two religious services. A Greek Orthodox service took place in the drawing room at Kronberg. Prince Philip carried his sister's train. This was followed by the Lutheran service at the Schloss' chapel. Sophie was accompanied to the church by her father, her brother, and her grandmother, Victoria.
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she looks like a lamb on the bench
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