HRH Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark died today in an Athens hospital. He was 85 years old. French royal journalist Stephane Bern said Michael died surrounded by his family.
The prince was the only child of Prince Christopher of Greece and his second wife Princess Francoise of Orleans. He was born in Rome, Italy, on January 7, 1939. He was baptized in the Orthodox church with two first cousins, King George II of the Hellenes and Queen Helen of Romania.as his godparents. Prince Christopher moved his family to Athens several months after Michael's birth.
Princess Francoise of Orleans and Prince Christopher of Greece at the time of their engagement
Prince Michael is the last surviving grandchild of King George I of the Hellenes. The late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was one of his first cousins. He is also the last surviving great-grandchild of King Christian IX of Denmark,
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| HRH Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark |
Michael lost both his parents when he was young. He was a year old when Prince Christopher died on January 21, 1940, at the age of 51, from a lung abscess.
Thirteen years later, Princess Francoise, 50, died on February 25, 1953. Michael, only 14 years old, lived with his mother's family in Morocco and then joined his maternal uncle, the Count of Paris, and his family, in France.
After studying political science at the Institute of Political Studies, Michael moved to Greece to do his military service. His first cousin, King Paul, took him under his wing when Michael moved into the palace. In 1964, Paul died and was succeeded by his only son, Constantine, who was a year younger than Michael. The two became friends and Michael often attended Constantine's parties.
It was in Athens where Michael was introduced to Marina Karella, a young artist. In a 1997 Hello magazine profile, Marina recounted the story of their meeting. "We were introduced at a Christmas party. We lost touch for a while and then, some time after we got to know each other again, he invited me to dinner and said 'I'm getting married.'"
Marina responded, "It's so sweet of you to tell me first." Marina then "asked to whom."
"I'm going to marry you," Michael said. Marina dropped her drink, as Michael said "Can you answer me right now? Just say yes or no."
Marina thought" "Why not? He's good-looking, charming. What's wrong with him? She said yes.
Prince Michael knew she was the one when they were walking with friends on the island of Hydra. "I'm going to marry this girl. And I did."
At the time, Michael, then 26 years old, was third in line to the Greek throne, Marina came from a wealthy family but was a commoner. The family discussions took two years. Michael renounced his rights to the throne before asking King Constantine's permission to marry. The king gave his consent on October 19, 1964.
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The wedding took place on February 6, 1965. The Orthodox ceremony took place in the palace's ballroom. A portable mahogany altar came from a decommissioned Greek navy cruiser.
Marina wore a "simple white gown topped with a diamond-studded tiara." The tiara held a 30-foot Brussels lace veil. Michael chose a Greek army lieutenant uniform for the ceremony. Queen Frederika escorted Michael to the altar.
Twenty-five guests, including Michael's uncle, the Count of Paris, Queen Anne Marie, Princess Katherine of Greece, and her husband, Richard Brandram, Princess Andrew of Greece, attended the ceremony and the wedding breakfast that followed. Michael's best man, King Constantine offered a toast to the newlyweds.
The couple eschewed a honeymoon and moved into Michael's home in Ekali, an Athens suburb,, where he planned to continue his political science studies.
In a 2015 interview with La Stampa, Michael said: "My grandfather came from Denmark. Greece did not want a ruler from their own country, so they picked a foreign ruler. Nowadays, this is less strange. We had a Syrian president of Argentina and a Hungarian French president but there are many examples."
He told the reporter he was raised in "Morocco, Spain and France, where my mother came from. I came to Greece after my French university and started my Greek military service."
When asked if he were Greek, Michael responded: "Yes, and I am Greek in my heart. I have lived in Greece since I was 20. I learned Greek in the army, so my vocabulary is not what it should be expected of me."
The couple were the parents of two daughters, Princess Alexandra (1968) and Princess Olga (1971).
Michael and his family remained in Greece after the 1967 coup when King Constantine II went into exile. The monarchy was officially abolished in 1973.
Prince Michael was a noted writer and historian. When he started writing, he was "urged to adopt a nom de plume in order not to be considered a spoilt young jet-setter trying to cash in on an aristocratic name."
He told You Magazine in February 1996: "I refused to take a pseudonym because I am proud of my name and I think now, after writing for more than 30 years, I accepted as a professional. Thankfully, attitudes have changed since the 60s -- if you had a title then you were not taken seriously at all, yet I was really quite a serious young man."
Charitable work was important to the prince and his wife. In 1994, at the suggestion of his secretary, he visited the Montessori Day School in Brooklyn, where the director spoke to him about Elisa Izquierdo. "I asked her, could I do something more personal than just giving a sum of money."
During another visit to the school, he met Elisa, who "leapt into his arms." Michael felt the child's embrace, stating she was "full of love."
Michael offered to pay the little girl's tuition at the Brooklyn Friends School through 12th grade. He was aware of her tragic story. During that year, her "doting father" died, leaving her mother seeking court approval to take care of her, But Elisa's mother "who had once chosen crack over her child," was not ready for custody. The little girl's paternal relatives and teachers noted bruises and "physical and sexual abuse" after Elisa's "sporadic weekend visits with the mother."
The school supported Elisa's paternal aunt who filed for custody. Prince Michael had numerous phone calls as he "marshaled his lawyers on behalf of a pre-schooler in Brooklyn Family Court. Michael understood what would happen if Elisa's mother was awarded custody. He informed the court that he would guarantee financial assistance" to Elisa's aunt.
"There was a solution. There were people ready to take the child, to love the child."
School officials also testified to seeing bruises on Elisa. Still, the judge awarded custody to the mother who claimed she had "graduated from a drug program and ready to start a new life."
Prince Michael said: There was a solution. There were people ready to take the child, to love the child."
He told the New York Daily News: "I must confess, after we heard the mother go the child we were all devastated."
Michael wanted to fulfill his pledge, but Elisa's mother removed her from the school. The new school also reported abuse, but "nothing was done."
He was at home in Paris when Marina called him with the tragic news. Elisa died on November 22, 1995, from "injuries inflicted by her mother." Elisa was 6 years old.
Prince Michael's wrote about Elisa for Parade magazine (August 11, 1996). He said Marina would not send the news reports about Elisa's death as her "end had come in circumstances so horrible."
After her death, Michael and Marina founded the Eliza Foundation (Zero Tolerance for Child Abuse).
Prince Michael wrote more than 20 books on royal history and fiction, Most of his books were published in English. He and Princess Marina had homes in Paris and in Athens.
He never regretted renouncing his right to the throne. In a September 2023 interview with Fox, promoting his memoir, Crown, Art and Fantasy: A Life in Pictures (Rizzoli), he said: I needed his [King Constantine] approval, otherwise my marriage would’ve been illegal. It was complicated, but we managed. I was convinced that I would win, and I won. … Renouncing this title, not being a member of a ruling monarch in official functions and everything gave me a sense of freedom. I could choose my work and my profession, which I discovered was writing and history. It gave me the freedom to choose my way."
He is survived by his wife, Marina, their two daughters, Princess Alexandra (and her husband Nicolas Mirzayantz) and Princess Olga (and her husband, HRH Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta) and five grandchildren, Tigran and Darius Mirzayantz and TRH Prince Umberto, Amedeo and Princess Isabella of Savoy-Aosta.
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The funeral will take place on August 1 in Athens.
2 comments:
R.i.p
I am glad that his royal line continues with the aostas
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