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| Prince and Princess George, Princess Tatiana, and Princess Eugenie Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection |
HSH Princess Tatiana Radziwill has died at the age of 86. She died on Friday, December 19. The Princess, a nurse and bacteriologist, was Queen Sofia's closest friend.
She was born Tatiana Maria Renata Eugenia Elisabeth Margarete Radziwill in Rouen, France, on August 28, 1939, the daughter of HSH Prince Dominik Radziwill (1911- and Princess Eugenie of Greece and Denmark (1910-1989).
In May 1940, Germany invaded France. Prince Dominik, who had served as an officer in the Polish Army, and his family, fled France and settled in South Africa, where they were joined by Princess Eugenie's parents, Prince and Princess George of Greece and Denmark. Princess George, a noted psychoanalyst, was born Princess Marie Bonaparte.
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| Prince George of Greece and Denmark with Tatiana and her younger brother, George |
Her paternal grandfather, HSH Prince Hieronim Mikołaj Radziwiłł, took part in Polish uprisings during the Second World War. He was arrested by the Soviets in February 1945 and deported to a gulag in the Soviet Union. He died in the gulag in April 1945. His first wife, H.I.H. Archduchess Renata of Austria, died in 1935.
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| Archduchess Renata and Prince Hieronim Radziwill |
Other members of the Greek royal family who sought refuge in South Africa included Crown Princess Frederica and her young children, Princess Sophia, Crown Prince Constantine, and Princess Irene.
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| Princess Eugenie and her two children, Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection |
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| Prince and Princess George and Princess Eugenie Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection |
Sophie was nine months older than Tatiana, who was her second cousin. According to The Queen Up Close, Sofia recalled: "Tatiana and I each had our own doll, but only one stroller to take them for walks. We would fight, each of us pulling in different directions to see who would get it. And, of course, our fights would end up causing arguments between our mothers, as it happens in any family."
In 1945, the family returned to France. The following year, Tatiana's parents divorced. In 1947, Prince Dominic married Lidia Bloodgood, and two years later, Princess Eugenie married Prince Raimondo della Torre e Tasso, 2nd Duke of Castel Duino.
Tatiana attended schools in France and Greece, and was often invited to royal events, including Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation, as Prince Philip and her mother were first cousins. She was one of several dozen eligible royals who took part in a royal cruise aboard the Greek royal yacht Agammemon in 1954. Queen Frederika hosted the cruise and arranged for young European royals to mix and mingle.
In 1959, she was one of eleven princesses invited to a ball in honor of King Baudouin of the Belgians, who at the time was seeking a wife.
The Princess was a bridesmaid in the weddings of Princess Sofia and the future King Juan Carlos of Spain, and King Constantine II and Princess Anne Marie of Denmark.
Although there were rumors that she would marry Crown Prince Harald of Norway, she fell in love with a French cardiologist, Jean Henri Fruchaud. They met while both were students at the University of Paris. Princess Tatiana was studying nursing and bacteriology. She was a registered nurse and bacteriologist for many years.
Although there were rumors that she would marry Crown Prince Harald of Norway, Tatiana preferred the young French doctor. Their civil wedding took place on March 24, 1966, in the French Embassy in Athens. A Roman Catholic wedding took place on March 26, with a reception held at the Royal Palace in Athens.
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| Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection |
"Tatiana and I have always been very close friends, intimate friends. Before we got married, after .... Although she now lives in Paris,m we see each other very often," Sofia confided to her biographer, Pilar Urbano.
The late Princess often joined Sofia on family trips and official events.
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| Bucharest 2011 @Marlene A Eilers Koenig |
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| With HRH Princess Helen of Romania @Marlene A. Eilers Koenig |
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| October 26, 2011, Elisabeta Palace, Bucharest. The Margravine of Baden is on the left, Princess Tatiana in the middle. @Marlene A Eilers Koenig |
She and Dr. Fruchaud were usually seen with Queen Sofia during the summers at Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca.
Her last public appearance may have been on November 4, when she and her husband were among the guests at the naming of Avenue Marie Bonaparte in Paris' 16th arrondissement.
Princess Tatiana is survived by her husband, Dr. John-Henri Fruchaud, and their two children, Fabiola (1967) and Alexis (1969). Fabiola and her husband, Didier Frandin, are the managers of the Chateau de Maudetour, an exclusive hotel near Paris. Alexis and his wife, Nathalie Ruth Chandler, live in London, where he works for the Royal Bank of Scotland, and have three grandchildren: Tatiana Hermann, Edouard Fradin, and Thalia Fruchaud.
She is also survived by two half-sisters, Princess Maria Luisa Radziwill and Princess Lidia Radziwill, and one half-brother, Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, 3rd Duke of Castel Duino. Her young brother, Prince George-Andre Radziwill, died in 2001, and a half-sister, Princess Renata, in 2014.
Princess Tatiana's death was first reported by Hola.
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