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Cruise of the Kings

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Frederica and Paul (1939)

The Cruise of the Kings (Greek: Η κρουαζιέρα των γαλαζοαίματων, romanized: I krouaziéra ton galazoématon, lit. 'The cruise of the blue-bloods') was a royal cruise around the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 1954, organised by Queen Frederica and King Paul of Greece.

The cruise aimed to promote tourism in Greece and was drafted by Frederica. It occurred from 23 August to 3 September 1954 on the royal yacht Agamemnon. Royals from over 25 reigning and formerly reigning royal families were in attendance. A second cruise was scheduled for August 1956, but the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and its closure by the British government, as well as growing violence in the Levant, prevented the cruise from playing out smoothly. The cruise was transformed into a shorter stay in Mon Repos, Corfu.

Conception

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The cruise was drafted by Frederica of Hanover, the queen consort of Greece as the wife of Paul of Greece, to promote and "open the doors" to tourism in Greece, specifically in the Greek islands.[1] The growth of tourism was hoped for as it would assist in economic recovery following World War II and the Greek Civil War. Another aim of the cruise was to rebuild ties between European royal families following World War I and World War II.[1]

According to Frederica's memoir, she was approached in 1954 by Eugenios Eugenidis, a Greek shipowner, who asked her to visit one of his transatlantic liners and give it her name. When this is done, the shipowner typically gives a brooch. However, Frederica requested that Eugenidis instead assist her in organising a cruise for the royal families in Europe.[1]

The Greek Consul in Naples of the time, Tylpados, also revealed to the French news outlet Combat that "several engagements" were hoped to be announced by the end of the cruise.[2] Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark claimed in 2003 that "some marriages or engagements" amongst royals was one of the aims the cruise.[3] The only marriage that was arranged during the cruise was that of Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma.[4] However, King Paul's oldest daughter Princess Sophia and Prince Juan Carlos of Spain first met on the cruise and they would marry eight years later.[5]

Events of the cruise

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1954 edition

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Map of Greece.

Eugenidis' Agamemnon first departed on 23 August 1954 from the French port of Marseille, where Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and her family boarded the yacht as the first royals to participate. At around 11:00 a.m., the Agamemnon stopped in Naples, where the majority of royal guests, including Paul, Frederica, and the Greek royal family, were picked up. The Greek royals had arrived in Naples at around 8:20 am that same day, having taken the yacht Navarino from Greece. It took almost three hours for all the guests to board the ship in Naples. At around 1:45 pm, the Agamemnon departed Naples with its guests and sailed towards the Ionian islands.[6]

On board the yacht and at any locations where it stopped, it was agreed that royal protocol be abolished, which freed guests from any royal order of precedence, allowing them to "mingle more" in a less formal environment, according to historian Julián Cortes Cavanillas. More informal standards, Frederica hoped, would help rebuild familial ties between the guests.[6]

The cruise's first stop was Corfu, where the final guests, former king Umberto II of Italy and his family, were picked up. The Italian royal family was banned from staying in Italy due to the 1946 Italian institutional referendum and the proclamation of the Italian Republic, so they were unable to be picked up from Naples. After they had boarded, the Agamemnon made numerous stops, including in Olympia, Heraklion, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Skiathos, Sounion and then Athens, via the port of Faliro. On 31 August, the cruise's royal guests toured Epidaurus and viewed a performance of Euripides' Hippolytus.[6]

The following day, the Greek royal family departed the Agamemnon and returned to Tatoi Palace.[6] Over the next two days, the yacht first stopped in Corfu, where the Italian royals departed, and then in Naples, where the rest of the guests left to return to their home countries.[7] Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark described the cruise as "great fun" and a "beautiful event".[3][5] The cruise was seen as successful and attracted a lot of media attention. Many shipping companies soon organised cruises that followed the same route as the Agamemnon. In her memoirs, Frederica noted that the growth in cruises around Greece led to "hotels and other land-based services and facilities" growing in revenue and generating more tourist money for the country.[1] On the other hand, domestically the cruise was received with mixed feelings: many Greek people resented what they perceived as the lavish bride-show out on for the Queen's royal relatives, which cost the cash-strapped Greek state 140,000 US dollars in addition to the funds provided by Eugenidis. Frederica's popularity took a hit and began to decline from that point on.[8][9]

1956 edition

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Following the first edition of the cruise in 1954, which Frederica described as "a great success", she wished to reboot the event two years later.[1] There were plans for the cruise to be on the yacht Achilles. However, a few days before the cruise was scheduled to begin, the Suez Crisis became apparent as the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, attempted to nationalise the canal, resulting in its closure by the British government. In addition, there was growing violence in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. As a result, Frederica and Paul decided to alter the event from a cruise to a stay in Mon Repos, the royal residence in Corfu.[7] The guest list thus had to be shortened significantly.[10]

Dignitaries

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In the 1954 cruise, 110 royal dignitaries of twenty nationalities were in attendance.[1] Additionally, over fifteen different languages were spoken. Frederica recorded that despite language barriers, there "was not the slightest difficulty during the ten days that the cruise lasted".[1]

Greece

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Foreign

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Austria

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  • Marie-Ileana of Habsburg-Tuscany

Bulgaria

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Denmark

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France

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Germany

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Baden
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Bavaria
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Hanover
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Hesse
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Hohenlohe
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Mecklenburg
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Schaumburg-Lippe
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Schleswig-Holstein
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Thurn und Taxis and Radziwiłł families
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Törring-Jettenbach
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Württemberg
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Italy

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Bourbon-Parma
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Bourbon-Two Sicilies
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Savoy
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Luxembourg

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Netherlands

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Norway

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Romania

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Russia

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Spain

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Sweden

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Yugoslavia

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Frederica of Hanover 1971.
  2. ^ "Royal cruise of Greek islands: Wedding bells the aim, paper claims". The Courier-Mail: 18. 25 August 1954. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b Constantine II of Greece, Anne-Marie of Greece, Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, Margrethe II of Denmark, Michael I of Romania (2003). A Royal Family: Shaky Thrones. London. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Betrothal Announced: Italian, Yugoslav Couple Met During Royal Tour". Reading Eagle: 18. 24 September 1954. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Director: Anna Lerche, Marcus Mandal (2003). "Episode 3: Shaky Thrones". A Royal Family.
  6. ^ a b c d Cortes Cavanillas 1954, p. 11.
  7. ^ a b Silva D'Andrea 2011, p. 2-14.
  8. ^ "Μηχανή του Χρόνου: Η κρουαζιέρα της Φρειδερίκης που κόστισε 140.000 δολάρια στο ελληνικό δημόσιο" (in Greek). News247.gr. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  9. ^ Divani, Lena (2019). "ΠΑΥΛΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΡΕΙΔΕΡΙΚΗ: Η βασίλισσα που έγινε βασιλιάς". Ζευγάρια που έγραψαν την ιστορία της Ελλάδας (in Greek). Patakis. ISBN 978-960-16-8603-5.
  10. ^ Mateos Sáinz de Medrano 2004.

Sources

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  • Cortes Cavanillas, Julián (28 August 1954). "The Court Greetings, the Only Protocol Detail of the "Cruise of the Kings"". ABC (Seville) (15917): 11. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  • Frederica of Hanover (1971). A Measure of Understanding. MacMillan. ASIN B000TDQ63S. In 1954, [shipowner] Eugenides asked me to visit one of his transatlantic liners and give it my name. When this type of request is made, it is customary to offer the godmother a large brilliant brooch. However, on this occasion I had an idea and asked Eugenides if, instead of this traditional gift, he would give me the necessary means to organize a cruise during which I would invite all the royal families of Europe […]. There were different reasons for organizing this cruise. First, Paul and I wanted to open the doors of Greece to tourism. […] But the first thing we needed was to get the world's attention. As the world press was responsible for giving wide publicity to the cruise, everything worked very well. Immediately afterwards, shipping companies began to organize cruises exactly following the program and itinerary of ours, and soon hotels and other land-based services and facilities began to bring tourist money to the country. Another reason was that, since World War I , royal families had not reunited internationally. […] The trip was a great success. We were 110 people, of twenty nationalities and speaking 15 different languages; despite this there was not the slightest difficulty during the ten days that the cruise lasted. […]
  • Mateos Sáinz de Medrano, Ricardo (2004). La Familia de la Reina Sofía (in Spanish). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros. ISBN 84-9734-195-3.
  • Silva D'Andrea, Darío (2011). "Introducción". La Tragedia griega de una dinastía extranjera (in Spanish). Narrativa. pp. 2–14.
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