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Wedding of Constantine II and Princess Anne-Marie

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Wedding of Constantine II and Princess Anne-Marie
The couple's dual cypher
Date18 September 1964
VenueMetropolitan Cathedral of Athens
LocationAthens, Kingdom of Greece
ParticipantsConstantine II of Greece
Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark

The wedding of Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place on Friday, 18 September 1964, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.

Constantine II was the reigning Greek monarch, while Princess Anne-Marie was the youngest daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. It was the second, and to date, the last wedding of a reigning Greek monarch, and the first to be held in Greece.[1]

Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, presided over the Church of Greece ceremony. The ceremony was attended by the bride's and groom's families, as well as members of foreign royal families, diplomats, and various Greek and Danish officials.

Engagement

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The couple during their engagement, 1964

The couple, third cousins through both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark, first met in 1959 at a performance of the Circus Benneweis at Gråsten Palace. Then Crown Prince was 18 and Princess Anne-Marie was just 12 at the time. They met again in 1961, and in 1962, Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Constantine's older sister, Princess Sophia, to Infante Juan Carlos of Spain. In 1962, Princess Anne-Marie was on holiday with her governess in Norway, where Crown Prince Constantine was attending a yacht racing event. He proposed and she accepted. King Frederik IX initially withheld his consent, as Anne-Marie was only 15 at the time, but eventually relented on the conditions that she finish her education and the wedding not be held before her 18th birthday.[1]

On 23 January 1963, the Danish royal court announced the engagement. The wedding was initially set for January 1965. Following the death of Constantine's father, King Paul, on 6 March 1964, the date was moved forward to 18 September 1964.[2]

Pre-wedding celebrations

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Constantine and Anne-Marie at their pre-wedding gala at the Royal Palace.

In Denmark

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The celebrations began in early September 1964. On 7 September, Constantine arrived in Denmark where a private dinner was held at Fredensborg Palace. The next day, there was a gala performance at the Royal Danish Theatre followed by a banquet at Christiansborg Palace. The next morning, a reception was held at Copenhagen City Hall.[2]

In Greece

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King Constantine II, Princess Anne-Marie, King Frederik IX, Queen Ingrid, Princess Margrethe and Princess Benedikte sailed to Greece on board the Danish royal yacht Dannebrog. A reception was held in honour of the Danish royal family at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.

On 16 September, most of the royal guests arrived in Greece by plane. That evening, a gala was held at the Royal Palace for 1,600 invited guests.[3]

Wedding

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Constantine and Anne-Marie were married on 18 September 1964, two weeks after Anne-Marie's 18th birthday.[4]

Ceremony

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The Greek Orthodox marriage ceremony took place in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, and was conducted by Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.[3]

Attire

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Princess Anne-Marie wore a relatively unadorned gown by Danish designer Holger Blom, assisted by Jørgen Bender.[5] Her Irish lace veil, worn by her maternal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught at her wedding in 1905, was anchored by a Cartier diamond tiara given to Princess Margaret by the Abbas II, Khedive of Egypt. The veil had also been worn by her mother, Queen Ingrid, in 1935. The veil and tiara together have been worn by all of Ingrid's female descendants.[6][3]

King Constantine II wore the ceremonial uniform of stratarches (field marshal) of the Hellenic Army. He wore the insignia of the Greek Order of the Redeemer, Order of Saints George and Constantine, Order of George I and the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece, as well as with the insignia of the Danish Order of the Elephant and Order of the Dannebrog.[6]

Wedding party

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Bridesmaids

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Crown bearers

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Guests

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The wedding was attended by 1200 guests from around the world.[8] As both the bride and groom were descendants of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Christian IX of Denmark, they were closely related to almost all of the royal houses in Europe, many of whom were in attendance.[2][a]

Relatives of the bride

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House of Glücksburg

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House of Bernadotte

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Relatives of the groom

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House of Glücksburg

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House of Hanover

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  • The Duchess of Brunswick, the groom's maternal grandmother
    • Prince and Princess George William of Hanover, the groom's maternal uncle and aunt (and the groom's first cousin, once removed and her husband)
      • Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel, the groom's second cousin
      • Princess Clarissa of Hesse-Kassel, the groom's second cousin
      • Prince Welf Ernst of Hanover, the groom's first cousin

Other royal guests

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Members of reigning royal houses

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Members of non-reigning royal houses

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Other notable guests

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The bride and groom are related to all the European royal guests. A guest's closest relation to either the bride or groom is the only relation denoted in the list below.

References

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  1. ^ a b "On This Day September 18, 1964 the wedding of King Constantine and Anne-Marie". Greek City Times. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Danish Princess Awaits Arrival Of Constantine; Visit by King of Greece Will Begin Festivities Preceding Nuptials". The New York Times. 7 September 1964. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Greece: A Wedding for All". TIME. 25 September 1964. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Woman in the News Royal Wedding in Athens Made Memorable by Its Distinguished Guests A Queen at 18 Anne‐Marie Dagmar Ingrid". The New York Times. 19 September 1964. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Design Emphasis Is Put On Homes, Not Clothes". The New York Times. 14 September 1964. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Moffett, Hugh (6 October 1964). "A Lovely Gift to Greeks". LIFE. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Royal Wedding 1964". British Pathé. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  8. ^ "ATHENS - ROYAL WEDDING". AP Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Wedding Ceremony". Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  10. ^ Born Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, but renounced princely titles upon her marriage in 1947.
  11. ^ "Royals on a Wedding". Retrieved 2023-11-02.
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