by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017
source: Zimbio
King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark were married on September 18, 1964, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens.
Constantine’s Early Life
Constantine was born on June 2, 1940, at Villa Psychiko in Athens to Crown Prince Paul of Greece and Princess Friederike of Hanover. He has one older sister – Queen Sofia of Spain, and one younger sister – Princess Irene of Greece. During World War II, the Greek Royal Family was forced to flee Greece, settling in Alexandria, Egypt, and then Cape Town, South Africa. They returned to Greece in 1946, and the following year, his uncle, King George II died. Constantine’s father became King, and Constantine became Crown Prince.
He attended school in Athens from 1949-1955, followed by all three Greek military academies. He then went to the National University of Athens to study law. An avid athlete, Tino (as he was known in the family) participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, winning a gold medal in sailing (Dragon Glass). This was Greece’s first gold medal in 48 years. He became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1963.
He became King of the Hellenes following his father’s death in March 1964. Just three years after the wedding, following a coup in 1967, the Greek royal family went into exile, living in Rome for several years before moving to Denmark and then finally settling in the United Kingdom. While in exile, King Constantine was deposed and the monarchy was formally abolished in 1974.
For more information about Constantine see:
Anne-Marie’s Early Life
Princess Anne-Marie Dagmar Ingrid of Denmark was born on August 30, 1946, at Amalienborg in Copenhagen. She is the third and youngest daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. Her two older sisters are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. A year after her birth, her grandfather died, and her father became King Frederik IX. Several years later, the King had the succession laws changed to allow for female succession, putting Anne-Marie third in line to succeed her father.
After attending a private school in Copenhagen from 1952-1961, Anne-Marie was enrolled at the Chatelard School for Girls, a boarding school in Switzerland, from 1961-1963. She then attended the Institut Le Mesnil, a Swiss finishing school.
For more information about Anne-Marie see:
The Engagement
Constantine and Anne-Marie are third cousins, several times over, through their mutual descent from both King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. They first met in 1959, when Constantine accompanied his parents on a State Visit to Denmark. Constantine was 19, and Anne-Marie was just 13. They met again in Denmark in 1961, but it was in 1962 that the romance truly began to blossom. Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Constantine’s sister, Sophia, to Juan Carlos of Spain. By that time, Tino was clearly smitten and the two spent much of the night dancing together. After that, Tino made many visits to Denmark to see Anne-Marie, and the media began to speculate about a romance with Anne-Marie’s older sister Benedikte. In the summer of 1962, Anne-Marie was on holiday in Norway with her governess, and Tino was also there competing in yacht racing. They spent a lot of time together, and soon he proposed, and Anne-Marie accepted. His parents were delighted with the news, but the Danish King was hesitant to give his blessing. Soon, however, he realized that the two were in love and he relented, giving his consent. However, several conditions had to be met. He insisted that the wedding could not take place until Anne-Marie had finished her education and reached her eighteenth birthday and that the engagement could not be made public until the beginning of the next year.
For the next six months, the couple kept their engagement a secret, while Constantine made many trips to Denmark, often using sailing events as an excuse for his visits. Finally, on January 23, 1963, the Danish Royal Court announced the couple’s engagement. Several days later, Constantine, Anne-Marie, and their parents appeared at a press conference and then greeted the crowds from the balcony at Amalienborg.
Once the excitement had died down, Anne-Marie returned to School in Switzerland and Tino returned to his official duties in Greece. The wedding was planned for January 1965. However, this would soon change due to the death of King Paul. In early 1964, King Paul was diagnosed with cancer. After undergoing surgery, he suffered from a pulmonary embolism and died on March 6, 1964. Tino assumed the Greek throne as King Constantine II. The wedding plans were moved forward and scheduled for September 18, 1964. This would be just weeks after Anne-Marie’s eighteenth birthday, and days after the end of the official court mourning.
Pre-Wedding Festivities
The celebrations began on September 7, 1964, when Constantine arrived in Denmark. That evening, a private dinner and dance were held at Fredensborg Castle, and the following day they returned to Amalienborg for the official display of the wedding gifts. That evening, they attended a gala performance at the Royal Theatre, followed by a lavish banquet held at Christiansborg Palace, with over 1,000 guests. The next morning, Anne-Marie and Tino were guests at a reception held by the City of Copenhagen and rode in a carriage procession through the streets to greet the thousands of Danes who had come out to wish them well.
The festivities then moved to Greece. Constantine, Anne-Marie, and her family sailed to Greece aboard the Danish Royal Yacht, Dannebrog, where they were greeted by Queen Frederica, Princess Irene, and Prince Michael.
King Constantine hosted three large receptions at Tatoi Palace, with more than 6,000 guests invited. A special committee had been formed in Athens to select people from around the country to come – at the Government’s expense – to meet the King and his future Queen. A reception was also held at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, in Athens, in honor of the Danish royal family.
On September 16, most of the royal guests began to arrive, and King Constantine personally greeted most of them as their planes landed in Athens. That evening, a gala ball was held in the gardens of the Royal Palace of Athens, with 1,600 invited guests. The royal guests were resplendent in their gowns and uniforms, with their best jewels on show. The bride wore a light blue gown with the Greek Emerald Parure, which was among the jewels given to her by Queen Frederica.
Wedding Guests
More than 1,200 guests attended the wedding, including many members of royal and noble families from around the world. According to the New York Times, the guest list included “eight reigning monarchs and their consorts, two former kings, more than 55 princes and princesses, and heads of state and representatives from more than 87 countries”. The royal guests included:
Constantine’s Immediate Family
- Dowager Queen Frederica
- Princess Sofia and Prince Juan Carlos of Spain
- Princess Irene
- Princess Viktoria Luise, Dowager Duchess of Brunswick
Anne-Marie’s Immediate Family
- King Frederik and Queen Ingrid
- Princess Margrethe
- Princess Benedikte
Royal Guests
- King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium
- Prince Ingolf of Denmark
- Prince Michael of Greece
- Princess Eugenie of Greece, Duchess of Castel Duino
- Princess Tatiana Radziwill
- Prince George Radziwill
- Princess Irene of Greece, Dowager Duchess of Aosta
- The Duke and Duchess of Aosta
- Princess Katherine of Greece, Lady Brandram and Sir Richard Brandram
- Princess Alice of Greece
- King Hussein and Princess Muna of Jordan
- Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Hereditary Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg
- Prince Rainier of Monaco
- Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
- Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
- King Olav of Norway
- Crown Prince Harald of Norway
- The Count and Countess of Barcelona
- King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
- Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden
- Princess Christina of Sweden
- King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand
- The Duke of Edinburgh
- The Prince of Wales
- Princess Anne of the United Kingdom
- Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
- Prince Michael of Kent
- Earl Mountbatten of Burma
- Tsar Simeon and Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria
- Prince Georg Wilhelm and Princess Sophie of Hanover
- Prince Karl of Hesse
- Princess Clarissa of Hesse
- King Umberto and Queen Marie-José of Italy
- King Mihai and Queen Anne of Romania
- Queen Mother Helen of Romania
- Princess Margareta of Romania
- Count Michael Bernadotte
- Princess Olga of Yugoslavia
- Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
Wedding Attire
The bride wore a gown made by a Danish designer, Jørgen Bender. The simple, yet elegant dress featured a wide neckline, empire waist, and three-quarter sleeves, with a split-front skirt with a detailed edge, extending out into a 20-foot train.
Her veil of Irish lace was a family heirloom. It was originally a gift to her grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, for her wedding to the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905. Holding the veil in place, Anne-Marie wore the Khedive of Egypt Tiara, another piece that goes back to her grandmother’s wedding, having been a wedding gift from the Khedive of Egypt. You can read more about the tiara here. Keeping with tradition, both the veil and the tiara have been worn by all of Queen Ingrid’s female descendants.
The groom wore his white Field Marshal’s uniform, adorned with several Greek and Danish orders and medals.
The bride’s attendants (listed below) wore simple gowns of white organza, with white flowers in their hair.
- Princess Anne of the United Kingdom
- Princess Christina of Sweden
- Princess Irene of Greece
- Princess Margareta of Romania
- Princess Tatiana Radziwill
- Princess Clarissa of Hesse
Wedding Ceremony
On the morning of September 18, 1964, with all of the guests already assembled at the Cathedral, King Constantine, accompanied by his mother, left the Royal Palace in an open carriage. Soon, he was followed by Princess Anne-Marie and her father. The bride’s attendants were waiting outside the cathedral to help her with her gown and train, and then the procession began.
The traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Chrysostomos, the Primate of Greece. After hearing the sacraments of marriage, the two exchanged rings and took communion. Part of the service involved crowns being held over their heads. This was done first by Queen Frederica, and then by a succession of princes – Crown Prince Harald of Norway, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden, The Prince of Wales, Prince Michael of Greece, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, Prince Ingolf of Denmark, Prince Michael of Kent, Prince Karl of Hesse and Count Michael Bernadotte.
At the end of the service, red and white rose petals fluttered down into the cathedral, as the couple embraced her parents, and the Dowager Queen Frederica curtsied to Greece’s new Queen.
Following the ceremony, the King and his new Queen led a carriage procession back to the Royal Palace where a wedding breakfast was held for 80 guests. Constantine and Anne-Marie then left for Corfu to begin their honeymoon.
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