Princess Seble Desta (1931-2023), the Granddaughter of the Last Ethiopian Emperor

 

Princess Seble.

Princess Seble (Sybil) Desta died on 3 January 2023 in Virginia. She was ninety-one years-old.

Princess Tenagnework.

Princess Tenagnework and Princess Seble.

The princess was born in Addis Ababa on 1 September 1931 as the fourth child and third daughter of Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1912-2003) and her first husband Ras Desta Damtew (~1892-1937). 

Princess Aida Desta, Lij Amaha Desta, Princess Ruth Desta, Rear Admiral Iskinder Desta, Prince Sahle Selassie Haile Selassie and Princess Seble Desta.

Princess Seble joined three older siblings: Princess Aida Desta (1927-2013), Amha Desta (1928-1944), and Princess Hirut "Ruth" Desta (1930-2014). Princess Seble was followed by two younger siblings: Princess Sofia "Sophia" Desta (1934-2021) and Prince Iskander Desta (1934-1974). During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941, Princess Seble lived in exile in the United Kingdom with the rest of the Imperial family. Princess Seble completed her education in Britain, initially at Clarendon School, Abergale, and attended Lady Margaret Hall College of Oxford University.

Empress Menen and Emperor Haile Selassie.

Princess Seble's maternal grandparents were Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892-1975) and Empress Menen Asfaw (1882-1962). 

Princess Seble Desta and Kassa Wolde-Miriam on their wedding day.

On 31 January 1959 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Princess Seble Desta married Kassa Wolde Mariam (1932-1979), an academic and the descendant of an Ethiopian noble family. Seble and her husband were wed in a joint ceremony with Seble's sister Sofia, who married Captain Dereje Haile Mariam. Kassa and Selbe had five children, one son and four daughters: Jote Kassa (b.1960), Yashimmabet "Yeshi" Kassa (b.1962), Debritu Laly Kassa (b.1963), Kokeb Kassa (b.1967), Amha Kassa (b.1973).

The Ethiopian Royals meet President Eisenhower.
Left to right: President Dwight Eisenhower, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, Princess Seble Desta, Prince Sahle, and the Emperor, 1954.

Marlon Brando, Princess Selbe, and the Emperor during a visit to the United States.

Princess Seble Desta greets King Hussein of Jordan while her imperial grandfather looks on.

Emperor Haile Selassie and Princess Seble.

Princess Seble accompanied her grandfather Emperor Haile Selassie on many state visits, including to the United States, Canada, Greece, Mexico, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. During these trips, the princess met with many heads of state, royalty, members of the public and celebrities. Like her mother Princess Tenagnework and grandmother Empress Menen, Princess Seble was the President of the Ethiopian Women's Welfare Association which, during her tenure, built a state of the art high-rise building in Addis Ababa to provide safe housing for young women and to generate income for the Association. In August 1966, Princess Seble was among the members of the Imperial Family to welcome General de Gaulle and his wife during their visit to Ethiopia; she rode in a carriage alongside Madame de Gaulle when the de Gaulles arrived in Addis Ababa. In February 1973, Princess Seble was part of the delegation that met Princess Anne at the beginning of her visit to Ethiopia. 

The Emperor of Ethiopia is escorted from the Jubilee Palace to a prison.

In September 1974, a military junta overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie and imprisoned the Imperial Family, including Princess Tenagnework and her three daughters. Princess Seble had recently given birth to her son and was allowed to remain temporarily free. Until her imprisonment, she unsuccessfully sought help for the Emperor and the imprisoned family members from various foreign embassies. Princess Seble spent fourteen years in jail, initially under house arrest in the former palace of her uncle the late Duke of Harrar, and then in fifteen-foot cell in Alem Bekagn (The End of the World) prison along with the other women of the Imperial family. The horrors that Princess Seble and her family experienced during their imprisonment were documented in a 1977 hearing before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations in the US House of Representatives:

Several female relatives of former Emperior Haile Selassie and his government ministers were arrested in 1974, at first under house arrest. In September 1975, they were suddenly taken away to Akaki prison in Addis Ababa, where they have been since without trial or charge. On 1 March 1976, Dr. Meyer-Lie visited Akaki prison where the women prisoners were held. This was with the written permission of the Derg and after discussions with the Director of The Ethiopian Prisons Authority and his four branch heads, and the Minister of the Interior. His visit was sponsored by a Swedish humanitarian organization concerned about political prisoners in Ethiopia.

The women detainees were held in a former clinic, a white stone house with cement floor and bars on the windows, the total area being 5 X 10 metres. The building had two rooms, the larger 5 X 6 metres containing 30 to 35women, the other room, about 5 X 4 metres, with about 15 members of the former royal family. Neither room had beds, only mattresses spread out on the floor, and no other furniture or heating arrangements. Each room had a primitive toilet and shower. Dr. Meyer-Lie was only permitted to ask a few questions in the presence of a prison official, and could not carry out any medical examinations. One women told him that before he came people had cleaned and disinfected the room, which had taken away the terrible stench. She said the worst problem was that they were forbidden to communicate with their relatives outside the prison. (Criminal prisoners, it should be noted, are allowed a weekly visit from their relatives.) The women received food each day from their relatives outside, who were paid 120 Ethiopian dollars per month (US $60) supposedly in compensation for the confiscation of their property to provide them with food, brought once a day by a relative who was not allowed to see the prisoner. A few books, magazines, and materials for needlework and knitting were also permitted. Visits from priests were not allowed.

When Dr. Meyer-Lie visited visited Ethiopia again in November 1976, he was not permitted to visit the prisoners. By then prison conditions had deteriorated and during 1976 no visits from relatives were allowed, though after Dr. Meyer-Lie's first visit, the women detainees were allowed to write a short note on a tiny slip of paper to their relatives once a week . From other sources Dr. Meyer-Lie learned that the rooms in which they were held were infested with rats, lice and cockroaches, and the overcrowding in the larger room had increased with a total of almost 100 women held there. Under those conditions sanitation and hygiene also sharply deteriorated, and their personal morale too. More girls had been detained and a shed of wood with a zinc roof had been constructed to hold 25 girls aged between 12 and 19, arrested when their menfolk were not found by the soldiers searching for them. None of the women has had a full medical examination during detention, though there is a prison doctor and medical orderly. It is reported that there are delays in obtaining a doctor's visit and in getting medication prescribed. The women request drugs from their relatives outside the prison, such as tranquilizers, painkillers and sleeping tablets, which they administer without medical supervision. Their general condition of health and morale deteriorated seriously in 1976, and many suffer from nervous tension, high blood pressure and other complaints from before the time when they were detained. Yeshashe-Worg Yilma, who is 83 and a diabetic, was taken to the hospital in 1976 reportedly suffering from nervous exhaustion, and Ijegayehu Asfe-Wessen, 42 year-old grand-daughter of former Emperor Haile Selassie, died in the police hospital on 31 January 1977. She was reportedly suffering from extreme dehydration and was in a poor condition for intestinal section surgery. She died a few days later, and it appears that her poor conditions of detention contributed to her illness and subsequent death. Seble Desta, and Aida Desta were both very thin when they were seen by their children in January 1977, Yeshashe-Worq looked very feeble and had to use a stick to walk, and Tenagne Worq had developed a shaking in her hands and body. Sophia Desta and Mimi Asrate (arrested at the age of 17) both suffer severely from psychological troubles, exacerbated by their conditions of detention. In this state of physical deprivation and very low morale, it is feared that many of the older and weaker women will eventually succumb to fatal illness. It is generally thought that the Derg will not release them, that they could be executed at any time (indeed there have been several rumours that the Derg was considering executing them, e.g.,. in September 1975, February and March 1977) but that the Derg may prefer to let them die by neglect. They are in a very poor state to survive their difficult conditions of detention.

Princess Tenagnework, including her four daughters, and her sister-in-law Princess Sara, 1988.

On 21 May 1988, Princess Seble Desta was finally released from prison. A statement from the government-owned Ethiopia News Agency announced: "The State Council of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia today granted amnesty to seven members of the former royal family of the defunct feudal regime." In addition to Princess Seble, her mother Princess Tenagnework and her three sisters (Princess Aida, Princess Hirut, and Princess Sofia) were freed in addition to Seble's aunt Princess Sara, Duchess of Harar. The release of the royal princesses was in part aided by lobbying on the part of British schools that Princess Seble and her sisters had attended in their younger years. 

Princess Seble eventually relocated to the United States, where she was able to be near to her children. Yeshi Kassa, her daughter, was recently involved in the production of a documentary entitled "Grandpa Was An Emperor," which investigates what happened to her father Kassa after the 1974 coup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJlOuHUNaVs

Princess Seble.

The children of the princess released an addendum to a biographical communiqué that was published after her death:

The biography above tells you the facts of Princess Seble’s life. But it does not tell you who Mammy, as we knew her, or Emama Seble, as many knew her, was as a person.

Mammy was an exemplary and devoted granddaughter, daughter, and sister, remaining exceptionally close to her mother and sisters throughout her life and always putting the needs of others before her own.

When the murderous Derg regime imprisoned her husband and entire family but allowed her a few months of freedom with her newborn son, she spent that time, at tremendous risk to her own life, calling on embassies and human rights organizations, pleading for the release of her elderly grandfather and family.

Mammy was a mother to not only her biological children but to countless children whom she and Dejazmatch Kassa, or Kassilu as his children knew him, raised as their own. As Kassilu was posted to different parts of Ethiopa, they brought the entire large clan along with them, much to our collective delight.

While Princess Seble grew up in the formal atmosphere of the Imperial Palace and state visits, she had a very different side as a fun and loving mother, grandmother, and auntie who doted on children especially. The house that she and Kassilu built together is warmly remembered as a place where

children would gather to enjoy the trampoline, swimming lessons, and festive birthday parties. She and Kassilu would lead children’s camping trips where kids were actively encouraged to make themselves seen and heard. Often, she would advocate on behalf of younger family members with their parents and grandparents, gently arguing for strict rules to be tempered with leniency and high expectations to be balanced with freedom to learn and explore.

Over the years she kept up with a network of hundreds of relatives and friends, including Kassilu’s large family after his death, and had an extraordinary memory for the life stories, birthdays, and milestones of her loved ones. She could constantly be found on the phone, checking in on cousins, siblings, aunties, and uncles and all of those that she and Kassilu had turned into family, or at the kitchen table, writing letters and notes. Her home was always a gathering place, especially for holidays and life celebrations. Her thick address books—one for Ethiopia, one for the England, and one for America and the rest of the world—were a testament to her belief that no one should be left behind. She refused to let any member of her clan drift away, constantly reaching out and pulling them back into the family fold.

Her love of her country and all Ethiopians was endless. Although naturally very shy, she nurtured many connections and a strong network, which she used for extensive informal social work, helping others find jobs, advance their education, and connect to community, always helping those in need and promoting Ethiopia. From the cashier at her supermarket to her fellow volunteer librarians in Annandale to the bus driver in Nazret, she took time to get to know people, identifying their joys and troubles and getting involved.

She had a way of making anyone feel at ease. From the old to the young, from European royalty to farmers from the Ethiopian countryside, everyone responded to her kindness, respect for all regardless of station, and genuine interest in the lives of others. Even the hardened guards and fellow prisoners at Alem Bekagn spoke warmly of L’ilt Seble years later.

To her grandchildren, she was “Nana,” who took them swimming, taught them bike riding, and chauffeured them to their various ballet, gym and football games. She was an avid “tifozo” of football and spectator. But Nana also firmly reminded her grandkids about the importance of care for family, faith in God, and kindness. It is a testament to who Nana was that every one of her grandkids adored her and found her fascinating.

But Mammy’s unshakeable foundation, and how we will remember her most, was her deep Christian faith and profound trust in God. Her faith comforted her through unimaginable hardships, and Mammy credited God’s mercy for allowing her family and her to survive the darkest years in Alem Bekagn. During her 14 years in prison and the decades after, she faithfully thanked God for each day that she enjoyed with her loved ones. She found daily joy in God’s creation, and daily gratitude for every gift of sunshine, flowers and birds. Her life of quiet faith was a shining testament to the power of forgiveness and leaving all in God’s hands. We commend her eternal soul to her Creator, in faith that He will welcome home His faithful servant.

The coffin of the princess enters the cathedral.

The funeral and burial of Princess Seble Desta took place on Thursday, 12 January, at Addis Ababa’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. Services were presided over by His Holiness Patriarch Abune Mathias I, Patriarch of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Echege of the See of St. Tekle Haimanot. Also attending were His Eminence Archbishop Abune Abraham, Administrator General of Patriarchate and Archbishop of Bahr Dar, several other Archbishops of the Orthodox Church and Church officials, as well as members of the Imperial family and their friends. The Patriarch spoke of the contributions of Princess Seble to Ethiopian society and praised her for her tireless work. Princess Seble’s remains were interred in the crypt of the Cathedral.

May the Princess Rest In Peace. 

From the Archives: The Passing of Princess Margarita of Baden

 

[Note: This obituary was written upon the passing of Princess Margarita in 2013 by Arturo E. Beéche.]

HRH Princess Margarita of Baden died in Farnham in the evening of 15 January 2013. Her death brought to an end a long illness that had seriously undermined the princess' health.

Margarita was born at Schloß Salem on July 14, 1932. She was the firstborn child of Margrave Berthold of Baden and of his wife, the former Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark. Berthold, the well-respected Head of the Grand Ducal House of Baden, was the only son of Margrave Max of Baden (Imperial Germany's last chancellor) and of his wife Princess Marie Louise of Cumberland, eldest daughter of the Duke of Cumberland, Ernst August of Hannover, and of his Danish wife, Princess Thyra. Princess Theodora was the second daughter of Prince Andreas of Greece and Denmark and of his wife, the former Princess Alice of Battenberg, the parents of three other daughters and a son, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. She was the eldest granddaughter of both sets of grandparents.

The princess was raised at Schloß Salem, where her family sponsored a renowned educational center built along the progressive policies proposed by Kurt Hahn, a widely respected educator of Jewish extraction. Berthold and Hahn were the heart of the Salem School, both also standing as bulwarks against the National Socialist overtake of Germany. Eventually, Hahn was forced to leave Germany and seek refuge in England, where he founded Gordonstoun, the school attended by Prince Philipp and the Prince of Wales.

After their daughter Margarita's birth, Berthold and Theodora had two more children: Maximilian (Max), born in 1933, and Ludwig, born in 1937.

The Badens experienced increasing pressure to join the nascent Nazi Party, as some of their other cousins and friends had. Berthold, however, stood steadfast and declined all pressure to betray his conscience.

After the end of the war, the Badens reestablished contacts with their English family. Although they were not invited to the wedding of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth in 1947, they were part of the official coronation celebration for Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

Wanting to study nursing, Princess Margarita relocated to London in the 1950s. It was while there that she met Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia (1928-2000), the second son of the late King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and of his wife, the former Princess Marie of Romania. Both Tomislav and Margarita were descendants of Queen Victoria. The wedding date was announced from Salem on April 8, 1957, and the wedding date set for June 6.

The wedding festivities provided the extended Gotha with another opportunity to gather and repair links damaged by the debacle of the Second World War. Present at Schloß Baden to witness the ceremony were, among many others: the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, Queen Frederica of Greece, King Umberto II of Italy, King Simeon of Bulgaria, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, The Earl and countess Mountbatten of Burma, and even the elderly Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Jr., who by then lived at Schloß Mainau, her son Lennart's island paradise on Lake Konstanz.

Tomislav and Margarita settled in the UK, where he owned a fruit farm. It was there that their two children were born: Nicholas in 1958, and Katerina the following year. Margarita remained close to her English family and she was frequently a guest of The Queen and Prince Philip.

Unfortunately, the marriage that had began with such promise of mutual happiness experienced much turmoil. Tomislav's financial situation was terribly unstable and the fruit farm a source of much worry and concern. In the end the enterprise was closed. Margarita tried as much as she could to lend a hand, but eventually the writing was on the wall. In 1982 their marriage ended in divorce and most ungraciously, Tomislav remarried his lady friend later that same year. He went on to have two sons with Ms Linda Bonney, his second wife.

Princess Margarita remained living in London, where her two children were raised under the kind support of their royal cousins. She never remarried. Margarita's links to the English royal family were not affected by her divorce, which had not been the case with many others who had incurred in such course of action.

In 1987 Princess Katerina married a prominent lawyer of Sri Lanka extraction, Desmond de Silva, with whom he had one daughter. Five years later Prince Nicholas married a Yugoslav-born lady by the name of Ljiljana Licánin, by whom he had a daughter, Marija, in 1993. Nicholoas is estranged from his wife. Victoria de Silva and Marija of Yugoslavia are Princess Margarita's only grandchildren. She also has a great-grandson from her granddaughter Marija.

It was common to see Margarita attend various family gatherings in Germany, from weddings, to baptisms and even some funerals. She traveled frequently from her London residence and she was always seen sporting a nice smile and a twinkle in her eye. I met Princess Margarita a few times and she always seemed to have a good time, even when confined to a wheelchair. In fact, once at Schoß Langenburg I helped carry the princess, who was seated in her wheelchair. "Your poor man, to come from so far to help carry me," she said. "Madame," I replied, "to me, it is a pleasure to be able to help you and not a bother whatsoever."

I last saw Princess Margarita at Schloß Salem in 2007. It was far too busy for us to sit and chat. But she nodded and smiled when I asked if I could take some pictures. Her smile, I will never forget. It beamed and made any room shine with light. that twinkle, she never lost.

My condolences to her brothers and the entire family...May She Rest in Peace...

 Prince Tomislav, Princess Margarita and Prince Nicholas of Yugoslavia

 Wedding of Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia and

Princess Margarita of Baden

The Duke of Edinburgh with Prince Tomislav and Princess Margarita

of Yugoslavia. Behind Prince Philip is Margravine Theodora of Baden. 

From left: Hereditary Prince Max, Prince Ludwig and Princess Margarita of Baden. 

Prince Tomislav and Princess Margarita

of Yugoslavia. 

Margrave Berthold and Margravine Theodora of Baden with their

 children: Margarita, Max and Ludwig.

The baptism of Princess Margarita of Baden, September 1932.

Princess Margarita of Baden with ehr sister-in-law Princess Marianne

of Baden, Langenburg 2004. 

Fürstin Eilika of Leiningen and Princess Margarita of Baden,

Schloß Salem 2007.  

Princess Margarita of Baden with her daughter Princess Katerina

of Yugoslavia, Mr Desmond de Siliva and Victoria de Silva, Schloß Salem, 2007. 

Princess Margarita of Baden with Prince Ernst August of Hannover,

Schloß Salem 2007.

Tino - The Godfather of Europe

 

The passing of King Constantine II of the Hellenes leaves a great void in his immediate family, as well as for his many relatives and friends. The late king was the godfather to many of Europe's royals, including the Prince of Wales, and the heirs to the Hanoverian, Serbian, and Russian dynasties. 

Prince Contanijn of the Netherlands 

The christening of Prince Contanijn of the Netherlands, 1967.

On 21 February 1970, Prince Constantijn "Tijn" Christof Frederik Aschwin of the Netherlands was christened at St Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht. Born on 11 October 1969 at Utrecht University Hospital, Prince Constantijn was the third son of Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Prince Claus (né van Amsberg). The prince received as his godparents King Constantine II of the Hellenes, Prince Aschwin of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Baron Axel von dem Bussche-Streithorst, Max Kohnstamm, and Corinne de Beaufort-Sickinghe.

King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia -> Princess Alexandrine of Prussia -> Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin -> Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin -> Queen Juliana of the Netherlands -> Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands -> Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia -> German Emperor Wilhelm I -> German Emperor Friedrich III -> German Emperor Wilhelm II -> Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia -> Princess Friederike of Hannover -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia

Archbishop Anthony of Los Angeles prepares to baptise Grand Duke George, who is held by his grandfather Grand Duke Vladimir.

On 6 May 1981, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia was baptised in Madrid. The baby Romanov was born on 13 March 1981 in the Spanish capital. George was the first and only child of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia and Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (né Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia). Archbishop Antony Sinkevitch of Los Angeles, who officiated at the wedding of Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke Michael, presided over the baptism of their son. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich received as his godparents King Constantine II of Greece (as the king was unable to attend, the infant's grandfather Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich acted as proxy) and Helen Louise Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya. 

German Emperor Wilhelm II -> Prince Joachim of Prussia -> Prince Karl Franz Josef of Prussia -> Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia -> Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia

German Emperor Wilhelm II -> Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia -> Princess Friederike of Hannover -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

Lady Gabriella Kingston

The christening of Lady Gabriella Windsor, 1981.

On 8 June 1981, Lady Gabriella "Ella" Marina Alexandra Ophelia Windsor was christened at the Chapel Royal, St James Palace. Lady Gabriella Windsor was born on 23 April 1981 at St Mary's Hospital, London, as the second child and only daughter of Prince Michael of Kent and his wife, the former Baroness Marie-Christine Miss Marina Ogilvy, the Marchioness of Douro (future Duchess of Westminster), Lady Elizabeth Shakerley (née Litchfield; formerly Litchfield), King Constantine of the Hellenes, and Prince Hugo zu Windisch-Grätz.

King George I of the Hellenes -> Prince Nicholas of Greece -> Princess Marina of Greece -> Prince Michael of Kent -> Lady Gabriella Windsor 

King George I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine I of the Hellenes -> King Pavlos I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

Hereditary Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Serbia 

Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria, and King Constantine II of the Hellenes with Prince Philip and Prince Alexander during their baptism. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain as well as Queen Anne-Marie of Greece watch the ceremony.

In July 1982, the twins Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Serbia were baptised at Villamanrique, Spain; the boys were the second and third sons of Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria da Glória of Orleans-Braganza. Philip and Alexander received as their godparents King Constantine II of the Hellenes and Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria. When their mother was asked who she and her husband had chosen to be the princes' godparents, Princess Maria da Gloria responded: "They are the same for the two children. Because we had only thought of one child and we asked our cousin King Constantine [of Greece] and my cousin Anita of Bourbon-Sicilies [Duchess of Calabria] to be the godfather and godmother. When the twins arrived, we did not want to ask those we had chosen to share these responsibilities, but they [the King of Greece and the Duchess of Calabria] are so wonderful that they insisted on remaining godfather and godmother of the two children. This is why Philip and Alexander have the same godfather and the same godmother."

King George I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine I of the Hellenes -> King Alexander I of the Hellenes -> Princess Alexandra of Greece -> Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia -> Hereditary Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Serbia

King George I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine I of the Hellenes -> King Pavlos I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

The Prince of Wales

The christening of Prince William, 1982.

On 4 August 1982, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was christened at Buckingham Palace. Born on 21 June 1982 at Paddington, London, Prince William was the first child of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The prince received as his godparents King Constantine II of the Hellenes, Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Duchess of Westminster, the Lord Romsey (now Earl Mountbatten of Burma), Lady Susan Hussey, and Sir Laurens van der Post. 

King George I of the Hellenes -> Prince Andreas of Greece -> Prince Philippos of Greece -> King Charles III of the United Kingdom -> The Prince of Wales

King George I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine I of the Hellenes -> King Pavlos I of the Hellenes -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

Hereditary Prince Ernst August of Hannover 

The christening of Prince Ernst August of Hannover, 1983.

On 15 October 1983 at Schloss Marienburg, Prince Ernst August Andreas Philipp Constantin Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph of Hannover was christened in Germany. Born on 19 July 1983 at Hildesheim, Prince Ernst August was the first child of Prince Ernst August of Hannover and Princess Chantal (née Hochuli). The prince received as his godparents King Constantine II of the Hellenes, Princess Alexandra of Hannover (née Princess zu Ysenburg und Büdingen in Wächtersbach), the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain), Fürst Philipp Ernst zu Schaumburg-Lippe, Hereditary Prince (now Fürst) Andreas zu Leiningen, Margrave Maximilian of Baden, and Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hannover.

Prince Ernst August of Hannover -> Prince Ernst August of Hannover -> Prince Ernst August of Hannover -> Prince Ernst August of Hannover 

Prince Ernst August of Hannover -> Princess Friederike of Hannover -> King Constantine II of the Hellenes

Constantine and Anne-Marie of Greece: A Love Story for the Ages

 

The King and Queen.
Photo (c) Greek Royal Family.

Yesterday, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece lost her husband and life partner of six decades. The love story between King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie is truly one of the most beautiful in modern times.

The eventual King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece first met during a visit of the Greek royal family, including then Crown Prince Constantine, to Denmark in 1959. Anne-Marie's father King Frederick took his daughter and eventual son-in-law, as well as other royal youngsters, to see the Benneweis Circus in Jutland. Constantine was the only son of King Paul I of Greece and Queen Frederica (née Princess of Hannover). Anne-Marie was the youngest daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark and Queen Ingrid (née Princess of Sweden).

Constantine and Anne-Marie met again in 1961. The following year, 1962, Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Constantine's older sister Sophia to Juan Carlos of Spain. Later that same year, Anne-Marie was on holiday with her governess in Norway, where  Constantine was attending a yacht racing event. He proposed and she accepted. They did not initially tell her parents. 

In his biography of King Constantine II, entitled H.M. Konstantine XIII King of the Hellenes, the author G. Nicholas Tantzos wrote: 

"The wedding of Sophie and Juan Carlos took place on May 14, 1962, and had even broader romantic consequences. The Crown Prince re-met his third cousin, the sixteen year-old Princess Anne-Marie. more than a hundred of Europe's royals attended the wedding, but Konstantine had eyes for no one else, and danced dance after dance with her, until his mother finally told him to give some of the other Princesses a break. Konstantine was having none of it, stating that he wanted no one else. Without telling his parents, Konstantine proposed to Anne-Marie during the summer of 1962 while they were all in Norway. She accepted, and the Prince immediately went and told his parents. 

Several years before, while visiting Denmark, King Paul had also noticed the twelve-year-old Princess, and remarked to Frederika, 'She is like a butterfly. If and when he marries, I hope Konstantine marries her!' 

King Frederick IX, Princess Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Constantine, King Paul, Queen Frederica, and Queen Ingrid in Copenhagen.

While Frederika and Paul approved of the marriage, all was not so well in Denmark. Anne-Marie's father was delighted, but a number of legal questions were raised. Such a marriage would reunite the Danish and Greek Royal Houses. A hundred years before, the Danish Prince William, second in line to the Danish throne, had been elected King of the Hellenes as King George I. He had deferred his rights in the Danish succession to those of his younger brothers, but he, and his descendants, were still styled Princes of Denmark. Besides the close blood relationship, Danish law did not allow a girl to marry until she attained the age of eighteen. In order to marry, Anne-Marie required a letter of permission from her father, King Frederick IX, which also had to be approved by his Minister of Justice. Circumstances made this unnecessary. The death of King Paul required waiting through a period of mourning, and by the time the date was set, Anne-Marie was eighteen. 

For six months the engagement had to be kept secret, much to the anguish of the Crown Prince, who lamented that it was '...unfair, since most engaged couples can see each other as often as they wish, while I have to sneak around, pretending that I am going to Denmark for the sailing.'"

Constantine and Anne-Marie on the balcony of Amalienborg.

The royal couple recounted their courtship in the Danish documentary A Royal Family.

Crown Prince Constantine and Paul Elvstrøm.

King Constantine: "I actually saw a picture of her in a magazine. And I said: 'That's it.' And I said: 'Well, I want to go to Denmark and meet her.' And my father said: 'How are you going to do that?' And I said: 'Well, I'll write a letter to the king and say I'm going to be in Denmark for a sailing meeting with Mr. Paul Elvstrøm, which was feasible.' I don't know if I ever told Paul that I used him as an excuse to go see this girl." 

Queen Anne-Marie: "We spent, whatever it was, four or five days in Athens for the wedding [of Princess Sophia of Greece and Infante Juan Carlos of Spain], which was a wonderful occasion. And I think probably there it was that we fell in love."

Queen Anne-Marie on their engagement: "I said: 'For goodness sake, do not not tell my parents, because they will have a fit!' Which he couldn't understand, but I persuaded him, and I think he realized that they probably would have had a fit. So it wasn't until, in fact, six months after we had got engaged unofficially that we did tell my parents."

King Frederick IX, Queen Ingrid, Princess Anne-Marie, and Crown Prince Constantine.

King Constantine: "The biggest shock was for my father-in-law. I asked him if I could marry his daughter. And the poor man got such a shock that he got up, he never said a word to me, he just got up, took me by the hand, and put me in a room and locked me in there with no lights. So I had to sort of grope around to find a light, and then I found the light and opened it, and I found out I was in his toilet. And I couldn't understand what I was doing in there. And he had gone off to find his wife and tell her 'this fellow wants to marry our daughter - what do we do with him?'"

Hand in hand: Anne-Marie and Constantine on Corfu.

The engagement of Crown Prince Constantine of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark was officially announced on 23 January 1963 by the Danish and Greek courts. A friend of the princess was quoted by the press: "She is the charmer and humorist of the Royal Family. Life is always fun when she is around."

King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie on their wedding day, 1964.

King Constantine II of the Hellenes and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark were married on 18 September 1964 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. 

The Royal Couple on the occasion of their Golden Wedding Anniversary, 2014.
Photo (c) Greek Royal Family / Studio Kominis.

The King and Queen of Greece were married for fifty-nine years. On 18 September 2014, they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary with a dinner at the Yacht Club of Greece. Following are the remarks that King Constantine gave to those gathered to join the couple in commemorating their fifty years of marriage.

Twenty-five years ago, most of you came to Denmark to celebrate our Silver Wedding anniversary. I cannot forget that I had then invited you to come in another 25 years. I then turned to my wife and said- let’s go for gold! Some of us have survived.

When I plucked up the courage to ask the late King of Denmark permission to marry his daughter, little did I expect that I would end up being locked up in his toilet. He walked off with the key to find my future mother-in-law. She gently asked him- where is he? He told her that I was locked up in the toilet.. She suggested that I be released and that he should order some champagne. When they both gave me their consent, my parents were invited to Denmark and we made the official announcement.

50 years ago, I had fallen in love with, -in my opinion-, the most beautiful girl in the world. 50 years later, I still have the same feeling.

She was also responsible for bringing up five wonderful children, whom we both love and are very proud of. Three of them married into our Family exceptional young people.

She turned out to be the most unselfish and patient human being and the Greek people took her to their hearts, where she remains ever since. That made me very happy and proud.

Those days were also very difficult because of the tension between our neighbours and our country, and also the turbulent politics of those days. I would not be able to go through that period without my young wife at my side.

After I tried to restore democracy in the country and we went to Rome on the 13th December 1967, we also suffered a very personal loss, -the loss of a baby.

This morning the Queen and I went to the Mitropolis, just as we had done 50 years ago. We were greeted by His Eminence the Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece, Mr. Ieronimos, who prayed for the health and well-being of our Family.

The Queen and I made a special prayer for our nation and the Greek people.

I thank you all for being with us tonight and hope to see you here in another 25 years!

Queen Anne-Marie's speech was equally poignant:

It is astonishing to think that 50 years have gone by since that beautiful day in Athens.

I remember so well walking into the Mitropolis on the arm of my father. I was so proud to become your wife. I was so proud to become Greek and so deliriously happy.

We have walked a long road together since that day. We have experienced incredible happiness. We have experienced difficult times, but also good times. And always we could rely on each other!

We found strength in each other. We encouraged and helped each other.

We were incredibly blessed to have our five wonderful children. You in turn have given us nine grandchildren -and counting?

The happiness you have given us is indescribable. We looked after you and worried about you when you were little.

Now the roles are somewhat changing. You look out for Papa and me and help us. Mind you, we still worry about you!

You have encouraged us to start our life again in this heavenly country. It really is the most beautiful country on earth.

We did come home after all these years, as we knew we always would.

And we are so happy.

Our condolences to Her Majesty Queen Anna-Maria of the Hellenes.