Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

This article is about the daughter of King Paul of Greece. For information on her namesake aunt, see Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta.
Princess Irene
Born (1942-05-11) 11 May 1942
Cape Town, South Africa
House Glücksburg
Father King Paul I of Greece
Mother Frederica of Hanover

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Πριγκίπισσα Ειρήνη της Ελλάδας και Δανίας; born 11 May 1942) is the youngest child of King Paul of Greece and his wife Frederika of Hanover. She is the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and of the deposed King Constantine II of Greece.

Biography

She was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 11 May 1942. She was a pupil of concert pianist Gina Bachauer and, for a while, she was a professional concert pianist herself.

She was a bridesmaid at the 1962 wedding of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain to her sister Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark.

She was dating Prince Michel of Orléans, comte d'Évreux, a younger son of the Orléanist pretender Henri, Count of Paris, when he met Béatrice Pasquier de Franclieu,[1] whom he married on 18 November 1967 in Casablanca, Morocco, without his father's consent.[2]

Princess Irene has never married and is close to her brother, Constantine.

After her brother was dethroned, she moved to India with her mother. Since her mother's death, Princess Irene has lived in Spain in an apartment at the La Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, the royal residence of her sister and brother-in-law, the King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain.

She is the founder and president of the World in Harmony organisation (Mundo en Armonía).[3] She also collaborates with other benefic foundations and cultural activities.

Her niece, Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca named her daughter Irene (born in 2005) after her. On 23 April 2008, she and Mohammed VI of Morocco became the godparents of Simeon Hassan Muñoz, the son of Princess Kalina of Bulgaria and Antonio José "Kitín" Muñoz Valcárcel.

Notable published works

Titles and honours

Titles
National honours

See also List of honours of the Greek Royal Family by country

Foreign honours

Ancestry

References

  1. Herrero, Nieves. Beatriz de Orleans, El Mundo Magazine. 4/10/2009
  2. Velde, Francois. The Royal Family: A Genealogy, Heraldica.org, accessed 12/10/2009
  3. "Who We Are". World In Harmony. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  4. Logintegral
  5. Librería Marcial Pons
  6. Flickr, Photo of Princess Irene and Princess Sofia, Queen of Spain
  7. Royalty
  8. Membership of the Constantinian Order
  9. Royal State Visits
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 11 May 1942
Greek royalty
Preceded by
Constantine
as Crown Prince
Heir to the Greek throne
1964–1965
Succeeded by
Princess Alexia
Lines of succession
Preceded by
The King of the Hellenes
Line of succession to the British throne
descended from Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria
Succeeded by
Duchess Donata of Mecklenburg
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