Greece may no longer have a reigning monarchy, as the monarchy was dissolved in 1967 following a vote, and the late King Constantine was banished outside of the nation. However, the previous king, the late Constantine, and his wife, the former Queen Anne-Marie, had strong ties to numerous royal families in Europe.
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| Danish Royal Family |
Denmark
Queen Anne-Marie was born as a Danish princess, the youngest child of King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid. Her older sister, Margrethe, is the present Queen of Denmark. As a result of Anne Marie, the Greeks are closely linked to the Danes. Pavlos, the former Greek Crown Prince, is the cousin of Danish Crown Prince Frederick.
Last summer, Queen Margrethe and her sisters, Princess Benedict and Princess Anne-Marie, convened at Grsten Palace in Denmark for a family reunion. Crown Princes Frederick and Prince Joachim, as well as their wives, joined their cousins Princess Alexia, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philip. The images issued by the Danish Royal House did not include Prince Pavlos and his family.
The reunion was also attended by Princess Benedict and her children; Prince Gustaf, Princess Alexandra, and Princess Natalie.
Of course, the children of the former Greek King Constantine have the titles of Prince/Princess of Greece and Denmark, not only because they are the children of Princess Anne-Marie, but also because they are descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark, the former King Constantine's great-grandfather.
Spain
Through their father, the Greek family is linked to the Spanish royal line. Princess Sofia, the eldest sister of former King Constantine, married former King Juan Carlos. When she married, Queen Sofia even altered the spelling of her name to the Spanish version. As a result, King Philip of Spain is related to the five children of previous King Constantine and former Queen Anne-Marie.
United Kingdom
Through the late Prince Philip, who was born a prince of Greece and Denmark, the Greek family is connected to the British royal line. Prince Philip's father was a cousin of the late King Constantine, hence Prince Philip was considered an uncle to the late King Constantine. The late King Constantine was also the godfather of Prince William, the Prince of Wales.
The British and Greeks are considered to be close; following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, several children of King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie paid tribute to their beloved Aunt Lilibet.
Other European Royal Families
The Greek royal family is also linked to other European royal families, including the Belgian, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, and Swedish royal families, as they are all sprung through King Christian IX of Denmark. Their ties, however, go a little deeper than the Greeks' with the Danes and Spaniards, in particular.