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Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark

Princess Alexia
Princess Alexia in 2010
Born (1965-07-10) 10 July 1965 (age 59)
Mon Repos, Corfu, Kingdom of Greece
Spouse
Carlos Morales Quintana
​
​
(m. 1999)​
Issue
  • Arrietta Morales y de Grecia
  • Ana María Morales y de Grecia
  • Carlos Morales y de Grecia
  • Amelia Morales y de Grecia
HouseGlücksburg
FatherConstantine II of Greece
MotherAnne-Marie of Denmark

Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Αλεξία ντε Γκρες, romanized: Alexia de Grèce; born 10 July 1965) is the eldest child of Constantine II and Anne-Marie, who were King and Queen of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973. She was heiress presumptive to the Greek throne from her birth in 1965 until the birth of her brother Crown Prince Pavlos in 1967.[1]

Biography

Alexia with her mother, Anne-Marie, in 1965

Alexia was born on 10 July 1965 at Mon Repos, a villa on the Greek island of Corfu used at the time as a summer residence by the Greek royal family.[2] She was the first child born to the then King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes. At the time of her birth, her father was King of Greece, her grandfather was King of Denmark, and her great-grandfather was King of Sweden.[1]

As the monarch's only child, between her own birth and the birth on 20 May 1967 of her brother Pavlos, Alexia was heir presumptive to the throne of the Hellenes, then an extant monarchy.[1][3] The Greek Constitution of 1952 had changed Greece's order of succession to the throne from the previous Salic law, prevalent in much of the continent, and which precluded the succession of women, to male-preference primogeniture, which accorded succession to the throne to a female member of a dynasty if she has no brothers, similar to the then extant succession laws of the United Kingdom, Denmark and Spain.[4]

Alexia grew up in exile and was raised in between Rome and London.[5] In Rome, she and her brothers were tutored privately by Jon Kanellopoulos. These private lessons eventually became open to other Greek children living in Rome and lessons would take place in their summerhouse garden rooms.[6] The family then briefly moved to Denmark and stayed at Amalienborg Palace, and then to London the following year.[6] Prior to Alexia's education at the Hellenic College of London, she attended the Miss Surtee's School for Boys and Girls in Rome, Italy. After Hellenic College, she went to the Froebel College of the Roehampton Institute, a division of the University of Surrey, in 1985 and took a BA in History and Education in 1988. In 1989, she achieved a Post Graduate Certificate of Education and became a primary school teacher in the inner city area of Southwark in London between 1989 and 1992[7][8] before moving to Barcelona where she became a teacher of children with developmental disabilities.[8]

On 19 December 2024, Alexia, her four siblings and her five nephews and nieces submitted an application for Greek citizenship, which had been stripped from the family in 1994. Pavlos' mother, Anne-Marie, did not apply, with it being reported that she was "not interested".[9] Under law, Alexia and her family, in order to receive citizenship, must pledge allegiance to the republican constitution and have a surname. Ultimately, the surname of "Ντε Γκρες" (De Grèce; "of Greece") was chosen. Of this, the Deputy Minister to the Greek Prime Minister, Pavlos Marinakis, said to Action 24 that their "request was made in accordance with the law", while the left-wing SYRIZA party stated "the choice of family name is problematic".[10] It was reported by the royal family that this surname was chosen as it was the one used by the late Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, so was the "only familiar one" to them.[11] The following day, Alexia's citizenship, alongside that of her family, was reinstated according to the provisions of the 1994 law.[12]

Marriage and children

Greek royal family

The Dowager Queen

Marina, consort of Prince Michael

On 9 July 1999, Alexia married Carlos Javier Morales Quintana, an architect[13] and a champion yachtsman, at St. Sophia Cathedral, London.[14][15] In May 1999, two months before their wedding, Alexia and Carlos were involved in a yachting accident on a boat named the Alexia.[6] Alexia and Carlos were the only two people out of the thirteen on board to be injured. Alexia suffered a broken collarbone and Carlos a fractured kneecap. Plans for their wedding to be delayed were in place, however both were able to recover beforehand.[6]

At her wedding, Alexia wore a gown by the Austrian designer Inge Sprawson. She also wore a Cartier diamond tiara that previously belonged to Margaret of Connaught. The same tiara was worn by the brides at the weddings of Alexia's mother, Anne-Marie, and grandmother, Ingrid.[6] Her attendants included her sister Princess Theodora, her niece Princess Maria-Olympia, and Princess Mafalda, daughter of Kyril, Prince of Preslav, a son of former King Simeon of Bulgaria. Their wedding was preceded by a royal ball,[13] two days prior.

Dual Cypher of Alexia and Carlos
Arms of a princess of Greece

The couple have four children:

  • Arrietta Morales y de Grecia (b. 24 February 2002, Barcelona)[16][17]
  • Anna-Maria Morales y de Grecia (b. 15 May 2003, Barcelona)[16]
  • Carlos Morales y de Grecia (b. 30 July 2005, Barcelona)[16]
  • Amelia Morales y de Grecia (b. 26 October 2007, Barcelona)[6]

Their children's last names are "Morales y de Grecia", which translates to "Morales and of Greece", taking their father's surname and their mother's royal title.

Alexia and her family now live in her husband's native land, at Puerto Calero marina, Yaiza, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, in a house designed by her husband.[6] The Canary Islands are an autonomous community of Spain,[18] where Alexia's aunt, Queen Sofía, lives and first cousin, Felipe VI, lives and rules.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ a b c d Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. "Burke's Royal Families of the World: Volume I Europe & Latin America, 1977, pp. 67, 316, 327–328. ISBN 0-85011-023-8
  2. ^ Lakritz, Talia (14 April 2021). "Take a look inside Prince Philip's birthplace, a 19th-century Greek island villa that is now an archaeological museum". Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. ^ Queen of Style. Daily Telegraph (London), [s. l.], p. 38,39,40,41, 2021. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=8Q2169803072&site=eds-live&scope=site . Acesso em: 21 mar. 2023.
  4. ^ Hourmouzios, Stelio (1972). No Ordinary Crown: A Biography of King Paul of the Hellenes. Weidenfeld & N. pp. 243–244. ISBN 0-297-99408-5.
  5. ^ Cope, Rebecca (1 June 2021). "Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark and Nina Flohr celebrate second wedding". Tatler. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Princess Alexia". Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 522–525, 536–539 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  8. ^ a b Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 31–33, 132, 173. ISBN 91-630-5964-9
  9. ^ "Former Greek Royal Family Members Apply for Citizenship, Opt for Surname 'De Grece'". To Vima. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Greek Ex-royal Family Requests Naturalisation, Sparks Controversy". Barron's. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Announcement 23/12/2024". Official Greek Royal Family website. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  12. ^ Efimeris tis Kyverniseos Issue (ΦΕΚ) Β΄ 7035/2024, decisions 1 through 10 "On the Recognition of Greek nationality of..."
  13. ^ a b THEODORACOPULOS, T. Royal Is as Royal Does. National Review, [s. l.], v. 51, n. 15, p. 29–30, 1999. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2064633&site=eds-live&scope=site . Acesso em: 21 mar. 2023.
  14. ^ Gay, Danielle (8 July 2019). "Inside Princess Alexia and Carlos Morales Quintana's 1999 wedding". Vogue. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Royal weddings in history". Vogue. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  16. ^ a b c "Πριγκίπισσα Αλεξία". www.greekroyalfamily.gr. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  17. ^ N.A. Baby due for Princess. Advertiser, The (Adelaide), [s. l.], [s. d.]. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=200109102023032733&site=eds-live&scope=site . Acesso em: 21 mar. 2023.
  18. ^ Tamaimos. "Canarias está en África". tamaimos.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 10 July 1965
Greek royalty
Preceded by Heir-presumptive to the Greek throne
1965–1967 		Succeeded byas Crown Prince
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Morales_Quintana