Constantine II was the reigning Greek monarch, while Princess Anne-Marie was the youngest daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. It was the second, and to date, the last wedding of a reigning Greek monarch, and the first to be held in Greece.[1]
The couple, third cousins through both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark, first met in 1959 when then Crown Prince Constantine accompanied his parents on a state visit to Denmark. Princess Anne-Marie was just 13 at the time. They met again in 1961, and in 1962, Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Constantine's older sister, Princess Sophia, to Infante Juan Carlos of Spain. In 1962, Princess Anne-Marie was on holiday with her governess in Norway, where Crown Prince Constantine was attending a yacht racing event. He proposed and she accepted. King Frederik IX initially withheld his consent, as Anne-Marie was only 15 at the time, but eventually relented on the conditions that she finish her education and the wedding not be held before her 18th birthday.[1]
On 23 January 1963, the Danish royal court announced the engagement. The wedding was initially set for January 1965. Following the death of Constantine's father, King Paul, on 6 March 1964, the date was moved forward to 18 September 1964.[2]
The celebrations began in early September 1964. On 7 September, Constantine arrived in Denmark where a private dinner was held at Fredensborg Palace. The next day, there was a gala performance at the Royal Danish Theatre followed by a banquet at Christiansborg Palace. The next morning, a reception was held at Copenhagen City Hall.[2]
King Constantine II, Princess Anne-Marie, King Frederik IX, Queen Ingrid, Princess Margrethe and Princess Benedikte sailed to Greece on board the Danish royal yacht Dannebrog. A reception was held in honour of the Danish royal family at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
On 16 September, most of the royal guests arrived in Greece by plane. That evening, a gala was held at the Royal Palace for 1,600 invited guests.[3]
Princess Anne-Marie wore a relatively unadorned gown by Danish designer Holger Blom, assisted by Jørgen Bender.[5] Her Irish lace veil, worn by her maternal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught at her wedding in 1905, was anchored by a Cartier diamond tiara given to Princess Margaret by the Abbas II, Khedive of Egypt. The veil had also been worn by her mother, Queen Ingrid, in 1935. The veil and tiara together have been worn by all of Ingrid's female descendants.[6][3]
The wedding was attended by 1200 guests from around the world.[8] As both the bride and groom were descendants of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Christian IX of Denmark, they were closely related to almost all of the royal houses in Europe, many of whom were in attendance.[2][a]
The Count and Countess of Barcelona, the bride and groom's mutual second cousin once removed, and his wife (also parents of the groom's brother-in-law)
Infanta Pilar of Spain, the bride and groom's mutual third cousin (also sister-in-law of the groom's sister)
^The bride and groom are related to all the European royal guests. A guest's closest relation to either the bride or groom is the only relation denoted in the list below.