When a European prince fell for an American billionaire's daughter: ‘Love at first sight'
Before she became Crown Princess of Greece, Marie-Chantal was best known as the daughter of billionaire Robert Warren Miller — the American tycoon behind the global Duty Free Shops empire. Born in London and raised between Hong Kong, Paris, Switzerland and New York, Marie-Chantal grew up in extraordinary privilege, the middle daughter of one of the most well-connected families in the world.
Marie-Chantal's upbringing was steeped in wealth, culture, and connections. Her father's business success had made him one of the richest men in Asia by the 1980s, and her mother, María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra, was an Ecuadorian socialite.
Marie-Chantal may have made a royal match, but her two sisters – Pia and Alexandra – are no less famous. Pia married into the Getty oil dynasty, while Alexandra wed a German prince and is now known as von Fürstenberg.
Marie-Chantal's life took a fairytale turn when she met Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, in 1992. According to a piece published in Vanity Fair, Prince Pavlos, eldest son and heir of King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie of Greece, met the American heiress in the United States, thanks to a blind date arranged by New York investment banker Alecko Papamarkou.
'Marie-Chantal and I met at a party of friends of mine in New Orleans,' Pavlos was quoted as saying by Royalty Magazine. 'We were seated next to each other at dinner and we spent the whole evening together, talking, and dancing. I guess you could call it love at first sight.'
Their relationship quickly became serious. Pavlos proposed in 1994 during a ski holiday in Switzerland. Their engagement was announced in January 1995, and the wedding – one of the most lavish of the time – followed in July.
The couple married on July 1, 1995 at St. Sophia's Cathedral in London, in what was widely described as the most lavish royal wedding of the decade. The pre-wedding events and the ceremony reportedly cost over $8 million and included a guest list of 1,400, featuring royalty from across Europe - including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Queen Sofía of Spain (Pavlos's aunt).
In fact, according to a New York Times report, the wedding was attended by more royals than the union of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
A week before the wedding, Queen Elizabeth II even hosted a tea party at Claridge's for the happy couple. Two nights before the ceremony, Marie-Chantal's parents, Robert and Chantal Miller, threw a spectacular pre-wedding reception, dinner, and ball for around 1,200–1,300 guests at a Palladian mansion near Sevenoaks.
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The wedding of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller on July 1, 1995 was one of the most extravagant and widely talked-about events of the year, blending royal tradition with billionaire flair.
The ceremony was held at St Sophia's Cathedral, the spiritual centre of Greek Orthodoxy in the UK and a familiar setting to the Greek royal family. Over 450 guests packed into the cathedral, with another 850 watching a live satellite broadcast from Hampton Court Palace.
The guest list read like a who's who of global royalty. In a rare show of support for exiled royalty, members of the British royal family — including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and the Queen Mother — attended.
The Spanish royal family, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, royals from Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and the former monarchs of Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria also attended. The Middle East was represented by King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, along with the exiled Shah Reza II and Empress Farah of Iran.
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