Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece piles on the PDA with his wife Marie-Chantal

Daily Mail​

23-04-2025

The Duchess of Sussex claimed in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan that hugging was unsettling for Prince William and Catherine.
'They came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot,' Meghan said. 'I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger, I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.'
Clearly, the Greek royals have no such inhibitions, if this photo is anything to go by.
Crown Prince Pavlos, 57, has his hands on the derriere of his wife, Marie-Chantal, 56, in this snap she shared online.
The couple, who celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in July, are close to the Windsors and William, 42, is a godfather of their son, Prince Constantine-Alexios, 26.
The couple's public display of affection may seem unusual for royals, however Pavlos and fashion designer Marie-Chantal are somewhat known for being affectionate with each other in public.
Marie-Chantal regularly posts loved-up pictures with her husband and family on her Instagram including holiday snaps of the two of them skiing and in Greece.
On their 29th wedding anniversary, Pavlos shared a touching tribute to his wife. The couple wed in 1995, in a spectacular ceremony that made for the largest gathering of royals in London since Queen Elizabeth II 's wedding to Prince Philip in 1946.
And their marriage has gone from strength to strength, welcoming five children Princess Maria-Olympia, 28, Prince Constantine-Alexios, 26, Prince Achileas-Andreas, 24, Prince Odysseas-Kimon, 20 and Prince Aristides-Stavros, 16.
Last year the Crown Prince took to Instagram to pen: 'Today we celebrate 29 years of happy marriage - thank you for our wonderful children and our lives.
'I still feel just as I felt on the day we got married.'
He shared a loved-up picture of the couple sat together on some steps as they marked the special occasion.
Sharing the same image, Marie wrote: 'Happy anniversary to my one and only!'.
Crown Prince Pavlos is the second son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
He was born at a turbulent time for Greek politics, which saw the royal family forced into exile in 1967 following a military coup.
Despite being heirs to a now-defunct throne, the Greek royals maintain strong ties with monarchies around Europe - including the British royals.
Prince William, 42, is a godfather of their son, Constantine-Alexios, 26 and King Charles is Crown Prince Pavlos's godfather.
Having fled Athens as a child he moved with his family to Rome before settling in Copenhagen. living with Queen Ingrid.
The family now split their time between London and New York where many of the couple's children have gone for university.
And New York remains an important place for the royal couple having met there in 1993.
While Marie-Chantal was studying a degree in History of Art at New York University, she and Pavlos were set up on a blind date by New York investment banker Alecko Papamarkou, a mutual friend who was convinced they would hit it off.
'We clicked,' the Princess told Vanity Fair in 2008. 'It was love at first sight. I knew that he was the person I would marry.'
The pair became engaged in 1995 after a romantic proposal in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, and their July wedding later that year was the largest gathering of royals in London since Queen Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip in 1946.
Among the 1,250 guests who attended were the royal families of Britain, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Romania, Jordan and Bulgaria.
The couple moved to Manhattan, where she continued her studies in art history and Pavlos worked as an investment consultant. It was here they had their firstborn Olympia, before moving to London in 2002 so their children could have a European education.
The couple moved to Manhattan, where she continued her studies in art history and Pavlos worked as an investment consultant and theystarted their family
While the royals have no official remit as part of the defunct Greek royal family, they successfully applied for citizenship in December.
And the family expressed 'deep emotion' as they shared the update.
The late King Constantine II and his family members were stripped of Greek citizenship in 1994 in a dispute with the government over formerly royal property and over claims that he refused to renounce any right to the Greek throne for his descendants.
The Greek monarchy was abolished by referendum in December 1974, when voters overwhelmingly backed a republican constitution, months after the fall of a seven-year military dictatorship.
In a decision published in the government gazette, dated Friday, citizenship was granted to 10 members of the former royal family.
They include the five children of the late king and former Queen Anne-Marie as well as to five of their grandchildren.
Interior Ministry official Athanasios Balerpas said that relatives of the late king, who died in 2022 at the age of 82, signed a declaration on acknowledging the republican government.
They are also adopting a new surname, 'De Grece' - which is French for 'of Greece'.