Latest news with #Pavlos
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
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. A post shared by Royal Greece 🇬🇷 (@royal_greece) 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.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece piles on the PDA with his wife Marie-Chantal
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'.
