kids encyclopedia robot

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Princess Irene
Aankomst Grieks Koninklijk paar op Schiphol, v.l.n.r. prins Bernhard , Koning Co, Bestanddeelnr 918-8594 (cropped).jpg
Irene in 1966
Born (1942-05-11) 11 May 1942 (age 82)
Cape Town, South Africa
House Glücksburg
Father Paul of Greece
Mother Frederica of Hanover

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark R.E. (Greek: Ειρήνη; born 11 May 1942) is the youngest child and second daughter of King Paul of the Hellenes and his wife, Queen Frederica. She is the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and King Constantine II of the Hellenes. She is also the great-granddaughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, who was the first grandson of Queen Victoria.

Biography

Irene was born in Cape Town, South Africa, where her parents were living in exile, on 11 May 1942. She was christened at her parents' Claremont home by the Metropolitan of the Holy Archdiocese of Good Hope. She had ten godparents, including General Jan Smuts, Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (her paternal aunt), King George II of the Hellenes (her paternal uncle), Queen Mary of the United Kingdom, and the Duchess of Kent (her paternal first cousin once removed). She was a pupil of concert pianist Gina Bachauer and, for a while, she was a professional concert pianist herself.

Prinses Irene met een klasgenote en een kat in de tuin, Bestanddeelnr 255-7387
Princess Irene (left) as a child in 1948

Irene was courted by Prince Michel of Orléans, Count of Évreux, a younger son of the Orléanist pretender Henri, Count of Paris, until he met French noblewoman Béatrice Marie Pasquier de Franclieu, whom he married in 1967.

After her brother was dethroned, Irene moved to India with her mother. Since her mother's death in 1981, she has lived in Spain in an apartment at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, the residence of her sister and brother-in-law, Queen Sofía and King Juan Carlos.

Irene was the founder and president of the organisation World in Harmony (Mundo en Armonía) from 1986 to 2023. On 16 March 2018, Princess Irene obtained Spanish nationality and renounced her Greek nationality.

Notable published works

  • En Decelia: fragmentos cerámicos de Decelia y miscelánea arqueológica. Athens, (1959–1960). Edited in Spanish in Spain, 2013. ISBN: 9788494103308

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

  • 11 May 1942 – 6 March 1964: Her Royal Highness Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark
  • 6 March 1964 - 10 July 1965: Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Greece
  • 10 July 1965 - Present: Her Royal Highness Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

Honours

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Irene de Grecia para niños

kids search engine
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.