Christopher of Greece
Christopher of Greece and Denmark , called "Christ" (* July 29 . Jul / 10. August 1888 greg. In Pavlovsk , † 21st January 1940 in Athens ) was a member of the house House of Glücksburg .
Life
Prince Christoph was the youngest of eight children of the Greek King Georg I (1845-1913) and his wife of the Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinowna Romanowa (1851-1926), daughter of the Russian Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Romanow and Princess Alexandra of Saxony-Altenburg . He was a great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I , grandson of the Danish King Christian IX. and uncle of the British Prince Consort Philip, Duke of Edinburgh .
Christoph spoke fluent Greek , German , English , Danish , Russian , French and Italian . The siblings spoke Greek to each other, but English to their parents. He studied in Germany at the University of Heidelberg , where he joined the Corps Saxo-Borussia . He was offered the throne of Portugal , Lithuania and Albania , which he refused because of the royal duties.
With his second British cousin Lady Alexandra Duff (1891-1959), the eldest daughter of Princess Louise , he had a relationship in 1910. His parents and the bride's grandparents were against marriage. In 1913, Lady Alexandra married Prince Arthur of Connaught at St James's Palace . In 1914 Christoph got engaged to the wealthy American widow, Nonnie May "Nancy" Leeds , but complications delayed the marriage by six years. The wedding took place on January 1, 1920 in Vevey . After the marriage, the bride took the name "Anastasia". With her considerable fortune, she supported the Greek royal family during their exile in the 1920s. Nancy died of cancer less than three years after the wedding in 1923; her money and property were shared between her second marriage son, William Bateman Leeds Jr. (1908–1971), and her husband. Her son married in 1921 the niece of his stepfather, Grand Duchess Xenija Georgievna Romanowa (1903-1965).
Prince Christoph married Françoise Isabelle Louise Marie von Orléans (1902–1953) in Palermo in 1929 , daughter of Jean d'Orléans, duc de Guise and Isabelle d'Orléans . The couple had a son, Prince Michael of Greece (born January 7, 1939 in Rome).
Prince Christoph and his second wife are buried in the Royal Cemetery in Tatoi .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Christopher of Greece |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Christopher Prince of Greece and Denmark |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek prince |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 10, 1888 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pavlovsk |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 21, 1940 |
| Place of death | Athens |