| Venue: | Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens |
| Location: | Athens, Kingdom of Greece |
| Date: | 18 September 1964 |
The wedding of Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place on Friday, 18 September 1964, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
Constantine II was the reigning Greek monarch, while Princess Anne-Marie was the youngest daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. It was the second, and to date, the last wedding of a reigning Greek monarch, and the first to be held in Greece.[1]
Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, presided over the Church of Greece ceremony. The ceremony was attended by the bride's and groom's families, as well as members of foreign royal families, diplomats, and various Greek and Danish officials.
The couple, third cousins through both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark, first met in 1959 when then Crown Prince Constantine accompanied his parents on a state visit to Denmark. Princess Anne-Marie was just 13 at the time. They met again in 1961, and in 1962, Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Constantine's older sister, Princess Sophia, to Infante Juan Carlos of Spain. In 1962, Princess Anne-Marie was on holiday with her governess in Norway, where Crown Prince Constantine was attending a yacht racing event. He proposed and she accepted. King Frederik IX initially withheld his consent, as Anne-Marie was only 15 at the time, but eventually relented on the conditions that she finish her education and the wedding not be held before her 18th birthday.[1]
On 23 January 1963, the Danish royal court announced the engagement. The wedding was initially set for January 1965. Following the death of Constantine's father, King Paul, on 6 March 1964, the date was moved forward to 18 September 1964.[2]
The celebrations began in early September 1964. On 7 September, Constantine arrived in Denmark where a private dinner was held at Fredensborg Palace. The next day, there was a gala performance at the Royal Danish Theatre followed by a banquet at Christiansborg Palace. The next morning, a reception was held at Copenhagen City Hall.[2]
King Constantine II, Princess Anne-Marie, King Frederik IX, Queen Ingrid, Princess Margrethe and Princess Benedikte sailed to Greece on board the Danish royal yacht Dannebrog. A reception was held in honour of the Danish royal family at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
On 16 September, most of the royal guests arrived in Greece by plane. That evening, a gala was held at the Royal Palace for 1,600 invited guests.[3]
Constantine and Anne-Marie were married on 18 September 1964, two weeks after Anne-Marie's 18th birthday.[4]
The Greek Orthodox marriage ceremony took place in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, and was conducted by Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.[3]
Princess Anne-Marie wore a relatively unadorned gown by Danish designer Holger Blom, assisted by Jørgen Bender.[5] Her Irish lace veil, worn by her maternal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught at her wedding in 1905, was anchored by a Cartier diamond tiara given to Princess Margaret by the Abbas II, Khedive of Egypt. The veil had also been worn by her mother, Queen Ingrid, in 1935. The veil and tiara together have been worn by all of Ingrid's female descendants.[6] [3]
King Constantine II wore the ceremonial uniform of stratarches (field marshal) of the Hellenic Army. He wore the insignia of the Greek Order of the Redeemer, Order of Saints George and Constantine, Order of George I and the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece, as well as with the insignia of the Danish Order of the Elephant and Order of the Dannebrog.[6]
The wedding was attended by 1200 guests from around the world.[8] As both the bride and groom were descendants of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Christian IX of Denmark, they were closely related to almost all of the royal houses in Europe, many of whom were in attendance.[2]
The King and Queen of the Belgians,[3] the bride's second cousin and his wife
The King and Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan
The Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein
The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg,[3] the bride's second cousin and her husband (representing The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg)
The Prince and Princess of Monaco
Prince Moulay Ali of Morocco (representing the King of Morocco)
The Queen and Prince Consort of the Netherlands, the bride's first cousin twice removed, and her husband Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the bride's second cousin once removed
The King of Norway,[3] the bride's paternal first cousin once removed The Crown Prince of Norway, the bride's paternal second cousin
The King and Queen of Thailand[3]
Prince Richard of Gloucester, the bride and groom's mutual third cousin