José Manuel Stilianopoulos y Estela (sometimes known as Mike Stilianopoulos) (22 September 1930 – 4 November 2016) was a Philippine ambassador to Britain. He was appointed by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

as the seventh Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a position he held from 1977 to 1982. Previous Philippine Ambassadors to the Court of St. James's
Philippine Embassy London. Accessed February 5, 2010.

Biography

Stilianopoulos was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines, on September 22, 1930, to Doña Ana Estela and Don Carlos Stilianopoulos, a Greek businessman. He was the grandson of a Spanish businessman, Don Miguel Estela, and was cousin to Sebastian Caruso Moll, congressman of

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and ...

, and actor Jesus "Og" Estela Ramos. Stilianopoulos was also the uncle of Mystique model Hilda Estela Garchitorena. He was married, on June 24, 1957, to Doña Esperanza Ridruejo (17 December 1930 – 6 May 2019), also known as Pitita.La Fiesta
". ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

''. 2008. . During his tenure as Ambassador, the couple owned a secluded villa near the resort of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

, Spain, which saw them come under the media spotlight in 1979, when

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

stayed at the villa with

Roddy Llewellyn Sir Roderic Victor Llewellyn, 5th Baronet (born 9 October 1947), is a British baronet, garden designer, journalist, author, and television presenter. He had an eight-year relationship with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the younger sist ...

,Brodmann, Ron; Kennedy, John. "Style; Personalities". ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. August 10, 1979. (via

Lexis-Nexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer inform ...

). as she renewed the relationship that had earlier ceased during her marriage to

Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...

. Within their social circle, including Princess Margaret, they were known simply as Mike and Pitita."In Brief: Princess, Llewellyn in Spain". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' (Canada). August 10, 1979 (via Lexis-Nexis). Dempster, Nigel (1982). ''Princess Margaret: A Life Unfulfilled''. New York:

Macmillan Publishing Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

. pp. 206; 214–215. . After a very long time being Ambassador in several countries in Europe he settled down in Spain. Mike and Pitita lived in downtown Madrid since the 80s. They were the parents of the Spanish artist Claudia Stilianopoulos. After suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he died on November 4, 2016, in Madrid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stilianopoulos, Jose Manuel 1930 births 2016 deaths Ambassadors of the Philippines to the United Kingdom Filipino diplomats People from Camarines Sur Filipino people of Greek descent Filipino people of Spanish descent