Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Tatiana Ellinka Blatnik, 27 August 1980) is a Venezuelan publicist, event planner, and writer. She is a member of the former
Greek royal family
The Greek royal family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg, that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. It ...
and the
Danish royal family
The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...
as the wife of
Prince Nikolaos, son of
Constantine II, who reigned as King of Greece until the monarchy was abolished in 1973. She worked as a publicist and event planner for
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin, 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as ...
and, in 2016, published the cookbook ''
A Taste of Greece''.
Early life and ancestry
Tatiana Blatnik was born in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, and was raised in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Tatiana and her brother, Boris Blatnik are the children of Ladislav Vladimir Blatnik and Marie Blanche Bierlein. Her mother is of aristocratic descent being a direct descendant of
William II, Elector of Hesse
William II (german: Wilhelm II; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.After 1806, the title of ''Elector'' was meaningless, since no more Holy Roman Emperors could be elected, because the Empire had been dissolve ...
. Her maternal grandparents are Ernst Bierlein (1920-2009) and Countess Ellinka Karin Harriet von
Einsiedel (1922-2015). Princess Tatiana's father was born in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
in 1931 and later moved to
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. He was engaged to the Hollywood actress
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles.
Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...
. Her father died when she was seven and she was raised by her mother. Her stepfather,
Attilio Brillembourg
Saint Attilio, one of the legendary martyrs of the Theban Legion, is venerated as a saint in the area of Trino Vercellese, in Piedmont, north-west Italy and commemorated on 28 June. However his cult is no longer officially recognized by the Ro ...
, is the owner of a New York area financial services company.
Tatiana studied at
Aiglon College
Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...
, then at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
graduating in 2003 with a degree in sociology. Until July 2010, when she resigned to concentrate on her wedding plans, Tatiana had worked in the publicity department as an
event planner
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of small and/or large-scale personal or corporate events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, weddings, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. ...
for
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin, 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as ...
.
Engagement and marriage
Prince Nikolaos's engagement to Tatiana Blatnik, with whom he had been in a long-term relationship, was announced on 28 December 2009, by the office of King Constantine in London. Blatnik and Prince Nikolaos were married in the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas,
Spetses
Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...
, Greece, on 25 August 2010. The bride wore a gown designed by Venezuelan
Angel Sanchez.
Notable published works
* ''
A Taste of Greece: Recipes, Cuisine & Culture'' - with Diana Farr Louis – (2016).
Honours
*
Greek Royal Family
The Greek royal family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg, that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. It ...
:
**
![Royal Order of Saints Olga and Sophia ribbon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Royal_Order_of_Saints_Olga_and_Sophia_ribbon.png)
Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
The Royal Family Order of Saints Olga and Sophia ( el, Βασιλικόν Οἰκογενειακόν Τάγμα Ἁγίων Ὂλγας καὶ Σοφίας, Vasilikon Oikogeneiakon Tagma Agion Olgas kai Sofias) was an order of the Greek royal ...
(25 August 2010)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatiana of Denmark, Princess
1980 births
Greek princesses
Danish princesses
Princesses by marriage
Venezuelan people of Slovenian descent
Venezuelan people of German descent
Living people
Georgetown College (Georgetown University) alumni
Venezuelan emigrants to Switzerland
People from Caracas