Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark (born Marie-Chantal Claire Miller, 17 September 1968), is the wife of

Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece ( el, Παύλος; born 20 May 1967) is the eldest son and second child of Constantine II, the last King of Greece from 1964 to 1973 and his wife, Anne-Marie of Denmark. He was heir apparent to the throne of G ...

, son of

Constantine II of Greece Constantine II ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βʹ, ''Konstantínos II''; 2 June 1940) reigned as the last King of Greece, from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Monarchy of Greece, Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine is the only ...

and Anne-Marie of Denmark. Marie-Chantal's husband was the heir apparent to the now defunct throne of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, as the monarchy was abolished in 1974.

Early life

Marie-Chantal Miller was born in London, England, to

Robert Warren Miller Robert Warren Miller (born May 23, 1933) is an American billionaire, entrepreneur, co-founder of DFS (Duty Free Shops), and sailing champion. He is the father of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Alexandra von Fürstenberg, and ...

, an American-born British businessman, and his wife María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra, an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are colle ...

. She has an older sister, Pia, ex-wife of Christopher Getty, and a younger sister,

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, ex-wife of

Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg (born Alexandre Egon Prinz von Fürstenberg; January 25, 1970) is an American businessman and socialite and the son of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg (née Halfin) and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. E ...

. She was baptized in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City by the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal John O'Connor, with Princess Donatella Missikoff Flick serving as her godmother. Marie-Chantal was raised in Hong Kong where she attended The Peak School until she was 9 years old when she went to board at

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the canto ...

in Switzerland. In 1982 she transferred to the Ecole Active Bilingue in Paris until her senior year which she took at

The Masters School The Masters School (colloquially known as Masters), is a private, coeducational boarding school and day college preparatory school located in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Its campus is located north of New York City in the Hudson Valley in West ...

in New York. After graduating she attended the Academy of Arts for one year. She began a degree in

History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1993 but dropped out a year later after

, proposed to her on a skiing holiday in

Gstaad Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the internatio ...

, Switzerland, at Christmas.

Marriage

In 1994, Marie-Chantal became engaged to

, son of the deposed

King Constantine II Constantine II ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βʹ, ''Konstantínos II''; 2 June 1940) reigned as the last King of Greece, from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine is the only son of King Paul an ...

and Queen Anne Marie. She converted from

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Greek Orthodoxy The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

taking the greek name María on 22 May 1995 in a private

Chrismation Chrismation consists of the sacrament or mystery in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East initiation rites. The sacrament is more commonly known in the West as conf ...

(

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

) ceremony held at St Paul's Chapel in New York. Her engagement ring was a

cabochon A cabochon (; ) is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse. Cabochon was the default method of preparing gemstones before gemstone cutt ...

-cut sapphire and heart-shaped diamond ring. The wedding was planned by Lady Elizabeth Anson and Robert Isabell. Marie-Chantal wore a Valentino dress. The ceremony was held on 1 July 1995 at St Sophia's Cathedral in London. Attendees included many members of European royal families. The couple have five children: * Princess Maria-Olympia (born 25 July 1996 at

Weill Cornell Medical Center Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

in New York City), * Prince Constantine-Alexios (born 29 October 1998 at

in New York City), * Prince Achileas-Andreas (born 12 August 2000 at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

), * Prince Odysseus-Kimon (born 17 September 2004 at

Portland Hospital The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America. History The Portland was conceived by Barry Lewis, a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

), * Prince Aristides-Stavros (born 29 June 2008 at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Career

In 2000, Marie-Chantal founded the luxury childrenswear brand Marie-Chantal. In 2019, she published the book ''Manners Begin at Breakfast: Modern etiquette for families''. She is a trustee of the Royal Academy Trust and a board director of DFS Group Ltd.

Notable published works

* ''Manners Begin at Breakfast: Modern etiquette for families'' (2019).

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

10 January 2023 – present: Grand Mistress and Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Olga and Sophia *** 1 July 1995 – 10 January 2023: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Olga and Sophia * Commemorative Badge of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf (30 April 1996)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Chantal Of Greece, Crown Princess 1968 births Living people Alumni of Institut Le Rosey Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism Greek princesses Danish princesses Danish people of American descent Danish people of English descent Princesses by marriage House of Glücksburg (Greece) Artists from London English socialites English people of Ecuadorian descent English people of American descent English people of Greek descent English people of Danish descent English Eastern Orthodox Christians British expatriates in Hong Kong English expatriates in the United States New York University alumni British designers Miller family Children's clothing designers Greek expatriates in Switzerland The Masters School people