Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece 

Eight Kings and Eleven Queens were among the Royal Guests and Relatives at the splendid Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller at Wrotham Park on this day in 1995, 30 years ago, two days before their Wedding!

The Miller Family hosted a Gala for Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller at Wrotham Park, which began with a champagne reception followed by a Dinner and a Ball for 1,300 guests in a marquee that resembled the Parthenon in Athens.

There was also an 18th-century carousel in the garden, a fireworks display, and the celebrations ended with a champagne breakfast the following morning.

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller with King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and Princess Alexia (in her Van Cleef & Arpels Suite)

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Henrik of Denmark and Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein

King Constantine II and Queen Silvia of Sweden (in the Pink Topaz Parure)

The Duke of Edinburgh   

Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (wearing her Saudi Diamond Necklace and Floral Aigrette Tiara)

Two nights before the royal wedding, 1300 guests were on their way to a grand ball at Wrotham Park in Hertford, an hour’s drive from central London. Everyone knew how to get there-the organizer of the party and other attendant wedding festivities was none other that Lady Elizabeth Anson of London’s Party Planners and Lady E. had sent out very clear instructions. But what almost no one knew how to pronounce was Wrotham. The British pronounce it “Rottem” it is, a bizarre name for a country house that looks more like a palace.

Wrotham Park is a privately owned stately home, but for the dazzling dinner dance celebrating the marriage of their daughter, Chantal and Robert Miller took it over and called in Isabell to create a magical illusion.

As the guests ascended the great stone steps to the entrance, they walked through a veritable English garden of bay and boxwood trees and countless roses, while a classical quartet from the Royal Philharmonic played in the background. The crowd then descended another stone stairway lined with 14 huge urns bursting with golden roses to the back lawns where a mammoth tent, 135 by 240 feet, had been erected.

A tribute to ancient Greece, the space was surrounded by 15-foot ecru muslin draperies bordered in green laurel. The main drapery was three stories high and the ceiling was squared off into 25 muslin panels bordered in real laurel imported from Greece by Isabell. He and Chantal Miller selected the design and colors inspired by ancient Greek vases and architecture. From Ecuador (Chantal Miller is an Ecuadorian), 30,000 roses were flown in and arranged in enormous terra-cotta urns towering over the guests on 10-foot high pedestals.

Just when everyone thought they had witnessed the quintessence of decorative beauty, the three-story central drapery lifted to reveal a second wondrous scene, the dinner tent, to gasps and spontaneous applause. Guests entered through a two-story high portico of white Corinthian columns onto a vast, hand painted floor, the design taken from Greek tiles, as was the 50-foot-square dance floor, designed to make room for maybe 450 killer ball gowns.

Eight musicians played for the perfumed pack, and during dinner 20 dancers wearing antique costumes brought from Greece. Prince Pavlos danced Greek folk dances including the sirtaki with some of the Greek royals joining the joyous circle. (You’ve heard the Greeks invented democracy?)

After dinner and dancing, news came that something wonderful was going on in the back gardens, where a gorgeous 18th-century carousel was going round and round. Then came fireworks, imported from Macao, giving new meaning to lighting up the sky.

The last diehards left at 6:30 a.m. after watching the sun rise and eating a hearty breakfast to see them on their way. Everyone agreed it was the most fabulous party in years and that it might be many more years before they saw its like again.

One of the loveliest dresses was worn by the bride-to-be, a celadon taffeta embroidered ball gown by Valentino. The bride’s mother wore satin and chiffon by John Galliano, and the Shahbanou of Iran was in cream-colored satin and lace by Azzaro. Cecile Zilkha was in Mne. Gres’ brilliant blue chiffon and her adorable daughter, Bettina, wore Oscar de la Renta’s rose-colored chiffon.

Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara

Miller Fringe Tiara