Wedding of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

On July 1, 1995, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, the eldest son and second child of the five children of former King Constantine II of Greece, was married to Marie-Chantal Miller at Saint Sophia Cathedral in London, England. Since the death of his father, Pavlos has been styled Head of the House of Glücksburg-Greece and titular King of the Hellenes.

Because of the situation described below, the wedding could not be held in Greece. Greece was a monarchy from 1832 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1973. In 1924, the Second Hellenic Republic was declared, and the Greek monarchy was abolished. The monarchy was restored in 1935. On April 21, 1967, a coup d’état led by a group of army colonels took over Greece. A military junta ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On December 13, 1967, King Constantine II attempted a counter-coup against the military junta, which failed, and Constantine and his family had to flee to Italy. King Constantine II remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the junta abolished the monarchy. In 1974, after the fall of the junta, a referendum by the Greek people confirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic.

The Greek government did not permit Constantine to return to Greece until 1981, when he was allowed to enter Greece for several hours to attend the funeral of his mother. Constantine and his family paid a private visit to Greece in 1993. After 2003, when a property dispute between Constantine and the Greek government was settled, he was able to make visits to Greece and purchase a summer home there.

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Early Life of Crown Prince Pavlos

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Crown Prince Pavlos being held by his father King Constantine II with his elder sister Alexia

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece is the eldest son of the late former King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark. He was born on May 20, 1967, at Tatoi Palace, north of Athens, Greece. His paternal grandparents are King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, both descendants of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal. His maternal grandparents are  King Frederik IX of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. A coup forced the royal family to flee Greece seven months after Pavlos was born. They settled in Rome, Italy for several years before moving to England in 1974.

Pavlos has four siblings:

Pavlos attended the Hellenic College of London, founded by his parents, and then graduated from the United World College in 1986. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, followed by a three-year commission with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Following his military career, he enrolled in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., earning his Bachelor’s degree in 1993 (International Relations, Law, and Organization) and his Master’s degree in 1995 (Foreign Relations and Economics). While at Georgetown, his roommate was his first cousin, the future King Felipe VI of Spain.

Early Life of Marie-Chantal Miller

Marie-Chantal on the left with her sisters: Photo: www.instawebgram.com

Marie-Chantal Claire Miller was born on September 17, 1968, in London, England. She is the daughter of Robert Miller, a billionaire entrepreneur and co-founder of Duty-Free Shops, and María Clara Pesantes Becerra. Her father was born an American citizen but became a British citizen, and her mother was born in Ecuador. Marie-Chantal was an American citizen but renounced her American citizenship in 2011.

Marie-Chantal has two sisters:

• Pia (born 1966) married Getty Oil heir Christopher Getty in 1992, had four children, divorced in 2005
• Alexandra (born 1972) married (1) Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg in 1995, had two children, divorced  (2) Dax Miller

Marie-Chantal grew up in Hong Kong, the location of the corporate headquarters of her father’s business. In Hong Kong, she attended the Peak School, an English-language international primary school.  When she was nine years old, Marie-Chantal began attending the Institut Le Rosey, an exclusive boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. In 1982, she began to attend Ecole Active Bilingue in Paris, France, where she continued until her senior year. Marie-Chantal then attended The Masters School, a private, coeducational boarding school in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She began to attend New York University in New York City in 1993, but dropped out a year later when Crown Prince Pavlos proposed marriage.

Pre-Wedding

Marie-Chantal and Pavlos met on a blind date arranged by a friend in 1992. Pavlos proposed on a ski lift in Gstaad, Switzerland, over the Christmas holiday in 1994. After the proposal, Pavlos formally asked Marie-Chantal’s parents for permission to marry their daughter. The engagement was officially announced on January 11, 1995, by Pavlos’ parents from their residence in London.

Before the wedding, Marie-Chantal converted from Roman Catholicism to Greek Orthodoxy. She was received into the Greek Orthodox Church on May 22, 1995, at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York, with both the Greek royal family and the Miller family in attendance.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted a tea party reception at Claridge’s, a five-star hotel in Mayfair, London, the week before the wedding. Two nights before the wedding, Marie-Chantal’s parents hosted an extravagant pre-wedding champagne reception, dinner, and ball for 1,300 guests at Wrotham Park, an English country house in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England

The Wedding Site

Saint Sophia Cathedral (also called Hagia Sophia Cathedral) is a Greek Orthodox church on Moscow Road in the Bayswater area of London, England. It was founded in the nineteenth century as a place of worship for the Greek community of London. The foundation stone was laid in January 1878, and the first liturgy was held on June 1, 1879. The cathedral was designed in the Neo-Byzantine Revival style by British architect John Oldrid Scott, who designed many significant British churches.

The Wedding

The wedding celebrations were extravagant and expensive. The wedding ceremony, receptions, and celebrations combined reportedly cost the Miller family 8 million dollars. The wedding dress alone reportedly cost $225,000.

The wedding plans were organized by Lady Elizabeth Shakerley, a British party planner, writer, and socialite. She was a first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II and the sister of Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield. Erik Bering (link in Danish), the personal florist of the Danish royal family, and six assistants decorated Saint Sophia Cathedral with 30,000 pink flowers, lilies, peonies, and carnations, hung in garlands.

The more-than-one-hour wedding ceremony was conducted in Greek and officiated by Gregorios Theocharous, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, assisted by ten prelates. 450 guests attended the wedding ceremony at Saint Sophia Cathedral, and 850 guests were at Hampton Court Palace, where they watched the wedding via satellite.

The famous Italian fashion designer Valentino made Marie-Chantal’s $225,000, pearl-encrusted ivory silk wedding dress with a tulip-shaped front and a 4.5-meter/15-foot Chantilly lace train. Twenty-five people worked on Marie-Chantal’s dress, which took four months and twelve different kinds of lace to complete. Marie-Chantal wore a diamond tiara lent to her by Pavlos’ mother, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. Pavlos and his groomsmen wore hand-tailored suits by Brioni of Rome.

The Reception

After the wedding ceremony, there was an afternoon luncheon reception at Hampton Court Palace, decorated by Robert Isabell, an American event planner who planned many lavish and innovative events for the rich and famous. Lady Elizabeth Shakerley, who planned the wedding service, also organized the catering for the reception. Her brother, Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, was the official photographer. Colette Peters created the eight-tiered wedding cake, which was accompanied by 300 additional cakes, one per table. The cost of the pre-wedding dinner at Wortham Park and the post-wedding luncheon reception at Hampton Court Palace was reportedly $5 million.^[15]

The Attendants

The bride and groom with their parents and the attendants

Bridesmaids

Groomsmen

Pages

Crown Bearers

• Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, brother of the groom
• Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, later King Frederik X of Denmark, first cousin of the groom
• Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, first cousin of the groom
• Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
• The Prince of Orange, later King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
• The Prince of Asturias, later King Felipe V of Spain, first cousin of the groom
• Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed
• Christopher Getty, the bride’s brother-in-law
• Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg, the bride’s sister’s fiancé

Notable Wedding Guests

The Bride’s Family

Reigning Royalty

• Prince Laurent of Belgium, the groom’s third cousin
• King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan
• Crown Prince Hassan and Crown Princess Sarvath of Jordan
• Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein
• Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (born a Princess of Belgium) of Luxembourg, the groom’s fourth cousin once removed and the groom’s second cousin once removed
• Hereditary Prince Albert of Monaco (later Prince Albert II of Monaco)
• The Prince of Orange (later King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands). the groom’s fifth cousin once removed
• Prince Friso of the Netherlands, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed
• Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria and Carlos Zurita, Duke of Soria, the groom’s third cousin once removed and her husband
  • Don Alfonso Zurita y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
  • Doña María Zurita y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
• Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, the groom’s third cousin once removed
  • Doña Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
  • The Viscount of La Torre, the groom’s fourth cousin
  • Don Bruno Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
  • Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
  •  Don Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, the groom’s fourth cousin
• King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, the groom’s first cousin once removed, and his wife
• Princess Désirée of Sweden and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, the groom’s first cousin once removed, and her husband
• Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, widow of King George VI of the United Kingdom, the groom’s second cousin twice removed
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the groom’s third cousin once removed, and his wife
• The Duke and Duchess of Kent, the groom’s second cousin once removed, and his wife
• Princess Alexandra, The Honorable Lady Ogilvy and The Honorable Sir Angus Ogilvy, the groom’s second cousin once removed, and her husband
• Prince Michael and Princess Michael of Kent, the groom’s second cousin once removed, and his wife

Non-Reigning Royalty

• King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania, the groom’s first cousin once removed, and the groom’s second cousin twice removed
• Tsar Simeon II and Tsarista Margarita of Bulgaria, the groom’s fourth cousin twice removed, and his wife
  • The Prince of Turnovo, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed
  • The Prince and Princess of Preslav, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed, and his wife
  • The Prince and Princess of Panagyurishte, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed, and his wife
  • The Prince and Princess of Vidin, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed, and his wife
  • Princess Kalina of Bulgaria, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed
• Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia, the groom’s second cousin and his wife
• Prince Alexander and Princess Alexander of Yugoslavia, the groom’s second cousin once removed, and his wife
  • Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, the groom’s third cousin
  • Prince Serge of Yugoslavia and Miss Vanessa von Zitzewitz, the groom’s third cousin and his guest
• The Prince and Princess of Naples, the groom’s fourth cousin twice removed, and his wife
• Princess Maria Gabriella, Mrs Zellinger de Balkany, the groom’s fourth cousin twice removed
• The Duke and Duchess of Aosta, the groom’s first cousin once removed, and his wife
• The Duke and Duchess of Calabria, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed, and her husband
• The Duke and Duchess of Braganza, the groom’s fifth cousin once removed, and his wife
• The Prince and Princess of Hanover, the groom’s first cousin once removed, and his wife
• Prince George William of Hanover and Princess Sophie of Hanover (born a Princess of Greece and Denmark), the groom’s paternal great uncle and his wife, the groom’s first cousin twice removed
• The Margrave and Margravine of Baden (born a Princess of Greece), the groom’s second cousin once removed, and his wife
• The Landgrave of Hesse, the groom’s second cousin once removed
• Archduchess Helen of Austria, the groom’s second cousin once removed
• The Aga Khan IV
• Empress Farah of Iran
• Prince and Princess Egon of Fürstenberg, father and stepmother of the bride’s future brother-in-law

Nobility

Other Notable Guests

Children

Pavlos, Marie-Chantal (on the right) with their family in March 2014. photo source: Royalista.com

Pavlos and Marie-Chantal had five children:

Afterward

Pavlos, Marie-Chantal, and their family lived in New York City and London, where Pavlos worked as an investment consultant. In 1997, Pavlos founded Griphon Asset Management. The following year, he co-founded Ivory Capital Group LLC. In 2002, he co-founded Ortelius Capital Partners LLC, and in 2003, he co-founded Brigantine, a value-based equity firm. In 2004, the family relocated to London. Marie-Chantal has her own business, Marie-Chantal, an international children’s wear brand.

Pavlos and his family have close ties to their Spanish and Danish cousins and the British royal family. King Charles III of the United Kingdom is a godparent to Pavlos and his eldest daughter, Maria-Olympia. Prince William, The Prince of Wales, is a godparent to Pavlos’ eldest son, Constantine-Alexios.

Pavlos’ father, the former King Constantine II of the Hellenes, died on January 10, 2023, aged 82. Pavlos succeeded him as Head of the House of Glücksburg-Greece and titular King of the Hellenes.

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Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2014). Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-princess-marie-chantal-of-greece/
• Mehl, Scott. (2014). Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-pavlos-of-greece/
• Wedding of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, and Marie-Chantal Miller. (2023). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Pavlos,_Crown_Prince_of_Greece,_and_Marie-Chantal_Miller