Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Prince Christopher loves America

 



April 28, 1928

Prince Christopher of Greece, the youngest brother of late King Constantine, is showing "an increased predilection for the United States, reports the Chicago Daily Tribune. Unlike his older brothers, he "has never had any penchant for the hurly-burly of political life." Before his marriage to the very wealthy Mrs. William Leeds, Christopher had never visited America, but now, "since her early death --after a love idyll of a few short years -- " he is now finding himself spending more time in New York and Palm Beach.

After a "long courtship," Christopher married Nancy Leeds in February 1920 in Vevey, Switzerland. Nancy converted to the Greek Orthodox faith and was created HRH Princess Anastasia of Greece in her own right. The marriage was not morganatic.

The marriage ceremony was "wonderfully picturesque," as the new princess wore a long chinchilla train and a diamond tiara, in the form of a crown, "which few royal houses could match."

When Princess Anastasia died in 1923 in London, she could only leave her personal property and jewels to her husband and her sister, Mrs. Green. The bulk of her fortune was left to her son, William Leeds. This inheritance was defined by her late husband's will.

During Anastasia's final illness, Christopher, who has a strong appreciation for music, "played and sang constantly to relieve her pain and raise her spirits."
Although he continues to maintain a home in Rome, he is often in the United States, "where gossip, that tireless matchmaker, hastens to couple his name with that of Mrs. Fair Vanderbilt," the former wife of Willie K. Vanderbilt.

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