Friday, August 28, 2009

Princess Anastasia near death

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 August 28, 1923

The Associated Press is reporting today that Princess Anastasia of Greece is gravely ill in London. She is "lying near death" in her London home. Her husband, Prince Christopher of Greece, is by her bedside.

The American-born Princess, who is the widow of the tin magnate William Leeds, is s suffering from cancer. At times, the princess is in a "semi-comatose state, alternating with a lucid state, when she recognizes all around her. She is in no pain, but is in a weakened condition, and doctors hold out "scant hope" for her recovery. Sir Thomas Horder, the eminent cancer specialist who treated Prime Minister Bonar Law, has been called in for consultation. Dr. Turner, an American physician who resides in Paris and has treated the Princess, has also been summoned.

It is the hope of the Princess's family that her sister, Mrs. Green, who left New York today on board the Mauritania, will arrive in time.

Prince Christopher continues to minister to his wife, who does not "realize the gravity of her illness." The princess's only child, William Leeds, who is married to Princess Xenia of Russia, is also at her bedside. Young Leeds will receive the full interest of the Leeds trust after the death of his mother.

The "venerable" Queen Mother Olga of Greece, who has been living with the princess since she has taken ill, has also been a frequent visitor to the sickroom.
It is not known if Princess Anastasia has made any provisions for her husband, as he cannot inherit from the Leeds trust. The two appear to be "genuinely devoted to one another, and their domestic life has been characterized by exceptional happiness."

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