Farewell Princess Irene

By Javier Gaya via Wikimedia Commons

The Spanish and Greek royal families are mourning the loss of their beloved Aunt Pecu. Princess Irene of Greece died at the age of 83 in her apartment at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. Irene was born May 11, 1942 as the youngest child of the future King Paul of the Hellenes and the former Princess Frederica of Hanover. She was descended from Queen Victoria, the Russian tsars, and the oldest monarchy in Europe, Denmark. However, she entered the world far from the palaces of her many royal relatives. She arrived on what would have been a fall day in South Africa, where her family had fled following the Nazi invasion of Greece during World War II. 

When Irene was two, the family moved to Egypt for a while before returning across the Mediterranean to Greece before her father ascended the throne in 1947. Irene and her siblings, Sofia and Constantine, were a happy threesome. As they grew, their dynastically minded mother became concerned about their futures and wished to see them appropriately married to other royals. And so, it is said, Queen Frederica came up with the idea for the "Cruise of the Kings". Ostensibly created to promote tourism in the Greek isles, the matchmaking stunt brought together royals and their offspring from Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Since Irene was only 12 that summer, it is not surprising that she did not make a match, but her sister Sofia did meet her future husband, Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. It was that connection that would eventually lead Irene to build her life in Spain, too.

As Irene entered adulthood, her life entered a turbulent phase. Sofia married Juan Carlos, surrendered her right to the Greek throne and moved to Spain. Their father King Paul died leaving Irene as the Crown Princess and heiress to their brother, the new King Constantine II of Greece, until the following year when the first of Constantine's five children was born. The instability of the Greek government that was a repeating motif throughout the 20th Century reared its head in the new reign. The turbulence of a coup and a countercoup ended in a military junta and the royal family escaping by plane to Rome in late 1967. 

The 25-year-old Princess Irene spent the next several years traveling with her mother. The pair even spent an extended period in India studying Hinduism. Rumors of royal romance had popped up on occasion. Would she marry a French prince? Or perhaps the Norwegian Crown Prince? Despite the media hype, and perhaps Queen Frederica's wishes, Irene never married anyone. She focused her life on her music as a classical pianist, even performing at London's Royal Festival Hall. She showered love on her nieces and nephews. She also dedicated herself to making the world a better place for people and animals. Since her name means "peace", it is fitting that she founded a charitable organization in 1986 called World in Harmony, with a goal of building support for people in need and safeguarding the welfare of animals. 

With her mother's death in 1981, Irene made Spain her permanent home to be near her sister's family. The sisters remained close throughout their lives. Three years ago, they lost their brother and they traveled to Greece to bid him farewell. In Irene's final days, Sofia was at her side, even declining to attend an event where the popular former Queen of Spain was due to receive an award and another where she was to be presented with an honorary degree.

She will be laid to rest at the Royal Burial Grounds at Tatoi in Greece with her brother and their parents.

Irene was perhaps the modern equivalent of the "Renaissance man". She lived on three continents. She studied archeology in Germany, philosophy in India, and music wherever she was. She rescued animals and people. When the European Court of Human Rights awarded her more than half a million dollars of compensation for lost property in Greece, she donated it all to charity.