Greece’s royal couple end their 14-year marriage
King’s close friend Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana confirm that they have parted ways
PRINCE NIKOLAOS GLUKSBURG, whose father Constantine II of Greece was a close friend of King Charles and the late Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Princess Tatiana are to divorce after 14 years of marriage.
The third child of the last king of Greece and his wife announced their separation on Friday.
“Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana after fourteen years of living together, have decided to dissolve their marriage,” a statement on the former royal family’s website read.
The statement expressed “the difficulty of this decision, the deep appreciation and respect they have for each other, but also the love with which they have walked all these years.”
The couple were last seen together in public in February when they attended a memorial at Windsor to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mr Gluksburg’s father, Constantine II.
They met during a ski holiday in Switzerland in 2003 and announced their engagement six years later.
Their wedding on the Greek island of Spetses in the summer of 2010 was one of the society events of the year and was attended by guests including royalty from Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.
Since the wedding the couple have lived together in Athens. They do not have children.
The ex-royals of Greece have maintained close ties to the British monarchy, a relationship that was built around the late Prince Phillip, who fled from Greece as a baby when the country first ousted its royals in the 1920s.
Constantin II’s birth essentially released his cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, from having to serve one day as King of the Hellenes. If Constantine had been a girl, then Prince Philip would never have been able to marry the Queen, and would instead have been on course to become King of the Hellenes on the death of King Paul in 1964.
Constantine II lived in London during his years in exile before returning to his home country in 2013. His friendships with Prince Charles and other members of the British Royal family were his main link to the role he had lost.
Prince Philip was a regular sailing companion and the king’s godson, Prince William, became a godfather to his grandson.
It was at Constantine’s 60th birthday party at Highgrove that Prince Charles finally introduced Camilla Parker Bowles to his mother.
Tatiana has dedicated much of her time to philanthropic causes while
‘Statement expressed the deep appreciation and respect the couple have for each other’
Nikolaos is known to have a passion for photography.
The couple were believed to be happily married for much of their union but rumours had been swirling in recent months of an estrangement between the pair, according to the Greek media.
Nikolaos was born in 1969 in Rome after his father had fled Greece during a period of military dictatorship in his home country.
In the 1970s, the Greek people voted in two referendums to replace their monarchy with a republic.
Nikolaos grew up in Denmark and spent two years at an English public school as well and served in the Royal Navy.
Tatiana, the daughter of a German aristocrat, was born in Venezuela and grew up in Switzerland.
She had to overcome tragedy in her childhood when her father committed suicide when she was seven years old.