Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Μισέλ ντε Γκρες, romanized: Michel de Grèce;[2] 7 January 1939 – 28 July 2024) was a Greek historian, author, and member of the Greek royal family. He wrote several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures,[3] in addition to working as a contributing writer to Architectural Digest.
His father died in 1940, when Michael was a year old. His mother died in 1953, when Michael was 14, leaving him an orphan.[4] Although a Greek prince, like many members of his dynasty he grew up largely abroad, sometimes in exile.[4] As Europe marched into World War II, the infant Michael's family scattered: his mother's father, the Duke of Guise, left his residence of exile in Brussels, the Manoir d'Anjou, for their property at Larache, Morocco, in March 1939 where he died on 24 August, the Manoir having become the Belgian headquarters for Germany's invading Wehrmacht.[7]
About eight months before her father's death, Françoise was widowed by the death of Prince Christopher, following an abscess of the lung, in Athens in January. She took Michael to join her mother's household in Larache where her elder sister, Princess Isabelle Murat and her family, had also taken refuge from Europe. Their brother, Henri, Count of Paris, who succeeded his own father as head of the Orleanist monarchist movement, sent for his wife and children to come from their relatives in Brazil, and by the spring of 1941 they too were settled in Spanish Morocco (still being banned from the French sector), near Casablanca, in a small house without electricity that was named Oued Akreech in the town of Rabat.[7] Michael lived his early childhood years on the African continent in the midst of his mother's family. Later, they also spent time in Spain.[8]
By the time Michael's mother died in Paris in early 1953, France had repealed the law of banishment against its former ruling families (24 June 1950) and the Comte de Paris had taken up residence in the capital. When, in August 1953, Monseigneur moved the Comtesse and their children to a new estate, the Manoir du Cœur Volant in Louveciennes, Michael joined the couple and their four eldest children in the main building, while the seven younger children and their governesses occupied an annex given the name la maison de Blanche Neige ("Snow White's cottage"). Henceforth, Michael was given into the care of his uncle and raised with his Orléans cousins.[7]
Michael later acknowledged that his uncle had been a poor manager of his ward's assets, but maintained that there was no malfeasance or attempt to conceal losses.[8] He would also comment that, allegations to the contrary notwithstanding, his uncle's notorious relationship with his assistant Monique Friesz in his later years, during which substantial assets were presumed to have been consumed or diverted, did not reflect manipulation on her part so much as the desire of the Comte de Paris for companionship when he chose to isolate himself from the society, culture and luxury to which he had previously been accustomed.[8]
Michael studied political science in Paris.[4] He then re-patriated to Greece for military duty, serving for four years in the Cavalry-Tank Corps, in Athens and Thessaloniki.[10]
He inherited from his mother a half-interest in the domain of the Nouvion-en-Thiérache, once the seat of the Dukes of Guise, from whom the Bourbon-Orléans inherited the vast property, which included a grand château and a petit château, in Aisne. The Comte de Paris owned the other half of the Nouvion. He and Michael sold the grand château in 1980 to the city of Roubaix, which subsequently became a conference center for environmental studies, while the petit château was sold in 1986 to the local government of Nouvion.[7]
List of works
Having watched his mother observe a family tradition by igniting what he called a kind of auto-da-fé in which she burned his late father's papers and memorabilia following the sale of his villa in Rome after the war,[8] Prince Michael grew up to become a biographer and historian. He penned several biographies about members of ruling dynasties, those about contemporaries often including accounts and anecdotes attributed to his royal relatives.[4] He also authored novels about historical royalty, distinguished for meticulous detail.[4]
Les rois les dynasties qui ont fait l'histoire; les dynasties francaises; les Valois, les Bourbons, les Orléans, les Bonaparte (1972)[11]
Quand Napoléon faisait trembler l'Europe (1978)[12]
Voices of light (2012), illustrated by Marina Karella ISBN978-2916123608
Marriage and issue
Michael married Marina Karella (born 17 July 1940) on 7 February 1965 in Athens, daughter of Theódoros Karellas and Elli Chalikiopoulos.[3] Marina is a Greek artist and sculptor of international reputation whose work has often been exhibited in Athens, Paris and New York.[4] The marriage was held at the Royal Palace in Athens. This was a non-dynastic marriage,[8] which obtained the legally required authorisation of King Constantine II only after Michael renounced all rights of succession to the Greek throne for himself and his descendants.[4]
The couple have two daughters:
Princess Alexandra Elli Francisca Maria of Greece (born 15 October 1968), married to Nicolas Mirzayantz on 27 June 1998. They have two sons: Tigran (born 16 August 2000) and Darius (born April 2002).
Prince Michael died at a hospital in Athens, on 28 July 2024, at the age of 85.[22] He was the last surviving grandchild of George I of Greece with a lineage to the House of Bourbon through his mother's side of the family and the last surviving great-grandchild of Christian IX of Denmark.[9]
^"Prince Michael". 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
^"Prince Michael". 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
^ abcdde Montjouvent, Philippe. Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney, 1998, Charenton, France. pp. 23, 77–78, 92, 96, 136, 173. (French). ISBN2-913211-00-3.
^ abcdefBeéche, Arturo. The Gotha, Volume 1. Kensington House Books, California, 2009, pages 81, 235, 237. ISBN978-0-97-719617-3.
1 Also prince of Norway 2 Also prince of Greece 3 Also prince of Iceland 4 Also prince of the United Kingdom 5 Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark Princes that lost their title are shown in italics
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