This was the wedding dress worn by former Queen Anna-Maria to say “I do” to former King Constantine of Greece which had disappeared for 59 years and was rediscovered recently at the former royal residences at Tatoi, just north of Athens.
The gown was discovered earlier in November. It was among several personal belongings maintained at the warehouses of the former Greek royal family at Tatoi.
Photos of the gown were revealed on Facebook by journalist Andreas Megos. He says that the dress was kept in a special metal suitcase with the Queen’s initials on the top just as she had received it just days before her wedding.
Tatoi Palace was home to generations of the Greek Royal Family before they were exiled and the Monarchy was eventually abolished following a 1974 referendum.
The palace itself was abandoned after their flight. The Greek Royal Family had to flee so quickly that they left behind many of their possessions, some of which were returned to them decades later. However, thousands of items remained and now it’s been revealed that the wedding dress of a queen appears to be one of the pieces left in the abandoned royal home.
Tatoi is now being renovated with plans to turn it into a luxury hotel and spa with a museum about the royal family who once lived there as part of the complex.
Tatoi contains a significant amount of archival material which requires safeguarding and will be gradually digitized. The estate also houses valuable objects of historical importance, some of which may not yet have been discovered. Two years ago, for example, a royal wine cellar filled with rare alcoholic beverages was discovered on the grounds.
The wedding dress of the former Queen of Greece
Anna-Maria was 18 years and 18 days old on September 18, 1964, her wedding day. Her ivory wedding dress was a relatively simple line that followed the curves of her body, by Danish designer Holger Blom, in matte satin, with an oval “smile” neckline in front and back, long with a very long tail.
Megos says it featured an underbust cut with an inverted “open V” sash, which made it more elegant and showed off her youthful body. Three small open pleats at the top of each side of the “V” that “looked” from the “center out” helped to shape the bust better.
In front, under the fascia, there was an opening and the two leaves that were formed ended at the hem with roundels, and a second skirt appeared from inside. These sheets were wrapped around the perimeter with wide strips of different fabric in the same color. A little above the waist and behind, a second line began which, reaching 6 meters in length, widened and ended with roundness at the two corners.
On September 18, 1964, the last royal wedding in the history of modern Greece took place in sunny and flag-adorned Athens. Constantine II of Greece marries Anna-Maria, Princess of Denmark.
She wore no gloves, only a large diamond cross around his neck with a short chain. On her head, she wore the tiara of the Khedive of Egypt, a Cartier creation that had been worn by all the descendants before her, after her mother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, on their wedding day.
The floor-length veil was made of handmade Irish lace, the embroidery of which contrasted with the austere line of the dress, embellishing it uniquely.
The design of the wedding dress had been kept a closely guarded secret until the day of the wedding to former king Constantine who died in January 2023.