Princess Helen of Greece, daughter of Constantine I (1896-1982)
 

She was born on May 2, 1896 in Athens and was the daughter of King Constantin I of Greece (1868-1923) and his wife Sophie (1870-1932) born Princess of Prussia and sister of the Kaiser Wilhem II.

Helen had two elder brothers, the futurs Kings Georges II and Alexander Ier and, later, will be born Paul, in 1901, Irina in 1904 and Catherine, in 1913.

During the first World War, she follows her father in exile then returns with her family to Greece at the time of the restoration of Monarchy in 1920.

On March 10, 1921, she married Prince Carol (1893-1953), heir to the Romanian throne and she gave birth a few months later to a son, Prince Mihai.

But the marriage was not happy and, in 1925, Carol escaped with his mistress Magda Lupescu, giving up Helen with her son who became King in 1927, when died King Ferdinand Ier of Romania.

In 1930, Carol returned from exile and banishes Helen who took refuge in Switzerland and Florence.

But, in 1940, Carol II having again fled his responsabilities, she returned in Romania at the request of her become again son King.

She then helped some jews against the dictatorial power of the General Antonescu.

In 1948, she was again exiled, like all the Romanian Royal Family, under the pressure of the Soviet Union, and she died on November 28, 1982 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she had found refuge.

Helen http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs8...eece1896-2.jpg

Helen with siblings Alexander (1893-1920), George (1890-1947), Paul (1901-1964) and Irene (1904-1974) http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs4...ne1greece6.jpg

With mother Queen Sophie and sisters Irene and Catherine http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs4...ssia1870-8.jpg

Many other photos of her http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/ind...ic,3458.0.html
and here http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/pe...LinkID=mp65129

Thank you magnik :smile:
This one is too good to pass up...

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...littlegirl.jpg
Princess Helen as a little girl

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...0Romania/1.jpg
King Constantine Ier and Queen Sophie of Greece's family : Helen is sitted in the
center, surrounded by her brothers Paul - on the left - and Alexander -on the right-

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...tinefamily.jpg
Princess Helen (second row, on the right) with her parents
and siblings

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...elenayoung.jpg
Helen as a young lady, in the 1910s

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ia/withdad.jpg
Princess Helen and her father King Constantin Ier
of Greece

She was a beautiful little girl.

Indeed, as of her youth until the end of her life, Princess Helen remained always a very beautiful woman :flowers:

I see... Princess Helen was a cousin of Olga, Elisabeth and Marina.

Like this:
King George I - King Constantine I - Helen
King George I - Prince Nicholas - Olga/Elisabeth/Marina; and
King George I - Prince Andrew - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Oh! Yeah, I had heard, that Philip was a Greek prince. But how come his name is Philip Mountbatten then?

In February 1947 Prince Philip of Greece was granted British citizenship as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN. As a Greek Prince he had no surname.
Mountbatten is an anglicised form of Battenberg, his mother's maiden name.

Oh, his mother was a princess of Battenberg?

Rather than asking strings of questions about the Duke of Edinburgh in the Princess Helen thread here is his Wikipedia entry.

Warren, am I correct to believe that this photograph was taken by Bassano who has also immortalized the exquisite Nicholas' daughters? Also, was this photograph taken during her stay in London to attend the wedding of princess Marina to the duke of Kent?

Among the Queen-Mother of Romania, the Dutchess of Kent and Princess Paul, I feel that Helen was the most regal, Marina the most elegant and Olga the most mysterious.

It is so tragic that life was so unfair to HM Queen-Mother Helen of Romania.

The king is holding his second daughter Princess Yriny, later Duchess of Aosta. The last daughter, Princess Katherine, later Lady Brandram, was a late comer.

It is very important to add that in 1940 when she was asked to return and upon her triumphant arrival in Bucarest, she was elevated by Law to the rank of Queen-Mother [called Regina Mama by the Romanian] and styled as Her Majesty but she was destined never to be the consort of a sovereign during his reign.

Those old pictures remind me a lot of the Romanovs of Russia. How was she related to them.

Oh, and was she a first cousin of prince Philip?

Born a member of the Greek royal family, she had many ties to the Romanovs. Her paternal grandmother Queen Olga was born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna, a granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I. Two of her paternal aunts married Russian grand dukes: Princesses Alexandra and Marie of Greece married Grand Dukes Paul Alexandrovich and George Mikhailovich, respectively). Her paternal uncle, Prince Nicholas married Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, they were the parents of Princess Paul of Yugoslavia and Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. Furthermore, her father's paternal aunt Princess Dagmar of Denmark married the future Tsar Alexander III became Empress Maria Feodorovna. Thus, she was a second cousin to Tsar Nicholas II's children twice over (via King Christian IX through their fathers, and via Queen Victoria through their mothers).Yes we was first cousin to Prince Philip. Their fathers were brothers, as King Constantine and Prince Andrew were the first and fourth sons, respectively, of King George I of Greece.

Wow!!! That's a lot to remember! But the royal houses were related like this into the 20th century. Even today, our Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf and the Danish queen Margarethe II are first cousins.

She was a beautiful woman yet her life was full of sorrow!

:previous:

Yes, her life was full of sorrow. Helen's mother was against the marriage between her daughter and Carol of Romania. Carol acted abominably towards his wife as well as towards his mother, Queen Marie of Romania. Queen Sophie and Queen Marie were first cousins, Sophie being the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal of England and Marie was the daughter of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Victoria's younger brother. Thus, Helen and Carol were second cousins.

Despite Carol's behavior, Helen acted like a true royal and Queen Marie appreciated that and was fond of her daughter-in-law, even though she detested and was disappointed in her own son!