LA CORTE AL SOL
Mariángel Alcázar, LA VANGUARDIA, 30 de agosto de 2006
La ´mariposa´ cumple 60 años
Nació princesa de Dinamarca, a los 18 años era reina de Grecia, a los 20 estaba exiliada y, pasados los 40, añadió dos hijos a los tres que ya tenía: Ana María, esposa de Constantino de Grecia, hermana de Margarita de Dinamarca y cuñada del rey de España, que hoy cumple 60 años, ha sido desde su nacimiento uno de los miembros más silenciosos de la realeza europea. La reina Sofía, la infanta Cristina, así como la familia real danesa, representantes de otras casas reales y, por supuesto, sus hijos y nietos, se reúnen hoy en Atenas, adonde Constantino y su familia pueden acudir libremente después de casi 40 años de exilio, para celebrar el cumpleaños de Ana María de Grecia...
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article from:
www.lavanguardia.es
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Translation:
The Butterfly turns 60
She was born princess of Denmark, at 18 she was queen of Greece, at 20 she was exiled and at her 40's, she added two children to the three that she already had: Anna Marie, wife of Constantine of Greece, sister of Margrethe of Denmark and sister-in-law of the king of Spain, today turns 60 years, she has been from her birth one of the quietest members of the European royalty. Queen Sofía, infanta Cristina, as well as the Danish real family, representatives of other real houses and, by all means,all her children and grandchildren meet today in Athens, where Constantine and his family can go freely after almost 40 years of exile, in order to celebrate the birthday of Anne Marie of Greece.
Princess Anne Marie of Denmark met prince Constantine of Greece in 1959, when she was only a girl. The brother of Doña Sofía was fascinated and very textually he said to his parents that he had known “a butterfly” and that was going to marry her. King Frederik , father of Anne Marie and Margrethe, present queen of Denmark asked patience to the impulsive Greek prince of 21 years, when, in 1961, he asked the hand of his youngest daughter when she was 15 years. The 18 of September, six months after the death of king Pavlos of Greece, and 18 days after Ana Maria turned 18 years, Constantine married the Danish princess and turned her queen of Greece. The joy of the couple was short-lived: the Greek political instability, the inexperience of Constantine and the immaturity of Anne Marie took them to exile in December of 1967, three years after their fairy tale wedding.
Ana Maria, that already had two children - Alexia and Pavlos, had a miscarriage in Rome, place where the family went when leaving Greece to take refuge. In 1969 the third child was born, Nikolaos and shortly after the Greek Royal Family installed their residence in London, under protection of queen Elisabeth II. Anne Marie replaced the sad Soraya (rejected by the Sha of Persia) in the iconography of the real misfortune.
For years, the young queen of Greece personified the other face of the fairy tale, always acting of quiet company next to Constantine, a man with little political vision as much inside as abroad. Halfway between the seriousness of Simeón of Bulgaria and cheeriness of Victor Manuel de Saboya, to mention other two exiled royals, Constantine had been praised/poured off made the easy businesses and the influence peddling but for the monitoring and certainty of his sister, queen Sofía, and his sister-in-law, queen Margrethe of Denmark. These two solid pillars have given him reputation and have protected the Greek Royal Family for years. Their influence, mainly the one of queen Sofía has been determining to channel the disastrous relations that Constantine maintained for years with the successive Greek governments. For some years, the old king of Greece reached an agreement with the executive of Athens and received a good indemnification by the properties that were confiscated after his exile, so he created the Anne Marie Foundation , that is present in Greece. The family can return to their country, with little glory but with discretion, far from the shows of his first and clandestine trips to Greece. Ana Maria always has been with her husband, although he hasn't always been by her side. Yet, almost at 40, Anne Marie of Greece had two more children , Theodora and Philipos, and in the last ten years she has had seven grandsons, four been born of the marriage of prince Pavlos and the millionaire Marie Chantall Miller, and three more, been born in Spain, children of princess Alexia and her husband, the canary architect Carlos Morales.Even in the most complicated years of her life, queen Anne Marie has always appeared as a calm woman, although little it is possible to be said of her without making reference to her family. The butterfly has been able to become 60 without making any attention calls.
