The
Wedding of Juan Carlos of Spain
and Sophia of Greece
By Arturo Beéche
The skies
over Athens were of a deep oceanic blue on May 14, 1962. Only those who
have been
lucky
enough to visit this wonderful country can recall the beauty of the blue
seas surrounding this
beautiful
country. On this happy date, two descendants of Queen Victoria were joining
their lives
in matrimony.
Such was the commotion created by the impending wedding that many chroniclers
of
the time
called it the most important royal marriage of the century. What is certain
is that the two
extremes
of the Mediterranean Sea were brought closer by the marriage between Prince
Juan
Carlos
of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece.
Juan Carlos
and Sophia are related several times. Juan Carlos is a grandson of Queen
Victoria-Eugenia
of Spain, born a Princess of Battenberg. Victoria-Eugenia was the only
daughter
of Prince
Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of Great Britain. Beatrice was
Queen
Victoria's
youngest child. Victoria-Eugenia of Battenberg had the distinct honor of
being a favorite
of Empress
Eugenie of the French, Napoleon III's widow. The closeness between the
family of
Queen
Victoria and her friend Empress Eugenie's led to Beatrice naming her daughter
in honor of
the two
older ladies. Some have also rumored that this friendship between Beatrice
and Eugenie
was the
result of the English princess' love for Eugenie's unfortunate son, the
Prince Imperial who
died in
Africa during the Zulu Wars in 1879.
Royal
Engagement in Lausanne, Switzerland: First row (left to right): Quuen Victoria-Eugenia
of Spain, Prince Juan
Carlos, Princess Sophia. Back row: Queen Frederica, King Paul I and Princess
Irene of Greece.
Sophia
is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both her parents. King Paul I
of the Hellenes was
the youngest
son of King Constantine I and Queen Sophie, born a Princess of Prussia.
Sophie was
the third
daughter of Kaiser Friedrich III and Kaiserin Victoria, who was Queen Victoria's
eldest
child.
Sophia's mother, Frederica of Hanover, was the only daughter of Duke Ernst-August
of
Brunswick
and Princess Victoria-Luise of Prussia, Kaiser Wilhelm II's only daughter.
Wilhelm II
and Queen
Sophie of Greece were siblings, both being children of Kaiser Friedrich
III and
Kaiserin
Victoria. Duke Ernst-August was closely related to the English royal family,
as the head
of the
old Hanoverian royal family. Ernst-August was the grandson of King George
V of Hanover,
only son
of King Ernst-August of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland. Ernst-August was
the younger
brother
of Edward, Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father.
Many years
had passed since Athens witnessed a royal celebration of this magnitude.
More than
150 members
of Europe's royal families were invited to the wedding of the eldest daughter
of the
King of
Greece and the future King of Spain. Among them were members of the royal
houses of
Greece,
Spain, Great Britain, Bavaria, Parma, Brazil, Denmark, France, Hanover,
Baden, Italy,
The Netherlands,
Norway, Bulgaria, Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden,
Württemberg
and Yugoslavia. Europe had not seen such a large gathering of royalty since
the days
prior
to the great war in 1914.
The city's
streets were gaily decorated. The flags of Greece and Spain seemed to be
everywhere,
hanging
from balconies, along the streets, in ever single light post. The route
from the royal palace
to the
church was lined by well-wishers who had stood in place for hours to have
a good view of
the marvelous
royal pageantry. Several Athenians made a handsome profit by renting their
balconies
to the highest bidder. Not one person in the city seemed willing to avoid
being a witness
to this
most joyous occasion. It had been almost a quarter of a century since a
Greek royal had
married
and Athens, Greece for that matter, made sure Europe witnessed the high
regard in which
Princess
Sophia was held.
Thousands
of Spaniards traveled to Athens to participate in this historic event.
Juan Carlos and
Sophia
recognized their efforts by hosting a large garden party at the Hellenic
Tennis Club. The
contagious
enthusiasm demonstrated by Juan Carlos' future subjects was appreciated
by both royal
families.
At eight
in the morning of May 14, five cannon blasts announced the beginning of
the day's
festivities.
Dignitaries were the first to arrive at the Church of Saint Dyonisius,
among them Prime
Minister
Karamanlis and Spain's Ambassador Extraordinary, Minister of the Navy Abárzuza.
Following
closely were the over 150 royal guests of King Paul and Queen Frederica,
amid the
most renowned
were: King Olav V of Norway, Franz-Josef II of Liechtenstein, King Umberto
II of
Italy,
Queen Juliana of The Netherlands, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, Grand Duke Jean
of
Luxemburg,
Michael I of Romania, Rainier III of Monaco and Queen Victoria-Eugenia
of Spain.
Other
royal guests of note were the Count and Countess of Paris, Henri and Isabelle;
Philip I of
Württemberg;
Tomislav of Yugoslavia; Duarte II of Braganza; Friedrich-Franz V of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin;
Kraft of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Amadeo, Duke of Aosta; Philip I,
Landgrave
of Hesse; Ernst-August V of Hanover; Luis, Prince Imperial of Brazil; Franz
of
Bavaria;
Berthold I, Markgrave of Baden; Marina, Duchess of Kent; Alfonso, Duke
of Calabria;
Robert,
Duke of Parma; Friedrich of Windisch-Graetz; and Lord Louis Mountbatten,
Earl
Mountbatten
of Burma.
The royal
cortege left the royal palace at 9:20 am. As the motorcade progressed along
the
beflagged
route Athens went wild with ovations and demonstrations of support for
the Greek royal
family.
Heading the royal cortege was the Athenian Chief of Police, followed closely
by a
limousine
carrying Queen Juliana of The Netherlands and King Olav V of Norway. Juliana
astonished
the gathering royal mob with a diamond parure said to be worth millions.
It was a
fitting
adornment for the richest woman of the world. Following next were Queen
Victoria-Eugenia
of Spain
with Queen Ingrid of Denmark; Bernhard of The Netherlands with Helen, Queen
Mother
of Romania;
Umberto II and Marie-José
of Italy; Michael I and Anne of Romania; Franz-Josef and
Gina of
Liechtenstein. After a short period of quiet enthusiasm, Prince Rainier
and Princess Grace
of Monaco
made a triumphant arrival. She looked fabulous and the crowds loved her
wildly. The
list of
arriving royals was completed by Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte
of Luxemburg.
Once the
foreign royals were seated inside the church it was the turn for the Spanish
and Greek
royal
families to make their entrance. Four cars transported the maids of honor:
Irene of Greece,
Irene
of The Netherlands, Alexandra of Kent, Benedikte and Anne-Marie of Denmark,
Anne of
France,
Pilar of Spain and Princess Tatiana Radziwill. The best men chosen by the
couple were
Prince
Michael of Greece, the Duke of Aosta, don Alfonso de Bourbon and Infante
Alfonso of
Orleans.
Preceded
by six mounted guards, Queen Frederica and Don
Juan, Count of Barcelona, arrived at
the church.
They were followed by Prince Juan Carlos who was accompanied by his mother,
the
Countess
of Barcelona. Escorted by his proud mother, Juan Carlos' entry into the
church sent the
adoring
crowds into boisterous rapture. Once inside the church, the Countess of
Barcelona sat next
to her
husband. Queen Frederica waited patiently for the arrival of her husband,
son and daughter.
The noisy
clamor filling up the church announced the bride's arrival.
Outside,
the crowds went simply wild. Seated inside the majestic golden royal coach,
Sophia,
accompanied
by her father and brother Constantine, arrived at Saint Dyonisius. Her
bridesmaids
waited
patiently as the royal bride descended from the carriage. Within minutes
they had managed
to straighten
the bride's long train. Sophia's entrance into the church was tremendously
emotional
for bride,
family, guests and crowd. Greece, royal Europe in fact, had not seen such
outpouring of
love in
many decades. For a moment it seemed as if all worries were thrown to the
wind.
Sophia
was an enchanting sight. Her coiffured head was topped by a beautiful tiara
given to her by
Queen
Frederica. This fantastic jewel kept the fifteen foot long veil in place.
It was the same veil
used a
quarter of a century before by Frederica of Hanover when she married Prince
Paul of
Greece.
Her wedding dress was designed by Jean Dessés, a beautiful creation
in lamé with ancient
brocade.
The day's
emotions finally got to Sophia by the time she reached the altar. As tears
fell down her
cheeks,
a concerned Juan Carlos gallantly offered her his handkerchief. He held
her arm to comfort
her and
demonstrate his intense care. Everyone present at the church witnessed
this demonstrations
of love
with great satisfaction.
The Catholic
ceremony lasted almost an hour. The doubling of bells announced to the
entire city
that their
princess was no longer so. From that moment forward she would be the future
Queen of
Spain.
Once the nuptials were finished, mass was celebrated. The beautiful notes
of Mozart's
Coronation
Mass, along with Perosi's Magnificat, kept the church filled with joyful
melodies. As
Haendel's
Alleluia filled the church, Juan Carlos and Sophia walked out of the church
to be
greeted
by the rapturous crowds.
A Royal wedding in Athens: Juan Carlos and Sophia.
The magnificent
carriage pulled by six horses took them to the royal palace where the couple
rested
for a short while. After the royal palace in downtown Athens, everyone
headed to the
Orthodox
Metropolitan Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. Decorated with 30,000 roses,
the Orthodox
cathedral
was a sight to behold. The crowds were terribly pleased as the entire royal
guest list
once again
made a triumphant entrance.
Once finished
with the Orthodox ceremony, the newlyweds returned to the royal palace.
After a
brief
civil ceremony held inside the royal realm, a fantastic banquet was held
in honor of Juan
Carlos
and Sophia. More than one thousand guests attended the celebration. Photos
were taken,
anecdotes
shared of a day that would forever remain the most impressive royal occasion
in
Greece's
history. Once the banquet was concluded, Juan Carlos and Sophia left for
the royal
retreat
in the island of Corfu. From this Ionic paradise they left for a honeymoon
that took them
around
the world.
Thirteen
years later, and surrounded by their three young children, Juan Carlos
and Sophia
ascended
to the restored throne of Spain. Juan Carlos and Sophia are the parents
of the Infantas
Elena
and Cristina, and Prince Felipe of the Asturias. Elena and Cristina are
married now. And the
royal
couple await the birth of Elena's first child in August of 1998. Today
Juan Carlos and Sophia
enjoy
the respect and considerable love of their Spanish subjects. They are also
held in high
regard
by politicians and leaders throughout the world. King Juan Carlos' efforts
in restoring
democracy
to his country are not only admired, but also a source of inspiration to
many of his
exiled
Eastern European cousins.
The Successful Monarch: King Juan Carlos I and Queen
Sofía.
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