Princess Olga, Duchess of Apulia

Princess Olga of Savoy, Duchess of Apulia ("née" Princess Olga of Greece), (born 17 November 1971) is the daughter of author Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Michael ("née" Marina Karella), an artist and heiress, daughter of Theodore Karellas and of Elly Chalikiopoulos. She is the wife of Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of Apulia.

Early life

Olga grew up in Paris and New York, spending summers at the family's island retreat at Patmos, Greece. [cite journal| date = 1991-02-21| title = Talents et volonté| journal = Point de Vue| language = French] She chose to attend boarding school in England, studied history in Rome, and is a graduate of Princeton University. [cite journal| last = Bern| first = Stéphane| date = 1987-03-13| title = Michel de Grèce: prince et romancier| journal = Dynastie| pages = pages 12–15| language = French] She also holds a degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Although Olga worked for a while in interior decoration, she went to Panama to photograph and study phalaena. Later, as a lepidopterist, she helped to set up and then worked in the Liquid Jungle Lab in Panama in co-operation with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is also a journalist and filmmaker.

Dynastic status

Unlike other members of the Greek Royal Family, she was not deemed a full member of the Greek royal house under the monarchy, despite being born of a marriage recognized by King Constantine II of Greece (pursuant to Greek [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.talk.royalty/msg/f6709f019d37d990?hl=en& legislative decree 1298/1949] ). As daughters of a non-dynastic marriage, she and her elder sister, Princess Alexandra, are not accorded the traditional style of "Royal Highness", nor do they bear the titular suffix "and Denmark". [cite book| last = Willis| first = Daniel| title = The Descendants of Louis XIII| date = 1999| publisher = Clearfield Co.| location = Baltimore, MD| isbn = 0-8063-4942-5| pages = pages 94, 762|quote = The daughters of Prince and Princess Michael [of Greece and Denmark] are titled Princess of Greece without the style of Royal Highness] [cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |coauthors= Alain Giraud, F. and B. Magdelaine |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique Tome VII Oldenbourg |year= 1994 |location= France |language= French |id= ISBN 2-901138-07-1 |pages= 329, 357] [cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |coauthors= Alain Giraud, F. and B. Magdelaine |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique Tome VII Oldenbourg |year= 1994 |location= France |language= French |id= ISBN 2-901138-07-1 |pages= 329, 357]

Engagement and marriage

Engagement

Her engagement to Prince Aimone of Savoy, Duke of Apulia, her second cousin, son of Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, was announced in May 2005. Aimone and Olga are both great-grandchildren of the French pretender Jean d'Orléans, duc de Guise. Aimone is also a great-great-grandson of George I of Greece, and Olga is a great-granddaughter of George I of Greece. The wedding date was reported as scheduled for various dates in October, 2005, to be held in the intimate setting of the isle of Patmos with fewer than fifty family members and guests invited to attend. [cite journal|last = Meylan| first = Vincent| date = 2005-08-31| title = Le Plus Royal| journal = Point de Vue| pages = page 21| language = French] But the event did not take place and it is not clear if it was ever actually set for that date. Aimone, in an interview with the Italian daily "La Stampa" on 8 July, 2006, stated that he and his fiancée expected to marry in 2007. Although the couple were occasionally pictured in society magazines attending monarchist and cultural events in 2006, and one such periodical, "Point de Vue", affirmed that the couple were still betrothed. [cite journal| date = 2006-12-20| title = Ils Sont Ensemble| journal = Point de Vue| language = French] , no wedding date was announced. Speculation resumed in 2008 when a French journalist, Stephane Bern, who specializes in royalty, wrote that Aimone and Olga will marry "in a few days" on the isle of Patmos. [fr icon [http://www.gotha-fr.com/3.aspx Le gotha, le site officiel de Stéphane Bern] ]

Marriage

The couple wed, after a three year engagement, on 16 September, 2008 at the Italian embassy in Moscow, the city in which Aimone is employed. Their religious marriage took place on 27 September at Patmos, [ [http://www.monarchia.it/home.html Unione Monarchica Italiana] ] where it was expected that the Patriarchal Exarch of Patmos, Archimandrite Andipas Nikitaras, would preside at the Church of the Evangelismos of the Virgin Mary at Pano Kambos, with a reception following on the site of a former school.cite web| last = Koenig| first = Marlene| title = Royal Musings| work = Translation of Patmos Times article| publisher = Marlene Koenig| date = 2008-09-28| url = http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/09/translation-of-patmos-times-articles.html| accessdate = 2008-09-28] It is not yet known whether a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, to which Aimone belongs, was present during the ceremony, however since the Second Vatican Council marriages celebrated according to the rite of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, to which the exarchate belongs, may be recognized as canonically valid. [cite book| title = History of the Church: Volume X The Church in the Modern Age| author = Hubert Jedin, Konrad Repgen|chapter: The Code and Development of Canon Law to 1974|publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group| date = 1980| pages = 171| id = ISBN 9780860120902]

Present for the nuptials in Patmos were several members of Olga's paternal family, including Queen Sofia of Spain ("née" Princess of Greece and Denmark), former King Constantine II of the Hellenes and his consort Queen Anne Marie ("née" Princess of Denmark), Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Marina of Greece (bride's parents), and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. With the exception of 78 year-old Margherita, Dowager Archduchess of Austria-Este ("née" Princess of Savoy-Aosta), all members of the Aosta branch of the House of Savoy were in attendance, i.e. Prince Amedeo of Savoy, 5th Duke of Aosta (bridegroom's father) and his consort, Princess Silvia, Duchess of Aosta, Princess Claude d'Orléans (aka "Princess of France", bridegroom's mother), as well as Aimone's two full sisters, Princess Bianca Countess Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga and Princess Mafalda Madame Lombardo di San Chirico, as well as Maria-Cristina ("née" Princess of Savoy-Aosta) and her husband Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. From the senior branch of the Italian royal family Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, (daughter of the late King Umberto II of Italy), was present. [cite web| title = Le nozze tra le LL.AA.RR. il Principe Aimone di Savoia e la Principessa Olga di Grecia| work = Sito Ufficiale della Casa di S.A.R. il Principe Amedeo, Duca di Savoia| url = http://www.realcasadisavoia.org/nozzeaimone.htm| accessdate = 2008-09-28]

Titles and styles

* 17 November 1971 – 16 September 2008: Princess Olga of Greece
* 16 September 2008 – present : "Her Royal Highness" The Duchess of Apulia

References