Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark died. He was 85.
The prince, a first cousin of Prince Philip, died in an Athens hospital, according to The Telegraph, citing local sources. The Independent reports that the Greek city will host his funeral on August 1.
His wife, Marina Karella, and their two children, Alexandra and Olga, survive Prince Michael. His mother, Francoise d’Orléans, connected him to the House of Bourbon, making him the only living grandchild of the slain King George I in 1913.
He was a writer and historian who went by the name Michel De Gres. The publication of his picture memoir, Crown, Art, and Fantasy: A Life in Pictures, took place last year.
Prince Michael’s father, Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, died when he was just one, and his mother died when he was fourteen.
He told Fox News in 2023, “I don’t have any brothers or sisters. It was incredibly difficult for six months. However, I believe I have a strong sense of adaptability that has served me well throughout my life. And so I went to live with my uncle [the Count of Paris], who had 12 children. So I moved from being a lonely youngster to becoming part of a huge family. It took me six months of loneliness, depression, or anything to adjust. Then I felt quite joyful.”
Prince Michael met artist Marina Karella at a party through mutual acquaintances, and they married at Athens’ Royal Palace in 1965. However, the bride’s commoner status required him to give up his claim to the crown.
“Renouncing this title—not being a member of a ruling monarch in official functions and everything—gave me a sense of freedom,” he said with Fox News. “I had the freedom to choose my employment and profession, which turned out to be writing and history. It provided me the opportunity to pick my path.”
At the age of 82, King Constantine II, Prince Michael’s nephew and the final ruler of Greece before the Greek monarchy’s abolition in June 1973, passed away in January 2023. Members of the Greek royal family continue to use royal titles in their names, despite their lack of legal recognition.