Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), (13 December 1906 - 27 August 1968) was a member of the British Royal Family; the wife of Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary.
Princess Marina was the last foreign-born princess to marry into the British Royal Family; subsequent brides have been from the English, Scottish or German aristocracy, or commoners.
Early life
Princess Marina was born in Athens, Greece on 13 December 1906. Her father was HRH Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, the second son of King George I of Greece. Her mother was HIH Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
She was baptised near the end of 1906, and her godparents were: King George, Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Prince Andrew of Greece, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovitch of Russia, The Princess of Wales and The Grand Duchess Cyril Vladimirovich.
The family were generally poor, and were forced into exile when she was 11 following the overthrow of the monarchy in Greece. The family later moved to Paris, and the Princess stayed throughout Europe with her extended family.
Marriage
On 29 November 1934 she married Prince George, Duke of Kent at Westminster Abbey, London. Together the couple had three children:
- Prince Edward (born 9 October 1935); Duke of Kent from 25 August 1942;
- Princess Alexandra (born 25 December 1936)
- Prince Michael (born 4 July 1942)
The Duke of Kent died on 25 August 1942, in an aeroplane crash at Eagles Rock, near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland, while on active service with the Royal Air Force.
Later life
After her husband's death, the Duchess of Kent continued to be an active member of the British Royal Family, carrying out a wide-range of royal and official engagements. She was the longtime president of the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Just before the current Duke of Kent's wedding in June 1961 to Katharine Worsley, she announced that she wished to be known as HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent instead of HRH The Dowager Duchess of Kent. Upon her marriage in 1934, she became HRH The Duchess of Kent, Countess of St. Andrews and Baroness Downpatrick. However, she remained a princess of Greece and Denmark in her own right. Following her elder son's wedding, she simply reverted to her own title.
She served as the first Chancellor of the University of Kent at Canterbury from 1963 until her death from a brain tumor at Kensington Palace on 27 August 1968, aged 61.
Titles and honours
Shorthand titles
- Her Royal Highness Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (13 December 1906–29 November 1934)
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent (29 November 1934–11 May 1937)
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, GBE (11 May–9 June 1937)
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, CI, GBE (9 June 1937–1 January 1948)
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, CI, GCVO, GBE (1 January 1948–8 June 1961)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, CI, GCVO, GBE (8 June 1961–27 August 1968)
Honours
- Companion of the Order of the Crown of India
- Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
- Royal Family Order of George V, 2nd Class
- Royal Family Order of George VI, 2nd Class
- Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II, 2nd Class
- The Order of St. Olga and St. Sophia, 1st Class (Greece)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Beneficence (Greece)
- Grand Cross of the National Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (Peru)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Chile)
- Grand Cross of the National Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator San Martin (Argentina)
Honorary military appointments
Colonel-in-chief of:
- The Kent Regiment
- The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
- The Dorset Regiment
- The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment
- The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
- Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- The Queen's Regiment (Allied)
Honorary Colonel of:
- The Buckinghamshire Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 431 LAA Regiment RA
- 299th (Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, and Berkshire) Field Regiment, RA
- The Buckinghamshire Regiment, RA (Territorials)
Also:
- Colonel, The Queen's Own Buffs
- Honorary Commandant, Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
