Thursday, August 28, 2014

Official: Prince George to Marry Marina



Embed from Getty Images
August 28, 1934

The following announcement was made from Balmoral Castle today:  "It is with great pleasure that the King and Queen announce the betrothal of their dearly beloved son, the Prince George, to the Princess Marina, daughter of Prince and Princess Nicholas of Greece, to which union the King has gladly given his consent."

The announcement, according to the New York Times, was made after the King telegraphed his consent to Prince George, who "visiting Yugoslavia as the guest of Princes and Princess Paul."

Embed from Getty Images 


 Princess Paul is Marina's oldest sister,  Olga.

Prince George is expected to fly back to England with his fiancée in the next few days, and head straight to Balmoral.  He will also visit with Prince and Princess Nicholas before returning to England.

The date of the wedding has not been set, although it is expected that the ceremony will take place in Westminster Abbey.

The couple are expected to live in London after the wedding.

Prince George and Princess Marina first met five years ago in London.  When he traveled to Yugoslavia several weeks ago "rumors of an engagement began to spread."

The Prince of Wales, who is "closer to his brother than anyone else, " was one of the first to be told about the engagement.

The rumors intensified when Prince George, regarded as "one of the most artistic members of the royal family," arrived in Salzburg with Princess Marina and Prince and Princess Paul, to hear "Don Giovanni," at the music festival.

There will be no "political significance" to the engagement as former King George II of the Hellenes now lives in London. 

Prince George is sixth in line to the throne after the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose of York, and the Duke of Gloucester.

Princess Marina will celebrate her 28th birthday in November.  She is a grandniece of the late Queen Alexandra, and her father is a first cousin of King George V.  She is also a first cousin of Princess Helen of Romania.  

She shares Prince George's "love for music."   She speaks English well, and she shares interests in shooting and dancing with her future husband.    She is tall and brunette, and, according, to a close friend, she is a "typical modern girl who is very fond of outdoor sport."

It was on August 15 when Prince George left  England for Prince Paul's summer home on Bohinsko Lake.  It was here "amid the romantic surroundings of the Slovenian Alps," where  Prince George proposed to Princess Marina.  After she accepted,  he sent a telegram to Balmoral to ask for "the king's consent."

King George V and Queen Mary have met Princess Marina several times although she has never stayed at Buckingham Palace.

The engagement comes hot on the heels of advice George received from his uncle, the Earl of Athlone, in the spring. "You had better think of marrying soon."

It is expected that Prince George will receive a dukedom before his marriage.  He is only one of George V's sons who did not receive a ducal title before he turned 30.   One of the titles being mentioned is Duke of Edinburgh.


No comments: