Well-wishes are in order for Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, Princess Diana’s dashing godson, who celebrates his 37th birthday today.
Born at St Mary’s Hospital, London, on 26 April 1986, Prince Philippos is the youngest son of the late former King Constantine II of Greece, who died in January, and his wife Queen Anne-Marie, the youngest daughter of the late King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. Part of a sprawling and glamorous dynasty, Philippos grew up alongside his four older siblings: Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos and Princess Theodora. His nieces and nephews include It-Girl Princess Olympia and Prince Constantine Alexios (now Poppy Delevigne’s love interest).
In July 1986, Prince Philippos was baptised in the Greek Orthodox Church at Saint Sophia Cathedral, London, with a who’s who of European royals and aristos selected as godparents: King Juan Carlos I of Spain, the Duke of Edinburgh, Diana, Princess of Wales, Princess Elena of Spain, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Kyril, Prince of Preslav and Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Both through birth and through marriage, the former Greek royal family has ties to the monarchies of Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Britain, meaning many of those chosen were also distant relatives. Prince Philippos was even named after his distant cousin, Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, in a mark of the affection the families share.
Viola, who has started her own footwear business with her sister, held the reception at her family home, the Palazzo Papadopoli, now the site of the Aman Venice
Following a military coup in 1967, and an unsuccessful counter-coup, Constantine II and his family moved to the UK where they bought a stunning 13-bedroom home in Hampstead, north London. The monarchy was abolished in 1973. The timing meant Philippos was enrolled at the Hellenic School of High Barnet, in London, before continuing his schooling in America. Fittingly for his international background, Philippos studied foreign relations at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, at Georgetown University in Washington DC, whose alumni include King Abdullah II of Jordan and former President Bill Clinton.
On graduating in 2008, Philippos spent five years as a research analyst before taking up a job at Ortelius Capital in New York City. ‘I work for a living,’ he once told Gotham Magazine. ‘Everyone has to work, and in that sense, I’m like everyone else.’
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In 2018, Prince Philippos began dating his future wife, Swiss heiress Nina Flohr. Nina is the only child of VistaJet businessman Thomas Flohr and his wife Katharina (the couple are now divorced). Flohr previously worked for her father’s business as creative director, but is now an entrepreneur in her own right. Well-connected in her own right, Nina and Prince Philippos attended a number of high profile weddings together – including those of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, and Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill and Kimberly Hammerstroem – before becoming engaged in 2020.
The couple were married in December 2020 in a civil ceremony in the bride’s hometown of St Moritz. Due to the pandemic, just four people were in attendance - the bride, the groom, and both of their fathers, King Constantine of Greece and Denmark and Thomas Flohr. However, the following year, the couple celebrated their nuptials with friends in the UK. Alice and Tom Naylor-Leyland opened the doors of their Stibbington House to throw the newlyweds a chic bash attended by Violet Henderson and Caroline Rupert.
The former Greek royal family will reportedly be represented by Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal
Finally, later that year, they had a lavish cathedral wedding complete with a regal guest list, a family tiara and religious ceremony. Choosing the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens as the location, the couple were following in the footsteps of Prince Philippos’ parents, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie. It was a poignant moment, as it marked the first time that a Greek royal had married there since 1964, and the first religious event there for a member of the family since the christening of Prince Phillipos’ elder brother Prince Pavlos in 1967, shortly before the fall of the Greek monarchy.
Members of Europe’s royal families were out in force, with Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank all present. Also in attendance were Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, Prince Ernst August and Princess Ekaterina of Hanover, Prince Christian and Princess Alessandra of Hanover, and Princess Tatiana Radziwill. Other high society guests included Sabine Getty.
At the start of this year, Prince Philippos joined his siblings and other family members to mourn the loss of their father, following his death aged 82. It was a gathering of Europe’s royals: Queen Sofia of Spain, Constantine’s sister and wife of former King Juan Carlos I of Spain, was joined by her son King Felipe VI and daughter-in-law Queen Letizia. Felipe’s sister, Princess Cristina, was joined by her four children, arriving alongside her maternal aunt, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Anne-Marie’s first cousin, attended alongside his wife, Queen Silvia. Also in attendance were Anne-Marie’s sister, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal are expected to be among the foreign royals who will witness King Charles’s Coronation next week.
