Anne-Marie of Denmark and Constantine were married in September 1964, two weeks after Anne-Marie's 18th birthday. Their engagement was announced in July 1964, which seems an incredibly brief engagement for a bride so young. I know that she was raised a Lutheran, and after watching ``My Big Fat Greek Wedding,'' I noticed that the prospective groom had to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church before the wedding, and this included baptism by immersion.
Does anyone know if she had to go through that? I don't recall any mention of it at the time.
Also, does anyone know what flowers were in her wedding bouquet? They were white seemed to be on very stiff stems. It was nothing I could recognize, but, knowing that royal wedding flowers are often chosen for their significance, I wonder what they were and why they were chosen.
The first baby was born in July 1965, when she was still only 18. I still cannot understand why her family let her marry so young and go so far away. I read somewhere that she caught Constantine's eye when she was only 13 and he was 19. Just way too early for both of them.
I've heard he has a wondering eye, but never anything more definite than that. These days Anne-Marie looks either sad or resigned much of the time, but I don't know to what extent that's because of the conduct of her husband, or whether it's due the status they have as exiles.
They actually became engaged a year or two earlier. Anne-Marie's father told her that she must absolutely wait until she was 18 to marry. Constantine's father died at the beginning of 1964, and Constantine became king. Because of this, the wedding was pushed up (I think they planned to marry in early 1965). Yes, she did convert to the Greek Orthodox Church (not the Russian). This was done shortly before the wedding. I've seen pictures of her with Constantine and Queen Frederika (C's mother) that were labeled, "AM has now converted to the Greek Orthodox Church".
Constantine was notorious for supposedly cheating on her. If that wasn't bad enough, he also supposedly helped his brother-in-law, Juan Carlos of Spain find women. This was long after JC married C's sister, Sophia.
Disgusting. Supposedly, Theo and Philippos are the result of Anne-Marie wanting more babies because of C's cheating (not sure how true this is).
I don't know why she looks sad lately. Constantine is not in good health. He's walked with a cane for the last couple of years, and had heart surgery in 2008 or 2009. He doesn't look good, IMO. Maybe that is why AM looks glum. I think she's made peace with the exile status. I think that was harder for Constantine than it was for her.
Anne-Marie fascinates me. I really wish she'd write a tell-all book. I'd love to know what her life is really like.
