Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece

Prince George, Duke of Kent, forth son of King George V and Queen Mary, married Princess Marina of Greece, daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, in London on this day in 1934. The couple, who remained happily married until his tragic death in 1942, are the parents of the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael.

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The couple got married in an Anglican ceremony at Westminster Abbey, which was followed by a private Greek Orthodox ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

After returning to the Palace, the newlyweds went out onto the balcony to wave to the crowds below.

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Royal guests included King Haakon and Queen Maud of Norway (paternal aunt and uncle of the groom), King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (first cousin of both sets of parents), and King George of Greece (cousin of the bride). The bridesmaids included Princess Irene, Princess Eugenie, and Princess Katherine of Greece, Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia, and then Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands.

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The Duke of Kent wore uniform with the Order of the Garter, the Royal Victorian Order, the Order of the Thistle, and Order of St Michael and St George. The new Duchess wore a silver and white brocade gown by Molyneux with her mother’s Fringe Tiara (not her own City of London Fringe Tiara as commonly reported), a diamond riviere (a gift from her new father-in-law), and King George V’s Family Order.

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6 thoughts on “Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece

  1. It was the 30s, and Princess Marina wore one of those gorgeous, slinky gowns that were so popular of the era and which suit her wonderful figure so well. They were the darling couple of the day, the beautiful princess and the handsome prince. I think she may have been the last princess to marry into the royal family, just as Prince Philip was probably the last prince ( I could be wrong, but I can’t think of any others after them). Princess Marina received quite an excellent array of jewels, most of which we can still see worn by her son’s wives. Of course, they had to sell some to pay taxes, but it is what it is.

    I do have a bone to pick with the late Princess and that is that she didn’t leave any of her tiaras to her daughter. In fact she didn’t leave anything to her, it all went to the sons. She had some old-fashioned idea that the family of the groom should provide the jewels for the bride (unless she had some of her own, of course). P, Marina had 4 tiaras and gave 2 to each son. IMHO, she should have given 2 to the heir and 1 to each of the other children.

    1. Just one point: the Duke of Kent did not wear the Thistle nor St Michael and St George, as at the time of his wedding he was not yet a knight of these two orders of chivalry. You can see that on the picture of his uniform : none of these two orders are worn.
      Yours sincerely,
      Pierre

      1. He is wearing the following orders:
        – St John (neck badge)
        – The Royal Victorian Order (medal – he was GCVO)
        – What seems to be a coronation medal
        – The Garter sash and star
        – The Elephant star (Denmark)
        – The St Olav star (Norway)

  2. I know! It just doesn’t seem right. The Pearl Circle Bandeau was such a lovely little tiara. It was a wee thing compared to the Diamond Festoon or the Fringe, but it was so pretty and it favored Princess Alexandra so well. Pity that we won’t be able to see it anymore.

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