Princess Olga of Yugoslavia

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Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark / Princess Paul of Yugoslavia was born on this day in 1903, 115 years ago! The eldest daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, she was the elder sister of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach and a first cousin of King George, King Alexander, and King Paul of Greece, Queen Helen of Romania, the Duchess of Aosta, Vladimir, Grand Duke of Russia, the Duke of EdinburghPrincess Margarita of Hohenlohe-LangenburgPrincess Theodora, Margravine of BadenGrand Duchess Cecile of Hesse, and Princess Sophie of Hanover. The family went into exile after the overthrow of the Greek Monarchy in 1917, and eventually settled in Paris. After a failed engagement to King Frederik IX of Denmark, in 1922, Princess Olga married Prince Paul of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, with whom she had three children. After the assassination of King Alexander in 1934, Prince Paul served as regent for the young King Peter II, until being ousted by a British backed coup during WWII, when he seemed to closely allied to Nazi Germany. Prince and Princess Paul were kept under house arrest in British Kenya, and she was the only member of the family allowed to comfort her sister, Princess Marina, after the death of her husband during the war. After the war, the Serbian Monarchy was abolished by the Communist government and their extensive properties were confiscated. Prince and Princess Paul lived between Paris and the magnificent Villa di Pratolino in Tuscany, which Prince Paul had inherited from his maternal grandfather, Count Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, the 2nd Prince of San Donato. The couple attended a lot of royal events around Europe, many in her native Greece, which the Princess continued to do after his death in 1976. Princess Olga passed away in Paris in 1997, aged 94, and was initially buried at the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery, Lausanne before being rehabilitated to the Karađorđević Family Mausoleum of Oplenac in 2012.

Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara | Boucheron Diamond Tiara | Queen Olga’s Diamond Rivière | Emerald Earrings | Greek Ruby Parure | Crown Brooch | Diamond Earrings | The Jewels of Princess Olga of Yugoslavia

 Robert Prentice’s Princess Olga of Yugoslavia: Her Life and Times

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Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara

Origin: Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna / Princess Nicholas of Greece in 1902 

Notable Appearances: Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 1934Coronation Gala in London in 1937State Visit Germany in 1939Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962Greek Monarchy Centenary Celebrations in 1963

Current Location: Unknown

Boucheron Diamond Tiara 

Origin: Princess Maria Pavlovna Abamelik-Lazarev in 1907

Notable Appearances: State Visit Germany in 1939Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955Wedding Ball of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and her niece, Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach, in 1956King Paul’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961Greek Monarchy Centenary Celebrations in 1963

Current Location: Albion Art Institute

Greek Ruby Parure 

Origin: Queen Olga of Greece 

Notable Appearances: Coronation of King George VI in 1937State Visit Germany in 1939Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955 and Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962

Current Location: In the collection of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

Queen Olga’s Diamond Rivière 

Origin: Queen Olga of Greece 

Notable Appearances: Wedding to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia in 1923, the Coronation Gala in London in 1937Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover in 1938State Visit to Nazi GermanyState Visit to Italy in 1939,  Wedding and Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955Wedding Ball of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and her niece, Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach, in 1956,  King Paul of Greece’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962Wedding Ball of King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne Marie of Denmark in 1964

Current Location: Unknown, sold at Auction in 2006

Vladimir Emerald Earrings 

Origin: Grand Duchess Vladimir

Notable Appearances: State Visit Germany in 1939Wedding of her son Prince Alexander, to Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962

Current Location: Unknown, sold to Princess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis, and auctioned in 1992 and 2014

Crown Brooch 

Origin: Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna / Princess Nicholas of Greece

Notable Appearances: Wedding Gala of her sister, Princess Marina of Greece, to Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934King Paul’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961

Current Location: Princess Barbara of Yugoslavia

Diamond Earrings 

Origin: 1950s

Notable Appearances: Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955Wedding Ball of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and her niece, Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach, in 1956King Paul’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961Greek Monarchy Centenary Celebrations in 1963

Current Location: Princess Barbara of Yugoslavia

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One thought on “Princess Olga of Yugoslavia

  1. When you look at photos of the three sisters as little girls and look at photos of Prince Philip’s sisters at the same age they look as if all of them were sisters and not cousins. The family resemblance is extremely strong!

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