Greek New Year’s Reception, 1948

Queen Frederica of Greece (wearing the Greek Emerald Parure with the Order of the Redeemer) was joined by Crown Prince Constantine, Princess Sophia and Princess Irene, and Princess Elena and Princess Alice as she presided over the New Year’s Service at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens on this day in 1948, followed by the traditional cutting of the Cake at a Reception in Athens. The 1948 Greek New Year’s Reception was the first of King Paul’s Reign, but was fraught with worry, as the King had been ill for months in the midst of the third phase of the Greek Civi War and his nephew, King Michael of Romania, had been forced to abdicate at gunpoint on New Year’s Eve. The annual New Year’s Reception continued until the exile of the Greek Royal Family in 1967.

Greek Royal Chronicles

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