On September 18, 1964, Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark married King Constantine of Greece in Athens. "I was the first king ever to marry in Greece," the king recalled to Town & Country in 2015.
For the day, she wore a dress designed by Danish fashion designer Jorgen Bender. Three years after their wedding, the Greek royal family was forced into exile by a military coup. Queen Anne-Marie's wedding tiara and tiara were passed down, but her dress was lost in the archives of Tatoi Palace.
The royal couple relocated back to Greece in 2013. "Look at ancient Greek history," Constantine told T&C. "All Greeks who live in exile, they want to go back. It's in the blood. Funnily enough, the one pushing hardest was my wife. I think she realized I would be happy only when I came back home." He passed away in Athens earlier this year.
The discovery of the dress was reported by Greek journalist, Andreas Magos, who shared snaps of the box that the gown was kept in:
The caption (translated from Greek) reads, "Here is the wedding dress of Queen Anne-Marie located in Tatoi, where a few days ago it was revealed among the personal belongings of the royal family preserved and kept there. Perhaps this will also be exhibited in the Museum, Palace of Tatoi."
Tatoi is currently undergoing a $14.97 million renovation, and will be turned into a museum. Throughout the restoration process, numerous royal heirlooms have been discovered.
"Among the recent discoveries, the renovation workers found a total of seventy suitcases and trunks, all believed to belong to Frederica, the Queen Consort of Greece, from 1947 to 1964, and Queen mother thereafter," the Greek Reporter reported in 2020."Work on uncovering these treasures in the Tatoi is being supervised by archaeologists, who are tasked with making sure that these precious artifacts of Greece’s modern history will not be damaged."
It's unclear the future of Queen Anne-Marie's royal wedding dress.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
