Princess Sophie of Griechenland, daughter of Prince Andrew and his wife Princess Alice of Battenberg, married Christophe of Hesse-Kassel. She was the first daughter of the four sisters who married in one year.
15 December 1930 - Sophie - Prince Christophe von Hessen
2 February 1931 - Cecilie - Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus von Hessen
20 April 1931 - Margarita - Prince Gottfried zu Hohenlohe Langenburg
17 August 1931 - Theodora - Berthold Markgraf von Baden
The royal bride is pictured with her mothers greek key diamond tiara, worn as bandeau, in the sleeke style of the fashion of the time, see above.
The bridal gown designed for HRH Princess Sophie of Greece (sister of Prince Philip), who married Prince Christopher of Hesse in December 1930. The dress is of white satin, the veil of tulle bordered with old lace. Court train in satain embroidered in silver and fastened with diamonds.
Probably the picture was taken later, because on the wedding day she wear the larger diamond tiara with fleur de lys and heraldic ornaments, of the family of her new husband. See on the bottom!
Diamond set tiara arranged as a stylized Greek-key pattern flanked by honeysuckle motifs and centering on a diamond surrounded by triumphal laurels. The design of the jewel should remembers of the country of the husband of Princess Andrew of Greece, mother of the Duke of Edinburgh.
....Sixteen is an early age for bride, but Princess Sophie of Greece, whose marriage to a nephew of the ex-Kaiser took place this week, is a sophisticated little person who might easily pass for twenty. She and her three elder sisters are frequent visitors to England—in fact, they have been brought up like typical, sports-loving English girls. Princess Sophie is a great favourite with her grandmother, the Dowager Lady Milford Haven, with whom she often stays. Her mother, Princess Andrew, was formerly Princess Alice of Battenburg, the elder daughter of the late Prince Louis of Battenburg and afterwards Marquis of Milford Haven.....
ROYAL MARRIAGE IN GERMANY ...Four Dynasties Linked Up At Kronberg, Germany, yesterday Prince of Hessen, son of the Landgraf Frifdrich Karl of Hessen and nephew of the ex-Kaiser, was married Princess Sophia Greece, daughter of Prince Andreas of Greece and niece of the late King Constantine.
Not only does this wedding form additional link between the German and Greek Houses, but it also brings the Royal Families of Italy and Roumania into the chain. The brother the bridegroom is the husband of the Princess Mafalda of Italy, while the bride is cousin of Queen Helena of Roumania. Both Prince Christoph and Princess Sophia are grandchildren of the Emperor and Empress Frederick of Germany. ....
....Prince Christopher of Hesse and his very youthful bride, Princess Sophia of Greece, who were married last week at Schloss Friedrichshof, in the Taunus Mountains, are both related to our own Royal Family. The bride is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg; the bridegroom's father is the Landgrave of Hesse, the head of the Hessian house, and his mother was Princess Margaret of Prussia, the ex-Kaiser's youngest sister. Prince Christopher has an elder twin-brother, Prince Richard.
Princess Margaret inherited the small estate and the beautiful house of Friedrichshof from her mother, the Empress Frederick, who died there. Friedrichshof was, in the main, the creation of the Empress Frederick after her widowhood. She found there a small villa which had belonged to Herr Reiss, a wealthy Manchester manufacturer, and acquired it and some land from his son-in-law. 'Some small portion of the house she retained, re-fashioned it, and built on to it a stately place in the style of the early Rhenish Renaissance. It is an exceedingly picturesque building, with lofty clock-tower, crow-stepped gables, and a high-pitched roof dotted with dormers. Panelled walls and ceilings and monumental fireplaces are rather reminiscent of the Empress's native land, an impression deepened by the air of homely simplicity which is its happiest characteristic.....
Sources:The Truth;Dundee Curier;Derby Daily Telegraph
Prinzessin Sophie von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; war das vierte Kind sowie jüngste Tochter von Andreas von Griechenland und Alice von Battenberg. Sie war die ältere Schwester von Prinz Philip von Edinburgh.
Dezember 1930... In Cronberg fand heute die Vermählung des Prinzen von Hessen mit der Prinzessin Sophie von Griechenland. Christoph von Hessen ist der Sohn des Landgrafen Friedrich von Hessen, ein Neffe des ehemaligen Kaisers. Prinzessin Sophie die Tochter des Prinzen Andreas von Griechenland. Eine Reihe von Fürstlichkeiten waren zu der Feier erschienen Herzogin von Cumberland, der Herzog und die Herzogin von Braunschweig, die Kronprinzessin von Schweden, der ehemals Herzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen, Prinz Louis Ferdinund Preußen und Prinzessin Max von Baden mit Markgrafen Berthold. Der neuvermählte Prinz Christoph, ist der Bruder des Prinzen Wolfgang von Hessen, der mit der Maria Alexandra, einer Tochter des verstorbenen Prinzen Baden, vermählt ist. Ein anderer Bruder des Prinzen ist mit einer italienischen Königstochter vermählt.
In Abwesenheit ihrer Mutter treffen Sophie und Cécile gemeinsam die Hochzeitsvorbereitungen. Die beiden Prinzessinnen gingen im Frühjahr 1930 nach London, um dort neue Kleider zu kaufen. Kurz darauf kehrten sie nach Paris zurück, um ihre Aussteuer zusammenzustellen und ihre Brautkleider zu kaufen. Die Hochzeiten von Sophie und Christophe wurden schließlich am 15. Dezember 1930 in Kronberg gefeiert. Sie führten zu zwei religiösen Zeremonien, einer orthodoxen im Schloss Friedrichshof und der anderen lutherischen in einer Kirche in der Stadt Wenige Wochen später, am 2. Februar 1931, heirateten Cécile und Georges-Donatus im Beisein ihrer Familie im Neuen Palais in Darmstadt
Das Fleur de Lys-Diadem gehörte Kaiserin Friedrich, die es testamentarisch ihrer Tochter Margarete Landgräfin von Hessen, vermachte. Sie beschreibt es als Tiara mit Fleur de Lys und heraldischen Diamantrosen von Garrard.
Ihre Schwiegertochter Prinzessin Sophie von Griechenland trug es als Hochzeitstiara , als sie im Dezember 1930, Prinz Christoph von Hessen , heiratete.
Das Brautkleid, das für Ihre Königliche Hoheit Prinzessin Sophie von Griechenland (Schwester von Prinz Philip) entworfen wurde, war aus weißem Satin, der Schleier aus Tüll, der mit alter Spitze eingefasst war.
Thank you to Stefan Stern for sharing the sketch with me!
Sources:Royal Collection;Grafische Sammlung Stern;
