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Princess Alexandra of Greece (born 1968)

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Princess Alexandra
Born (1968-10-15) 15 October 1968 (age 55)
Athens, Greece
Spouse
Nicolas Mirzayantz
(m. 1998)
IssueTigran Mirzayantz
Darius Mirzayantz
Names
Alexándra Élli Frankíski María
HouseGlücksburg
FatherPrince Michael of Greece and Denmark
MotherMarína Karélla
Occupationartist, art collector, arts patron, child life specialist
Styles of
Princess Alexandra of Greece
Reference styleHer Highness
Spoken styleYour Highness

Princess Alexandra Elli Francisca Maria of Greece (born 15 October 1968), known professionally as Alexandra Mirzayantz, is a Greek artist, art collector, arts patron, and child life specialist. As the daughter of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, she is a member of the Greek royal family and a relative of the Danish royal family. A morganatic descendant of the House of Glücksburg, she is not a Danish princess nor is she entitled to the style Royal Highness as other members of the Greek royal family are. She was born a princess of Greece entitled to the style Your Highness, and was excluded from the line of succession to the Greek throne. She is a second cousin of Constantine II of Greece, who reigned as King of the Hellenes until the monarchy was abolished in 1973.

Early life and family

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Princess Alexandra was born in Athens on 15 October 1968. She is the daughter of the historian Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and the artist Marina Karella.[1] She is the older sister of Princess Olga. She is a great-granddaughter of George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia.[2] She is also a great-granddaughter of Prince Jean, Duke of Guise and a great-great-granddaughter of Christian IX of Denmark.[2] As Princess Alexandra's parents' marriage is morganatic, and therefore non-dynastic, she is a Greek princess by birth but not a Danish princess, uses the style Her Highness instead of Her Royal Highness, and is excluded from the line of succession to the former Greek throne.[3][4][5][6]

On 29 July 1973, Princess Alexandra's second cousin, Constantine II of Greece, was deposed and the Greek monarchy was abolished.[7]

Career

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Princess Alexandra is a certified child life specialist.[8]

In 2018, she graduated with a master's degree in fine arts from the New York Academy of Art.[1][9][10] She works as a painter and portraitist.[1][11] She has cited Melina Mercouri, Rita Wilson, Niki de Saint Phalle, Willem Claesz. Heda, and Rembrandt as her artistic inspiration.[1] In 2020, she painted portraits of National Health Service members as part of a fundraising inititative.[1] In 2022 she sold paintings as part of a benefit for visual aids.[12]

Princess Alexandra and her husband are patrons of the New York art scene.[1][13] She is also an art collector.[14] She owns a portrait of her grandfather, Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, painted by Philip de László in 1919, as part of her collection.[15]

Personal life

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Princess Alexandra married the perfumer Nicolas Mirzayantz on 27 June 1998 in Torcello.[16][17] They have two sons, Tigran (born 2000) and Darius (born 2002).

He is vice president of global business development for International Flavors & Fragrances.

She is active in the New York social scene.[18][19][20] In 2007, she was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.[8]

She attended the funeral of her father, Prince Michael on 1 August 2024, and was seen with other Greek royal family members, including Princess Olga, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Queen Sofía of Spain, and Crown Prince Pavlos.[21][22][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Alexandra Mirzayantz". 6 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy . Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 458-460, 522-525, 532-533 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  3. ^ Beéche, Arturo. The Gotha, Volume 1. Kensington House Books, California, 2009, pages 81, 235, 237. ISBN 978-0-97-719617-3.
  4. ^ Willis, Daniel (1999). The Descendants of Louis XIII. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co. pp. 94, 762. ISBN 0-8063-4942-5. The daughters of Prince and Princess Michael [of Greece and Denmark] are titled Princess of Greece without the style of Royal Highness
  5. ^ Huberty, Michel; Alain Giraud; F. and B. Magdelaine (1994). L'Allemagne Dynastique Tome VII Oldenbourg (in French). France: Giraud. pp. 329, 357. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.
  6. ^ Willis, Daniel (2002). The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co. p. 419. ISBN 0-8063-5172-1.
  7. ^ Alvin Shuster (2 June 1973). "Monarchy Ended as Greek Regime Sets Up Republic". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b "The 2007 International Best-Dressed List". Vanity Fair. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  9. ^ Dellas, Mary (2018-05-15). "Contemporary Works by New York Academy of Art Graduates". The Cut. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  10. ^ Art, New York Academy of (2018-05-03). "2018 MFA Thesis Exhibition". New York Academy of Art. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  11. ^ "Alexandra Mirzayantz - Bio & Shows on Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  12. ^ "Visual AIDS | Postcards from the Edge 2022 VIRTUAL Sale Begins". Visual AIDS. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  13. ^ "Linda Yablonsky around the Armory Show". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  14. ^ artrestoration_admin. "Clients". Art Restoration NYC by Andrei Givotovsky. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  15. ^ "Catalogue | The Catalogue | Greece and Denmark, Prince Christopher of | The de Laszlo Archive Trust". www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  16. ^ Collins, Allison (2017-11-02). "IFF's Nicolas Mirzayantz Joins Fragrance Foundation Circle of Champions". WWD. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  17. ^ "Vogue's Hamish Bowles Trades New York City for the Bucolic Countryside". Vogue. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  18. ^ "Inside the Frederick Law Olmsted Awards "Hat Luncheon" in Central Park". Haute Living. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  19. ^ "Nicolas Mirzayantz, Princess Alexandra of Greece". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  20. ^ Wells, Weston (2021-08-19). "Inside a Casual Cool Rothy's Celebration on Long Island". DuJour. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  21. ^ Burack, Emily. "The Greek Royal Family Gathers in Athens for Prince Michael's Funeral". Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  22. ^ Moore, Matthew (1 August 2024). "Greek royals put on a united front as they mark family funeral". Hello!. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  23. ^ Charlie, Kowalenko (1 August 2024). "Funeral of Prince Michael Held in Athens". Greek City Times. Retrieved 1 August 2024.