OBITUARY: Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

The Spanish royal family has announced the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Irene. The late Princess died at Zarzuela Palace this morning at the age of 83.

OBITUARY–Irene (εἰρήνη, Irini) was born Princess of Greece and Denmark in Cape Town, South Africa, on 11th May 1942. The youngest child of Crown Prince Paul, later King Paul of the Hellenes (Greece), and Crown Princess Frederica (née Princess of Hanover). The royal family were living in South Africa due to the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II. Princess Irene was the sister of Princess Sofía (b. 1938), later Queen of Spain, and Prince Constantine (1940–2023), later King of the Hellenes. The Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church performed her baptism at their home in July of that year. Queen Mary of the United Kingdom and Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent, among others, served as godparents to the Princess.

Following the German invasion, the royal family returned to Greece in 1946, where Irene’s father became King the following year. The King and Queen were particularly devoted to their children over the years, instilling them with the values of selflessness and resilience. King Paul reigned as King of the Hellenes from 1947 to 1964, being succeeded by King Constantine II at the age of 23. Irene was briefly Crown Princess (Heiress Presumptive), from 1964 to 1965, following the death of her father.

Her Royal Highness held a passion for music, becoming a professional concert pianist under the instruction of the esteemed Gina Bachauer. The Princess would, at times, perform to raise funds for charitable causes.

A possible romance was in the press between Irene and Crown Prince Harald of Norway, later King Harald V, as well as Michel of Orléans.

Following the Coup d’état of 1967 and the subsequent overthrow of the monarchy, the royal family was forced to flee Greece once more. Princess Irene and her mother eventually settled in India. There, Irene immersed herself in the culture, becoming closely intertwined with studying the Hindu philosophy and religion of Vedanta. The belief in Vedanta comes from the sacred Indian scriptures of the Vedas, seeking the divine nature of “the Self” with harmony across all the world’s religions. Irene was also known to be a devotee of the 8th-century Indian Vedic scholar and teacher Shankaracharya.

The Princess studied archaeology and music, attending the Schule Schloss Salem in southern Germany and Madras University in India. Irene was also known to speak five languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

In 1981, when Queen Frederica died, Princess Irene moved to live with Queen Sofía permanently in an apartment at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. In Spain, Princess Irene founded the non-profit ‘World in Harmony’ (Mundo en Armonía) Foundation, acting as President from 1986 to 2023, promoting cultural exchange and environmental awareness as well as providing humanitarian aid and animal care. The Princess was also involved with helping those struggling with drug addictions.

In 1985, the European Union (E.U.) proposed to cull over four million dairy cows to limit milk production and maintain prices. The Princess intervened, with her foundation, by chartering a 747 to ship cows to India and other parts of the world, to prevent slaughter. The cows not only served as food but also as a source of income for impoverished families and local communities.

“We read that all over Europe (and America) they were killing milk cattle because there was a glut of milk, and they couldn’t even use the beef, because it was also in oversupply,” she [Irene] said. “Cows are sacred in India, but more in the sense of a protected species. They give a village so much—milk, manure, fuel—they are the backbone of its economy.” — Desert News, 1991

“She [Irene] indicated that there were many one-parent families with no income, so she provided a milk cow to each family, built a dairry, and set up a system that they could take the milk produced by their cow twice a day to the dairy where they would get paid for the milk and thus were able to feed their family.” — Hopitutuqaiki

Following the 1999 earthquake, which struck Athens, the World in Harmony Foundation, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Athens, provided financial assistance and relief to displaced victims. The Foundation also supplied daily meals, with the assistance of other organisations, to many schools and families in Athens.

In 1994, the Greek State passed legislation (Law 2215/1994) to expropriate the remaining royal properties and private possessions of the royal family and to revoke their Greek citizenship. The socialist government confiscated Tatoi Palace—including the royal cemetery—in Athens, Polydendri in Larissa, and the summer residence of Mon Repos in Corfu, where Prince Philip (Husband to Queen Elizabeth II) was born. King Constantine, with Princess Irene and their aunt, Princess Katherine, then went to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg to sue the Greek State for compensation—around £320 million. In 2002, the ECHR granted a total of €13.7 million (£11.7 million) in pecuniary damages to the three royals. Princess Irene received around €900,000 (£780,000) and used some of the income to establish a Greek branch of her ‘World in Harmony’ (Mundo en Armonía) Foundation. The Princess also contributed to Greek relief programmes.

The Princess shunned the spotlight and very rarely spoke to the press. She did, though, speak to one journalist and writer, Eva Celada, for a book on her life in 2007.

“I liked her frankness, somewhat rustic and sometimes disarming, the serenity that emanates from her intellectual thought, her sincere humility (she doesn’t expect easy flattery, rather shuns it), her ability to adapt to all environments: how easily she goes from dining with a head of state to conversing with humble people who present her with solidarity projects in Spain or explain any activity in any remote village in the world!”

After renouncing her Greek citizenship, Princess Irene became a Spanish citizen by Royal Decree in 2018. The late Princess was a Knight of the Danish Order of the Elephant (Elefantordenen), being bestowed with the Thai Order of Chula Chom Klao (Dame Grand Cross), and the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (Dame Grand Cross of Justice).

Princess Irene was frequently seen at events hosted by the European royal families, spending summers annually with the Spanish royals in Mallorca. She accompanied Queen Sofía on many of her engagements and trips abroad. The Princess suffered from multiple health complications in the mid-2020s. It is understood Her Royal Highness was ailing from a form of “cognitive impairment.” Irene’s last public appearance was in February 2025 at the wedding of her nephew, Prince Nikolaos, to Chrysí Vardinogiánni, at the Holy Church of Saint Nicholas Ragavas in Athens.

Princess Irene died on Thursday, 15 January 2026, at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, surrounded by family. A statement from the Royal House of Spain said, “Their Majesties the King and Queen, Her Majesty Queen Sofía, regret  to announce the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Irene of Greece at 11.40 today at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.”

The Princess was never married nor had any children. Her Royal Highness is survived by her sister, Queen Sofía, whom she remained closest to, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, including King Felipe VI and Crown Prince Pavlos. The Princess’s death marks the end of an era for the House of Glücksburg.

“Don’t forget that I owe my successes to my family, to my siblings, but my mistakes are solely mine.” — H.R.H. Princess Irene, 2007

Further announcements relating to funeral arrangements and services will be made by the Royal House of Spain and the Greek Royal Family in due course.