The Prince Nikolaos (54 years old), third son of Queen Anna Maria and the last king of Greece Constantine II, e Princess Tatiana of Greece (43 years old) they separated after 14 years of marriage. The announcement from the press office of the former royal house, dated April 19, reads as follows: “We want to inform you of the decision taken by Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana. After fourteen years of marriage, they decided to end their union. This decision was made with mutual respect and affection, remembering the profound gratitude that characterized their union but also the love with which they walked together in all these years.” And again: “Their future relationships will continue to be based on these principles of respect and understanding, there is a relationship of strong friendship between them. They will continue their lives in Greece, a place where they feel at home. The family will always support them.” And then as a conclusion: “We thank you warmly for your understanding and for respecting their privacy during this period.”
The last appearance together at mass in Windsor
The news of the separation comes as a surprise, after we last saw the couple, apparently close-knit, at the mass in memory of the former king of Greece Constantine II (who passed away at the beginning of 2023) which took place last February, at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the presence of Queen Camilla. If you are wondering why the function in honor of King Constantine was celebrated in Windsor, the answer lies in the relationship between the last king of Greece and King Charles III, second cousins on the paternal line. Nikolaos and Tatiana arrived arm in arm at the function along with other representatives of the Greek royal family, including the widow, Queen Anna Maria, Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie Chantal. The event attracted a lot of attention due to two absences, the first announced of King Charles, who was undergoing treatment for cancer and the other, revealed at the last minute, of Prince William, godson of King Constantine, who shortly before the function, gave lump sum with a laconic “For personal reasons”. Today, after the video message released at the end of March by the Princess of Wales in which Kate announced that she had cancer, we know that Prince William's last minute absence was linked to his cancer diagnosis, presumably received that day by his wife.
The prince and the commoner: how they met
But let's go back to Nikolaos and Tatiana and the years in which their relationship blossomed. We remember that the prince was born in Rome, in 1969, after the exile of his family who left Greece following the military coup that began the dictatorship of the colonels. The prince spent his childhood in Italy, Denmark and then in England where he stayed permanently with the former royal family. Nikolaos studied with his siblings Alexia and Pavlos at the Hellenic College of London and then graduated in international relations from Brown University in Rhode Island, later working as a consultant and esteemed professional photographer. Described by the pink press as a playboy and often spotted in the company of beautiful women, in 2000 the second son of the former King Constantine began dating the woman who would become his wife within about ten years. Blonde hair, green eyes and aristocratic bearing, Tatiana is actually a commoner. Born in Caracas to parents of Slovenian origin, she studied first in Switzerland and then at Georgetown University. She previously worked as an event planner and advertising consultant for the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg, whose son, Prince Alexander, had been married to Alexandra, one of the sisters of Princess Marie Chantal (née Miller). Before getting married, the couple lived for several years in the London neighborhood of Chelsea until the wedding proposal of Prince Nikolaos who gave his future wife a ring with sapphire (donated by Queen Anne Mary) and diamonds. The official engagement was confirmed by a simple announcement from the groom's father: “Her Majesty Queen Anna Maria and I are pleased to announce the engagement of our son Nikolaos to Tatiana Blatnik.”
The fairytale Greek wedding on the island of Spetses
The couple, who have no children, will remain in Greece after the separation, a country to which they are both very attached and where Nikolaos and Tatiana got married in 2010 with a ceremony in the Agios Nikolaos cathedral on the Greek island of Spetses. The bride decided to convert to the Greek Orthodox religion. The event at the time brought together many royal guests including Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, the then Prince Felipe of Spain (the groom's first cousin) with his wife Letizia, the Infanta Elena and the Infanta Cristina, the future King of Holland William with Máxima. Also present were the director Sofia of Spain, Nikolaos' aunt, and her sister, Princess Irene, and Prince Michael of Kent also arrived from the United Kingdom with his wife and daughter, Lady Gabriella. The bride, beautiful, arrived at the church like a fairytale princess on a horse-drawn carriage and on her head stood the ancient Corsage Tiara, lent by her mother-in-law, Queen Anna Maria, the same one that Princess Marie Chantal also wore on the day of her marriage to Prince Pavlos. In 2013, Prince Nikolaos and his wife Tatiana decided to move permanently to Greece following in the footsteps of King Constantine and Queen Anna Maria who returned, as ordinary citizens, to their country in that same period. The monarchy in Greece was definitively abolished in 1973 with a referendum held at the end of the dictatorship. The return to Greece was very emotional and in a 2016 interview with VogueTatiana recounted her and her husband's feelings in that period: “One night I was exhausted and wanted to go to sleep but Nikolaos begged me to stay awake. No, please, I want to admire every sunset and every sunrise. I've wanted this my whole life”.
“I don't feel like a princess…”
In Greece Tatiana began to collaborate with various charitable organizations and also dedicated herself to her passion, cooking, writing a book on Greek cuisine “A Taste of Greece” which also features the contributions of famous people linked to Greece, such as Tatiana Santo Domingo Casiraghi and Valentino Garavani. Regarding her aristocratic status, Tatiana has always kept a low profile about herself, saying in an interview with Vogue shortly after her wedding: “I don't feel like a princess. I don't feel like I married a prince with a title. Well, yes he is my prince but nothing more. It is a privilege and an honor to be part of this family”. And again: “I live a very simple life here. I work, I go shopping, something I love because I like to cook, I walk the dog, and the Greek people welcomed me as they would anyone else. There is a word here, filoxenia, the love of foreigners, and I felt it very strongly. It took me a while to get used to dining late in Greece but now I've adapted to everything.”
Mental Health Commitment: Stop and Breathe!
Today, as can also be seen from her Instagram page (tatianablatnik), the princess deals with wellbeing after having founded “Breathe Hellas”, an organization that works to offer greater mental and physical well-being through various projects that concern mental health and disorders such as anxiety and depression. Some time ago in a television interview with Greek TV, Tatiana spoke about the objective of her organization and also recalled a tragic event that marked her life during childhood: “The idea to create this mental health project “Breathe” was born during the pandemic, when we were all terribly worried and under stress. One day I told myself to breathe and that everything would be okay. Mental health issues are still a stigma in our society, so I decided to create Breathe. It is normal that a person may not feel well.” Then he talked about her personal experience and the impact that the premature death of her father had on her, when she was only seven years old. “I lost my father when I was only seven years old, he committed suicide. That's why this project is also a personal journey… It wasn't so much the suicide that affected me but the silence that covered it… I was seven years old but I discovered it at 14 and I was only able to talk about it when I was 20.” At the end of that interview, Blatnik said: “Thank you for letting me into your homes. I want people to remember the importance of speaking up. Don't keep things inside, ask for help, stop and take a breath, even if today it seems like a luxury.”
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
