Princess Theodora in wedding dress beside Crown Prince Pavlos© Shutterstock

Princess Theodora's historic lace wedding veil worn by four queens

Princess Margaret of Connaught first wore the veil in 1905

Deputy Lifestyle Editor
September 28, 2024

Greece's Princess Theodora has the perfect 'something old' and 'something borrowed' for her wedding day with Matthew Kumar.

The late King Constantine's daughter has spent four years deciding on her perfect bridal outfit, and settled on a very sentimental accessory – her lace veil. Theodora looked radiant as she was pictured arriving at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens alongside her brother Prince Pavlos for her ceremony with her American lawyer fiancé in a Celia Kritharioti wedding dress.

© Shutterstock

Theodora wore a Celia Kritharioti gown

She teamed her stunning bridal gown with the ultra- sparkling Khedive of Egypt tiara and styled her blonde hair in stunning, half-up, half down look.

© Shutterstock

Her lace veil was simply stunning

 Cascading down her back was the Connaught veil, which had previously been worn by four Queens on their wedding days. 

Veil's history

© Getty

Princess Ingrid of Sweden wore the veil on her wedding day in 1935

Made of Carrickmacross lace, the veil is embroidered with lilies, meadowsweet, and shamrocks.

Princess Margaret of Connaught originally wore the lace veil on her wedding day with Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden in 1905. After she died in 1920 aged 38, it was given to her only daughter Ingrid, and it has since become a tradition among her descendants to sport the same bridal accessory.

Queen Anne-Marie wore her grandmother's veil in 1964

Thirty years after her mother's wedding, Queen Ingrid rocked the veil alongside her long-sleeve, draped wedding dress and a myrtle wedding crown.

The heirloom was passed down to her three children, starting with Queen Anne-Marie. She got married in a belted Jorgen Bender bridal gown and her grandmother's veil in 1964, followed by Queen Margrethe who teamed it with a wedding dress from the same Danish designer with a matching lace panel on the front of the gown in 1967.

© Getty

Margrethe and Henri on their wedding day in 1967

The following year, Princess Benedikte secured the family veil in place with the Khedive of Egypt Tiara.

© Pascal Le Segretain

Queen Mary of Denmark's veil was flowing past her shoulders as she left Copenhagen Cathedral on 14 May 2004

Margrethe loaned the veil to her daughter-in-law Queen Mary of Denmark (nee Mary Donaldson) when she married King Frederik in 2004. Mary teamed it with a wedding dress by Danish designer Uffe Frank and a diamond tiara from her parents-in-law.

Theodora's royal wedding

© Aristidis Vafeiadakis/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Princess Theodora and her fiance attended King Constantine's funeral in 2023, months before they were due to get married

Matthew and Theodora had been dating for two years when he proposed in November 2018. Princess Theodora shared her news on Instagram with a picture of the pair posing against the backdrop of Tower Bridge in London, writing: "Words can't express our happiness and excitement. I can't wait to marry this wonderful man. I love you, Matt."

The pair had planned to get married in May 2020, two months after the COVID-19 outbreak. They postponed the wedding and announced the new date would be in spring 2023, but their plans were scuppered after Theodora's father King Constantine died in January 2023.

© Getty

Princess Theodora and Matthew Kumar met in 2016 and got engaged in 2018

The Bold and the Beautiful actress finally walked down the aisle at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens at 5:30 pm, before hosting a wedding dinner at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens.

PHOTOS: Greek royals enjoy glamorous evening with Queen Maxima and Princess Catharina-Amalia ahead of family wedding 

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