Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Μαρίνα; 13 December 1906 – 27 August 1968) was a Greek princess by birth and a British princess by marriage.

She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, and a granddaughter of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece.

Princess Marina was born on 13 December 1906 in Athens, Greece, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, George I of Greece.

She was the third and youngest daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, and his wife Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia.

Her father was the third son of George I of Greece and Queen Olga, while her mother was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia.

Her father was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark, while her mother was a granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.

Princess Marina had two elder sisters, Princess Olga and Princess Elizabeth.

Her first recorded visit to Britain was in 1910, when she was 3, after the death of her godfather, Edward VII.

During that visit, she met her other godmother and future mother-in-law, Queen Mary, who treated Marina and her sisters like her own children.

The Greek royal family was forced into exile when Marina was 11, following the overthrow of the Greek monarchy.

They later moved to Paris, while the Princess stayed with her extended family throughout Europe.

Princess Olga married Prince Paul of Yugoslavia in 1923.

In 1932, Princess Marina and Prince George (later the Duke of Kent), a second cousin through Christian IX of Denmark, met in London.

Princess Marina married Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, in 1934.

They had three children: Prince Edward, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael.

After the assassination of his cousin, Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Paul served as Prince Regent of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1941.

Princess Elizabeth married Carl Theodor, Count of Toeering-Jettenbach in 1934.

One of their paternal uncles was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, the father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (making Marina and her sisters Philip's first cousins).

Marina spent her early years in Greece, and lived with her parents and paternal grandparents at Tatoi Palace.

Along with her sisters, she was raised to be devout and religious, which was encouraged by her grandmother, Queen Olga of Greece.

Marina's family travelled outside of Greece often, especially during the summer months.

Their betrothal was announced in August 1934.

Prince George was created Duke of Kent on 9 October 1934.

On 29 November 1934, they married at Westminster Abbey, London.

The wedding was a grand affair, as it had been more than eleven years since the last royal wedding with Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother).

The wedding of Prince George and Princess Marina was the first royal wedding ceremony to be broadcast by wireless, and with the use of other technology, such as microphones—the control room was located underneath the Unknown Warrior's tomb of Westminster Abbey.

The service was broadcast locally and abroad to other nations, and loudspeakers allowed spectators from outside the Abbey to hear the proceedings.

The wedding was followed by a Greek ceremony in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, which was converted into an Orthodox chapel for the ceremony.

The wedding was the most recent occasion on which a princess from another royal family married into the British royal family.

The Duke and Duchess set up their first home at 3 Belgrave Square, close to Buckingham Palace.

She became a patroness of several organizations and charities, including the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Women's Hospital Fund, and the Central School of Speech and Drama.

She would continue to support these charities and institutions for the rest of her life.

She became very close to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, with whom she would usually spend time while her husband was off performing his own royal duties.

The couple had three children:

Marina was widowed in 1942, when her husband was killed in a plane crash on active service.

In later life she carried out many royal engagements, including the independence celebrations for Ghana and Botswana.

The Duke of Kent was killed on 25 August 1942, in an airplane crash at Eagle's Rock, near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland, while on active service with the Royal Air Force.

The Duchess, according to royal biographer Hugo Vickers, was "the only war widow in Britain whose estate was forced to pay death duties".

During World War II, Marina was trained as a nurse for three months under the pseudonym "Sister Kay" and joined the civil nurse reserve.

After her husband's death, the Duchess of Kent continued to be an active member of the British royal family, carrying out a wide range of royal and official engagements.