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Distressing Dilemma of the Enormously
Wealthy and Beautiful American
;WidowWho.,Recently Married
Prince Christopher of Greece
and Now Discovers That She
Han No Roual Title. Rank
or Privileges
By a Retired Diplomat.
HAS our socially famous American
widow, Mrs. 'William B. Leeds, been
cheated out of her title of "Prin
cess?" ' ! '
"Upon his marriage Prince Christopher
cf Greece renounced his title of Prince
and his right of succession to the throne
and assumed the title of Count Gluecka
4yirg," says one announcement.
"Prince Christopher of Greece has not
renounced his title or right of succession
to the throne," announces the Prince's
lawyer curtly. i
It the Prince renounced his royal title
and assumed the Danish title of Count
Gloecksfourg, then he has given his wife
a title of no particular importance. If,
on th other hand, he has not renounced
bis royal title, but has made no provision
for his wife to share it, then she is placed
in a still more undesirable position. In
any event the American woman finds her
self placed between the horns of a very
unpleasant dilemma. But there are indi
cations that at this moment she fs trying
hard to find a way out of her; difficulties.
For the present, at least, Europeans are
Questioning whether MrB. Leeds has real
ly become a princess, as all Americans
have assumed her to be. j .
In the first place it must j be remem
bered that no American woman has 'ever
married into a full-fledged European
royal' family nd acquired the rank of a
royal princess, with the possible excep
tion cf the former 'Alice Heine, Princess'
of Monaco, and in that case her' husband,
the dependent of a republic, was not him
self regarded as the complete equal of.
other royalties. Severa American girls
have married princes, as in the case of
Prince Cantacuzene and Miss Julia Grant,
but those princes were only members of
the nobility, not royalty. A great distinc
tion Is made between princes of reigning
families and members of the nobility,
however high their titles. '--j i
Mrs. Leeds, it is well known,, has been
courted by the most highly placed noble
men in Europe, and Prince i Christopher
could hardly be an attraction to her unless
she were to share fully his royal rank.
In order that a marriage with a prince
of a royal family- may give the wife all
tub siaiua ana rig n is 01 a royai y unless iv
must conform with various laws,, have the
consent of the sovereign and In most cases
cerned. In the case of Greece the con
. sent of the King and government Is re-
Quired. .. .1 .
In modern times many -princes have
desired to enjoy simple domestic happi
ness with a non-royal wife, and shake off
the pomp of royalty. In that event it has
(been customary for them to Tenounce
their royal status and accept a title cf
nobility. j . '
Persons well Informed about royal cus
toms read with amazement and incre
dulity that : Prince Christopher or Greece
had married Mrs." Leeds without the cus
tomary renunciation of his royal rank and
that his wife had acquired all the rights
which would have accrued" to a princess
married In accordance with i the formali
ties required In such - cases. The mar-
riage occurred on January 81 at Vevay,
Switzerland.
The impression that Mrs. Leeds had ac
quired all the rights of a princess was not
confined to Americans, who are apt to be .
optimistic in such matters, but was quite
widely shared by English and European
newspapers. t
There were ; circumstances which .
stamped the marriage as being of greater
public importance than other unions of :
non-royal women with princes. No
formal renunciation of his rank was pub-;
lished in advance., such as had occurred
In other cases. Mrs. Leeds ; changed b.er
religion before marriage and became a
member of the Greek Orthodox Church,
to which princes of the Greelc royal tarn-;
lly are required by law to belong. Upon
her reception into the church she adopted
a Greek name. "Anastasia." which she
now signs. This certainly indicated that
Bbe expected to. take a formal place at
the Greek court. i
Moreover, there was a rery impressive
attendance of royalties at the wedding.
In spite of the conspicuous absence of ex
King Constantino and ex-Queen Sophie of
Greece. Chief among those present was
the Dowager Queen Olga of .Greece,
mother of the Prince, who has for some
time shown a warm approval of her son's
choice. Other royalties there Were Prince
Andrew of Greece, Princess Nicholas of
Greece and several members of the fallen
Russian imperial family. f
The marriage was opposed very Tigor
ously by ex-Queen Sophie, j sister, cf the
German Kaiser, a formidable woman, who
had forced her husband to pursue the pro
German policy in Greece that ended in
his deposition by the Allies. She de-
Pffbtograph of Prince Christopher
of Greece and His Bride, Who
Has J4o Right to the
Title of Princess. ?
clared that America was the real cause
of all their troubles and that she would
never consent to an American marrying
into their family. Even the gift of a beau
tiful diamond tiara from Mrs.' Leeds failed
to mollify her. : ,
Queen Sophie insisted that her hus
band, Constantino, should Btay away from
the wedding and, as usual, had her way.
The ex-King, however, made peace with
his brother quickly and offered him cor
dial congratulations within a few dayB of
the wedding. ; ; .
It should be borne in mind that this
wedding placed the former Mrs. Leeds in
an extraordinary position with relation
to the royal hierarchy of Europe. Her
husband is a nephew of Queen Alexandra
of England and a first cousin of King
George, and. it is not unreasonable to say
that the English royalties are now morn
Important than all the - others put . to
gether. By male descent he belongs: to
the royal family of Denmark, his grand
father having been a Danish prince who
was placed on the throne of Greece : by .
the powders as a matter of policy. He is
the youngest brother of the deposed King
Constantino and the uncle of the latter's
son. - Alexander, who now occupies the
Greek throne. v Prince Christopher's
mother was, before marriage, a Russian
grand duchess and first cousin of the late
Czar. - ' .... . . ; . '
Prince Christopher Is the favorite
nephew of Queen Alexandra on account
of his pleasing manners and social
qualities. Her Majesty has long been
The Royal Crown of Greece, Which
Mrs. Leeds in No Event Is Likely
to Wear or Transmit to Her
Descendants, Even If Her
Husband Should Inherit It
ing with the royal circle at great court
receptions and other ceremonies. On such,
occasions shetcould i stand proudly near
the King and Queen, while such lower
mortals as the British Prime Minister,
English dukes and i duchesses and the
American Ambassador would humbly bow
down before her. .
Such was ? the alluring prospect that
presented Itself to the mind's eye of the
American widow, Mrs. Leeds. During her
rather lengthy acquaintance with ' Prince
Christopher they must have frequently
discussed It in one aspect or another.
After the marriage Mrs. Leeds's numer
ous friends and admirers generally as
sumed that she had become a princess,
but there were doubters.
Then a London newspaper, which has
always been very well Informed on social
matters and has enjoyed "the services of
Lady Diana Manners as a contributor, de
clared positively that Mrs. Leeds had not
acquired" royal rank. This publication de
clared: -
"The American "Dollar Princess, for
merly Mrs. William B. Leeds, widow of
the multi-millionaire 'tin-plate king and
one of the most popular hostesses in Lon
don, who recently married Prince Chris
topher of Greece, finds herself to-day in
what is probably the most difficult posi
tion of all the American heiresses mar-
Mrs. W. B. Leeds, Who Hat
Recently Married His Royal
: Highness Prince Christopher
of 'Greece and Finds That If
Her Husband Retains His
Rank and Title as Prince She, His Wife, Cannot Share Any of His Royal Privileges or Official
Distinctions and Is No More Than the Wife of Any Commoner; or If, as Is Intimated,
the Prince Renounces His-Royal Title and Rights of Succession, She Will
; Then Bo a Noblewoman of Quito Inferior Grade. w
deaf and Is very appreciative of anybody v ried into royal or noble families.
who can make himself , understood with
out acting ridiculously. Prince Christo
pher has always been a very welcome vis
itor at Marlborough House, as well as at
Buckingham Palace, and could i almost
call the former place his home. ! .
Prince . Christopher's wife, provided ,
that she shared his royal rank and status,
would. It appeared, enjoy the privilege,
very .alluring from a social point of view,
of being on Intimate terms with the royal
family of England. She would sit at
table with the King and Queen and , the
Queen Mother and enjoy an Intimacy
from which all but royal persons are ordi
narily excluded.
i She would have the privilege of stand-
"She is not and her new relatives take
especial care to let her know that she Is
not a princess, as she Is commonly sup
posed to be, and Christopher, since his
marriage to her, Is no longer a prince.
His name has vanished from .the official
list of Greek princes. i - -
- "The beautiful American millionairess,
- for years a favorite of royalty, learns that
after, marrying a prince she Is to be ex
cluded from even the least pretentious of
the royal courts of Europe.
, "The Official Gazette, of Athens, stipes
that' Christopher has - renounced in- law
his rank as a prince of the sovereign
house of Greece, and his place In the line
of succession to the throne. He asked,
(C) 1920. InterniUojud reatum Serrioe. Inat
and received, permission to change his
nationality in order that he might take
the title of a Danish count. . He was also
compelled,' it is said, on the eve of his
marriage, to make , a complete renuncia
tion of his right to the rank and preroga
tives of a prince of Denmark, which he
had held as well His wife, therefore,
cannot claim the privileges of a princess,
nor can she even assume the title.
"Christopher received the Danish title.
Count Gluecksburg, after his complete
surrender of royal rank, this being a
courtesy from his cousin. King Christian
X. He has also been known on occasions
.lately as Count Rosenberg."
Within a few days of this announce
ment the legal advisers of Prince. Chris
topher, at Geneva, Switzerland, - sent out
an announcement that the Prince had not
renounced his rights to the throne, Greek
: or Danish, that the Official Gazette of.
' Athens had made no such announcement
and that the Prince was on the best terms
with his relations. .
" The Prince's denial by no means
cleared up the position of his wife. The
fact still remained that no representative
of the. Greek Government was present at
: the wedding, a formality said to be re
quired toy Greek law in order that a per
son marrying into the Greek royal family
should acquire full standing as a member
of it. -t- ...
Taking the statement of the Prince's
lawyer literally, it 'left the American wife
In a very unsatisfactory position. If the
. Prince had made no renunciation of his
own rights, but had observed CO formall-
; ties for the sharing of those rights by his
? wife, then he would remain a royal prince
himself while she would have no rank at
alL Their children could not -inherit the
Prince's rights through a non-royal mother.
In such a case the Prince would have
" the right to stand in the sacred royal cir
cle at Buckingham Palace and other
1 courts, while ' his wife, on formal occa-
Crsat Britain Klrfita Keacrrad.
slons at least,' would have to linger pa
thetically at a distance, a most insignifi
cant member of the general public
If, on the other hand, the Prince in
tends to accept the title, of Count Gluecks
burg for himself and his wife, then she
will rank as a very unimportant newly
created memfoer of the" nobility, far below
the numerous royalties land also below the
great host of noblemen of older and higher
titles. 1
But the vast wealth, the personality
and the triumphant social tact of the
American widow are factors to be reck
oned with. It is not inopportune to recall,
that she Inherited the entire vast fortune
of the late William B. Leeds, derived from
control of the ""Tin Plate Trust," the Rock
Island Railroad and other great American
corporations. Her fortune, which has
been liberally estimated at $40,000,000,
must produce a very tempting impression
on the impecunious Greek royal family
and also on the public officials of Greece,
whose consent may be necessary to .the
marriage. - l .
M. Venizelos is still the dominating
power in Greece, and he is in a position
to give public recognition to the American
widow as a member of the reigning family,
even If certain formalities were omitted
at the wedding. Venitelos is a democratic,
progressive, highmlnded statesman, and
It is not likely that money or social con
siderations would Influence his actions,
but a desire to .cultivate friendship with
. America would be a legitimate motive for
favoring the ambitions: of Mrs. Leeds. It
is -significant- to recall that .Mrs. Leeds
several times met Venl2elos in London.
All the circumstances of the wedding
Suggested that the bride Intended to oc
cupy a prominent position in court society,
near to the throne and crown of Greece.
She ordered a trousseau costing 1300,000
and including 102 splendid gowns, as well
- as numerous other, articles. One does not'
need 102 splendid gowns In order to enjoy
love in a cottage under a newly created
modest title. Solid gold medals, the
Size of $20 gold pieces, bearing the effi
gies of the Prince and his bride, . were
struck In commemoration of the event
It Is announced that the American
bride will'pay a visit to Newport this Sum
mer, and everybody, understands that it
will not be for the purpose of parading
the fact that she has become merely
Countess Gluecksburg, a countess of no
account. Her friends say that she will
ipome as princess or not at all. '
v Unquestionably behind: the assertions
find denials regarding this remarkable
marriage a keen struggle for social su
premacy is going on. It Is well to recall
fiat the former Mrs. Leeds has been bril
liantly successful In all her undertakings.
After moving to London she won the
friendship of the most highly placed per-Aonages-in
the kingdom and thus raised
herself immensely in the esteem of New
York's fashionable set.
j She won the approval of the entire royal
aste of Europe when she took the lease
f Ken Wood, the largest estate in the
lclnity of London, off the bands of Grand
puke Michael of Russia, who had been
fuined by the Russian revolution. For
ibis graceful act she received kindly
recognition from the British royal family.
It Prince Christopher of Greece had been
fevoted to Mrs. Leeds for a number of
ears. She evidently thought that there
ere considerable obstacles to their union.
n 1916 she issued a formal statement.
saying that. she was not engaged to hint
and had no intention of becoming so. It
is appropriate to recall that she Is some
what older than the Prince. He is thirty
two years old, while she divorced her first
tusband twenty years ago. j
;! It seems hardly credible .that after all
Ihese years of courting and discussion our
brilliant American widow has married
-;he Prlnco In order to become a social
nobody. I
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