Manos, Aspasia

Aspasia was born in Athens , was the daughter of Colonel Petros Manos (1871-1918) and his first wife, Maria Argiropoulos (1874-1930). The Manos family was descended, in particular, from the Greek fanariots who lived in Constantinople . Some of her ancestors were important military figures during the Greek War of Independence , some were leaders of the Greek communities in Constantinople over the centuries of Ottoman rule , and some were even ruling princes in the Danube provinces of the empire. She belonged to one of the most aristocratic families in Greece and was considered a suitable spouse for the Greek king by many, but not by those who believed that the king could only marry a woman of royal blood.

On November 4, 1919, in the Tatoy Palace, Aspasia Manos married King Alexander secretly, that is, having entered into a civil marriage . This event caused a scandal, and the couple was forced to temporarily flee to Paris . She never took the title of queen and was known as “Madame Manos” among those who were knowledgeable about marriage. Alexander lived less than a year after the wedding. His father, King Constantine I, was restored to the Greek throne a month after the death of Alexander and returned from exile. His government officially considered the brief reign of his late son to be regency, which meant that Alexander’s marriage, without the permission of his father or the head of the Greek Orthodox Church , was legally illegal, the wedding was invalid, and children born to a couple in a marriage were illegitimate.

At the request of Alexander’s mother, Queen Sofia , a law was passed in July 1922 that allowed the king to retroactively recognize the marriages of members of the royal family, not concluded on the basis of inheritance of the throne. In this regard, King Constantine issued a decree announced on September 10, 1922, recognizing the marriage of Alexander with Aspasia. From now on, she and her daughter were given the title “Princess of Greece and Denmark” and the right to be called Royal Highness. This appeal was accepted for all members of the Greek royal family who did not have rights to the throne, which could also come from the younger branch of the dynasty that ruled in Denmark .

In the marriage of Aspasia and Alexander, only one child was born, Princess Alexandra , five months after the death of Alexander in Tatoya (he died of sepsis after a monkey bite). Alexandra later married Peter II , king of Yugoslavia .

Aspasia Manos and her daughter were the only members of the Glucksburg dynasty , the Greek royal house, who were also of Greek origin. Like most European royal families of the 20th century, the Glucksburg pedigree was exclusively German.

Due to the combination of health problems of her daughter and son-in-law, financially cramped circumstances and a problem marriage, Aspasia was the guardian for her grandson Alexander , Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (born in 1945). She raised him mainly in England.

She died in Venice and was originally buried in the cemetery of the island of San Michele , near Venice. Her remains were later transferred to the site of the Royal Cemetery in Tatoya Park near Dhekelia (23 km north of Athens).

• Αλέξανδρος Ζαούσης, Αλέξανδρος και Ασπασία, Athènes, Εκδόσεις Ωκεανίδα, 2000 ( ISBN 960-410-170-6 ).