Former princess of Greece Irene has died at the age of 83, the royal family of Spain and the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid announced on Thursday.
Her official title was princess of Greece and Denmark.
Irene was born to the Greek royal family in May 1942 and was the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and the late former king of Greece Constantine and first grade cousin of late Prince Phillip of UK.
She studied in best schools in Switzerland and was a pupil of concert pianist Gina Bachauer and, for a while, she was a professional concert pianist herself. She was archaeologist by profession.
She was never married.
Between her father’s death and her brother having his first child, she had the title “Crown Princess of Greece”.
After her brother was dethroned in 1967, Irene moved to India with her mother Frederica following Buddhism.
Since her mother’s death in 1981, she had been living in Spain in an apartment at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, the residence of her sister and brother-in-law, Queen Sofía and former King Juan Carlos.
In March 2018, Irene obtained Spanish nationality and renounced her Greek nationality.
Last time she visited Greece was in 2025 to attend the wedding of her nephew.
she was struggling with cancer for quite sometime, and died on 15 January 2026 at the Palace of Zarzuela, at the age of 83.
She will be buried at Tatoi cemetery in northern Athens, media reported.
