Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark
| Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
3 December 1908 Paris, France |
| Died | 15 October 1980 (aged 71) London, United Kingdom |
| Burial | 5 September 1981 Lille Bernstorff, Denmark |
| Spouse | Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova |
| House | Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |
| Father | Prince George of Greece and Denmark |
| Mother | Princess Marie Bonaparte |
Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Πρίγκιψ Πέτρος της Ελλάδος; 3 December 1908 – 15 October 1980) was a Greek prince, soldier and anthropologist specialising in Tibetan culture and polyandry. Born in Paris and high in the line of succession to the Greek throne, Prince Peter was deemed to have forfeited his succession rights by marrying a twice-divorced Russian commoner, Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova. Following his first scientific voyage to Asia, Peter served as an officer of the Greek army during the Second World War. The Prince returned to Asia several more times for his research of Tibetan culture. He strongly protested against the royal family's treatment of his wife. After King Paul's death, he declared himself heir presumptive to the Greek throne, on the pretext that female dynasts had been unlawfully granted succession rights in 1952. Peter eventually separated from his wife and died childless in London.
A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince Peter was the elder child and only son of Prince George of Greece and Denmark and the wealthy author and psychoanalyst Princess George (née Princess Marie Bonaparte). His father was the second son of King George I of Greece and his mother the only daughter of the French botanist Prince Roland Bonaparte.
Peter was born in Paris and spent his childhood in France, and did not set foot in Greece between 1912 and 1935 due to the First World War and the later proclamation of the Second Hellenic Republic. During that time, he came to know Denmark, the kingdom from which the Greek royal family originated. He joined the Royal Guards of Denmark in 1932 for basic military service, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1934. He spent summers at Bernstorff Palace, then owned by his paternal granduncle, Prince Valdemar of Denmark. Due to their father's long-lasting sexual and emotional relationship with his uncle Valdemar, Peter and his sister Eugénie referred to Valdemar as "Papa Two". As customary, Princess George took no part in her son's upbringing, and when he reached adolescence, only the counsels of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud helped them suppress their incestuous feelings for each other.
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