Who is Marie Chantal of Greece? Meet the daughter of a billionaire ‘Duty Free King’ who now shares five children with Prince Pavlos – and has a vast social media following around the world
Marie Chantal of Greece has lived a modern-day fairytale, from growing up with billionaire father Robert Miller to falling ‘in love at first sight’ with Prince Pavlos, heir to the Greek crown.
She combines work as a clothes designer with a life as mother-of-five whose children are already forging their own successful paths.
She also has a huge online following, with nearly a quarter of a million fans on one social media channel alone.
Born in London on September 17, 1968, to parents Robert W Miller, 88, and his Ecuador-born wife Maria Clara Pesantas, 83, she was brought up in Hong Kong until the age of nine, where she then went to boarding school in Switzerland.
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, and wife Marie-Chantal appearing at the Albert Hall for the British fashion awards
While she may have married royalty, Marie-Chantal, 55, (pictured with her daughter Maria Olympia) is worth £2billion herself – thanks to a fortune from her father Robert Miller
Marie-Chantal married Pavlos in 1995. He will never take the throne because the Greek monarchy was deposed in 1973
Marie-Chantal has connections with the rich and famous. Before she married into the royal family, the London-born blonde worked for Andy Warhol (above)
Her father Robert initially made a fortune as a pioneer in the world of duty free shopping, establishing the DFS or Duty Free Shopping chain.
Later, he established an investment business that made him and his family even more money.
Marie Chantal, 55, is the middle of three sisters, Pia, 57, and Alexandra, 50, who are also best known for their well-connected marriages.
In the 1980s, she attended a bilingual school in Paris before transferring to the Masters School in New York for her senior year of high school.
Marie-Chantal has a long history of associating with the rich and famous; before she married into the royal family, the London-born blonde worked for Andy Warhol.
She began a degree in History of Art at New York University in 1993, and it was in the city that she met Prince Pavlos, 56, for the first time.
The couple met on a blind date set up by New York investment banker Alecko Papamarkou, a mutual friend who was convinced they would hit it off.
‘We clicked,’ the Princess told Vanity Fair in 2008. ‘It was love at first sight. I knew that he was the person I would marry.’
The pair became engaged in 1995 after a romantic proposal in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, and their July wedding later that year was the largest gathering of royals in London since Queen Elizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1946.
Among the 1,250 guests who attended were the royal families of Britain, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Romania, Jordan and Bulgaria.
Marie Chantal Miller poses extravagantly above with her sister Pia (in yellow) as they lounge in the pool of the Hotel Bel-Air, Cap Ferrat in July 1991
The couple met on a blind date set up by New York investment banker Alecko Papamarkou, a friend who was convinced they would hit it off
Prince Pavlos of Greece and his bride Marie-Chantal Miller after their wedding at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Sofia in Bayswater, London in 1995
The couple moved to Manhattan, where she continued her studies in art history and Pavlos worked as an investment consultant. It was here they had their firstborn Olympia, before moving to London in 2002 so their children could have a European education.
The couple now have five children: daughter Olympia, 23, and four sons: Constantine, 21, Achileas, 19, Odysseas, 15, and 11-year-old Aristidis.
In 2000, she launched her luxury children’s wear brand Marie-Chantal, which has since gone on to amass celebrity and royal fans, including Kate Middleton.
The Greek royals have lived between New York and London since 2004, with Marie Chantal running a children’s clothing line out of the UK.
Together, the family enjoy a life befitting of the world’s mega-wealthy, splitting their time between their stunning Upper East Side New York home and holidays around the world.
Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal with their children, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, and new baby, Prince Constantine-Alexios of Greece in January 1999
In 1999, Prince William wore a sling while attending the christening of his godson, Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, in London. The Prince was recovering from surgery on a broken finger
Prince Pavlos of Greece with Marie-Chantal Miller the day before their wedding in June 1995
As well as the New York home, the Greek royals have four other properties around the world including a house in London, a Cotswolds estate, a holiday home in the Bahamas, as well as a country retreat in Yorkshire.
These days, Marie-Chantal runs her own eponymous children’s clothing label, which is stocked in boutiques and stores worldwide.
The princess’s designs have proved popular among celebrities with Nicky Hilton‘s flower girls famously wearing her creations in July 2015.
In 2016, the glamorous royal teamed up with Marks & Spencer for an exclusive 33-piece collection of clothing, accessories and gifts designed for babies and children.
The mother-of-five’s capsule collection was influenced by the signature style seen in her high-end line of kids’ clothes which retails up to £250 for a fraction of the price.
Prices start at £6 for socks, and up to £60 for the shawl, clothing starts at £18 for the top and goes up to £36 for the dress.
Meanwhile, in 2020, she released a book, Manners Begin at Breakfast: Modern Etiquette for Families.
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess, arrive to attend the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
Marie-Chantal of Greece and her son, Prince Constantin Alexios in 2021 in Paris
Emma Watson, Princess Maria Olympia of Greece and Crown Princess Marie Chantal of Greece attend the Valentino show as part of Paris Fashion Week in July 2014
Marie-Chantal runs her own eponymous children’s clothing label, which is stocked in boutiques and stores worldwide
But while Marie-Chantal, whose own family was arguably even wealthier than the royal one she married into, has always enjoyed the finer things in life, she explained that when it comes to parenting things are surprisingly simple – and do not change based on how much money you have in the bank.
For the well-heeled society supermum claims the key to raising successful children is to simply teach them the value of having good manners and conducting themselves in a courteous fashion.
‘It’s statistically proven that children who have beautiful manners do better in life,’ she explained in an interview with Hello! magazine. ‘That child will be remembered for being polite.’
In her interview with Hello!, she explained that it is important to start teaching children these lessons from a young age.
She said: ‘I believe children should be taught from a young age how to behave in a caring and mindful way. They need to be taught to be aware of others and to be instilled with these simple values when they are still so sponge-like.
‘Once children are older the lessons are much harder to just accept. I certainly like to think Olympia has taken it all on board,’ she said, referring to her eldest.
Meanwhile, Marie-Chantal has certainly amassed a wealth of fans online, with an incredible 244K followers on Instagram.
There, she shares snapshots of her family’s lavish lifestyle – from jaunts aboard in Greece to photographs of her brood at one of their many homes.
A recent image shows the royal and her husband alongside their youngest child as they send him off to boarding school, with the caption: ‘A new chapter begins for Aristides and for Pavlos and me. No more early morning wake ups and getting them to school on time.’
Marie-Chantal regularly shares snaps of her family’s holidays on her Instagram page, where she has amassed over 244k fans
A recent image shows the royal and her husband alongside their youngest child as they send him off to boarding school
Even though Greece hasn’t officially been a monarchy since the Seventies, Marie-Chantal and her husband are still known as Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess – and their children, too, are given these titles.
King Constantine and his son the Crown Prince have no official remit but are still active participants in royal life around Europe.
The family is closely connected with the British royals as Prince William is Constantine godfather’s.
Prince Charles hosted a gala at Highgrove to celebrate King Constantine’s 60th birthday in 2000.
