Princess Olympia Of Greece's Stunning Transformation

Princess Olympia of Greece is a testament to the fact that the Greek royal family is still going strong. Even though the Greek government voted to eradicate their monarchy in 1973, Princess Olympia and her family have continued to use their royal titles and remain captivating representatives of the nation. With no duties as a working royal, this Mediterranean-born beauty has dedicated her life to fashion, often teaming up with high-end brands, like the luxury footwear company Aquazzura, to promote their goods or striking a pose or two in front of the camera as a model. Unlike other modern royals, this socialite is more likely to be seen in the audience of a Valentino fashion show than she is to be seen at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Whether she's posting glamorous vacation snaps on her Instagram page or being photographed at exclusive London events, discovering Princess Olympia's narrative makes it no surprise why Tatler branded this noblewoman the "the undisputed It girl of London" in 2024. Blending the money, power, and prestige of old European royalty with the glittering style of a contemporary fashion influencer, this prima donna wields more power in high society than you might think. This is the stunning transformation of Princess Olympia of Greece.

Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece was born on July 25, 1996. Although some sources claim she was born in New York City, a 2022 profile published in Harper's Bazaar claims she was born "in the Greek royal family home on Corfu." However, the little princess was swiftly taken to London, where she grew up with her mother, father, and four younger brothers – Prince Constantine-Alexios, Prince Achileas-Andreas, Prince Odysseas-Kimon, and Prince Aristidis-Stavros.

Olympia, as she goes by in her everyday life, is the daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece — two famous blue bloods who hail from wealthy dynasties. Prince Pavlos' claim to fame comes from his father,  King Constantine II, who was the last king of Greece before the nation became a parliamentary republic. Princess Marie-Chantal, on the other hand, is the daughter of the wealthy businessman Robert Warren Miller, who operates the successful shopping firm Duty Free Shoppers. Therefore, whether it was New York, Greece, or London — it seems that no matter where Princess Olympia was raised, she was always destined to grow up in the lap of luxury.

The 1996 Christmas season saw little Princess Olympia being baptized. Crown Prince Pavlos' firstborn child was unsurprisingly baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church on December 22, 1996, just five months after she was born. Sadly, though, with tensions running high between the former Greek prince and his home nation, Prince Pavlos and his wife Marie-Chantal chose the Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey as the site of their little girls' baptismal ceremony. 

It was a family affair, with Princess Olympia's grandparents King Constantine II and Queen Anna-Marie in attendance, as well as a collection of other high-profile royals including her great aunt Queen Sophia of Spain and England's then-Prince Charles. During the ceremony, the future king of England was named as one of Princess Olympia's godfathers.

Although no photographers or journalists were invited to attend the sacred ceremony, it is believed that a lock of Princess Olympia's hair was cut off during the baptism per Greek Orthodox tradition, with the infant then being fed a small sip of wine. Princess Olympia's grandfather, the elderly King Constantine II, later said that "everything" about the baptism "was perfect." 

Princess Olympia of Greece's love for fashion started at an early age. However, it wasn't a sparkly birthday gown or a royal tiara that ignited the fire in her, but, a hand-me-down handbag. Speaking with Harper's Bazaar, the It girl revealed that she was only 10 years old when her grandmother, Queen Anna-Marie of Greece, allowed her to borrow one of her own small Louis Vuitton purses.

The princess revealed that she was preparing for a family dinner when her grandmother suggested she sling this heirloom number over her shoulder, thus inducting Princess Olympia into the art of refined dressing. She jokingly reflected on the memory with Harper's Bazaar, saying, "I was chic for that one meal. I was only 10 years old, but I felt so empowered. My grandmother still owns that bag, and it still looks fabulous. I'm a real bag lady now, I have an issue. How many do I own? I have absolutely no idea."

While it may not have been the most expensive handbag in the world, it's clear that this Louis Vuitton handbag meant the world to Princess Olympia. Coincidentally, it was announced in 2023 that the princess would be a Bulgari Accessories Ambassador for the Bulgari Roma bag collection, a line that boasts handbags with "timeless elegance." Having started her fashion journey with a sophisticated handbag, it seems Princess Olympia has remained true to her roots and continues to rep these gorgeous accessories.

A peek inside the lavish life of the Greek royal family reveals that the family of Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal enjoy a Rolodex of famous friends, an impressive jewelry collection, and access to the hottest fashion brands out there. For that reason, it should come as no surprise to learn that Princess Olympia attended her first fashion show only a few days before she turned 11. 

The princess regards this as a landmark moment in her life, opening her eyes to the world of fashion. She reflected on the memory in 2020, telling British Vogue, "I went to a Valentino show with my mother and father in Rome and I remember sitting on my father's lap and thinking this is unbelievable." Just as taking your child to a science museum can ignite a love for physics, it seems introducing their little princess to Valentino resulted in the Greek royals having a fashionista for a daughter. 

Princess Olympia went on to wax poetic to British Vogue about her love of high-end fashion. "Couture, to me, has more of a story behind it," she gushed. "I love ballgowns and that whole out-of-your-comfort-zone approach to dressing up." Her love of couture has become a highlight of Princess Olympia's social media presence, with the princess taking to Instagram in July 2023 to share a snap of her wearing a cotton candy-colored Giambattista Valli gown, which she called "a dream come true."

The list of all the royal rules Prince Harry has broken in his lifetime is incredibly long, including offering signatures to fans (a big no-no in the British monarchy) and illegally hugging royal spectators. However, there was a time when the tabloids believed that Prince Harry had committed one particularly odd taboo — dating his cousin, Princess Olympia of Greece. The two royals are distantly related, with both their family lines descending from Queen Victoria or England. 

And yet, In 2016, rumors swirled that the 31-year-old prince had rushed headlong into a romance with the then-19-year-old Greek princess. The story originated with the Australian magazine New Idea, which printed a quote from a supposed "royal source" that read, "Harry has fallen head-over-heels with Maria-Olympia. He's absolutely smitten. They've been on a string of dates and are planning to go skiing in Switzerland before Easter." New Idea spun a tale of a perfect match, claiming that Prince Harry's cousin Princess Beatrice had introduced him to the Greek royal and that the union had gotten so serious that Prince William and Princess Catherine had given Olympia their seal of approval. 

However, the story was eventually shut down and branded as utterly baseless. Hello! later published a statement from a royal insider that denied the romance, saying, "It's nonsense, it's not true in the least." Princess Olympia remained quiet on the matter, allowing these wild dating rumors to eventually fade away.

A long-time fashion lover, Princess Olympia took her passion to the next level when she made her debut on the runway in June 2017. Walking in a Dolce & Gabbana show, the Greek princess combined a white mini-dress with strappy black heels and a punk-inspired oversized army jacket. Ironically, her jacket bore an angry red patch on the shoulder that read "King" — possibly a nod to her family's troubled royal past.

The following year, Princess Olympia served as one of the muses for the Saks Potts S/S 2019 show during Copenhagen Fashion Week. Stylized as "OLYMPIA,"  the coordinators chose this unofficial princess to feature as their very first model to hit the runway following an opening dance number. Although her runway appearances were met with much tabloid attention, Princess Olympia ultimately didn't pursue a catwalk career.

She did, however, fall in love with on-camera modeling. Princess Olympia first made her magazine debut in 2016 when Vanity Fair featured the royal alongside her other aristocratic cousins, Isabel Getty and Princess Talita von Fürstenberg. The photos showed Princess Olympia and her cousins draped in chic hotel robes, laughing it up in a claw-foot bathtub. With a plate of treats balanced in the girls' laps, it seems the aesthetic was heavily inspired by Marie Antoinette. The article's headline also predicted Olympia's career as a fashion influencer, writing that she and her cousins were "the ultimate society darlings for the social-media age." 

Princess Olympia may have rocked a white and blue color combo in the past, repping the colors of the Greek flag, but in May of 2019, this young royal was proudly rocking New York University's iconic purple graduation gown. After graduating from NYU with a degree in Fashion Business and Marketing, Princess Olympia's family announced the news across their social media pages, making it clear to the world that not only were they proud of her accomplishments, but that this blue blood was also serious about her passion for clothes and fashion. 

Princess Olympia was well-prepared for her NYU experience, it seems, having been well-educated previously at other high-profile institutions. As a child, she attended boarding school in Switzerland where she took classes in art history, fashion, and graphic design. Later on in life, the royal narrowed her focus down to photography and studied at the Parsons School of Design before going on to enroll at NYU. 

Fashion experts say you should reach for a bold shoe to elevate your look, and no one knows this better than Princess Olympia of Greece. In 2019, the aristocrat launched a mini-line of her footwear designs as part of a collaboration with Pretty Ballerina. Released just in time for the spring and summer season, the collection included the kind of elegant yet chic styles you would expect the princess herself to be wearing as she stomped down the streets of New York.

Not a single heel in sight for Princess Olympia — no, this unconventional royal stuck to her edgy brand by releasing sandals, ballet pumps, loafers, and trainers. The "Olivia" sandal, for instance, resembled the thin straps of the Ancient Greek style, while the "Marilyn" ballet flats gave 1950s old-fashioned vibes. The princess herself was the model for the campaign launch. 

However, it seems that this shoe drop only served to wet the royal's whistle, but didn't fully satisfy her appetite for design. Princess Olympia told Harper's Bazaar in 2022 that she would "love to one day have something of my own," but she isn't sure what shape this line would take — shoes, handbags, dresses? The princess goes on to say, "I've been having so much fun collaborating and learning from other brands about what it takes and finding out about everything behind it. It's hard to have your own business, so I'm glad to be learning."

While she doesn't have any children of her own, Princess Olympia is a proud dog mom to an adorable dachshund named Eccho. It was the COVID-19 pandemic that reportedly inspired her to leap into (dog) motherhood, and she hasn't looked back since. If you scroll through the princess' Instagram page, you'll be spoiled with images of Eccho's chocolate brown body running in grassy parks, begging for a bit of his mom's ice cream, and even starring alongside her in various fashion campaigns. 

In 2023, Eccho modeled in a photo shoot for the designer handbag company Olympia Le-Tan, which specializes in hand-embroidered and gold-plated book clutches. Sitting pretty in Princess Olympia's arms, Eccho strikes a regal pose, seemingly unbothered by the fact that her mom is also holding a personalized clutch that bears an embroidered image of a sausage-shaped dachshund that could be Eccho's twin. 

Not only are they business partners, but it seems having the responsibility of a pet has also helped Olympia reach a new level of maturity. In her interview with Harper's Bazaar, the aristocrat reports she is "constantly with" Eccho, going on to say, "She's like my child. I'm happy I have a dog as it means I have to look after someone and be a grown-up."

After a lifetime of glitz, glamor, and hailing taxis from fashion show to photoshoot, tragedy, unfortunately, struck Princess Olympia and her family when their patriarch, King Constantine II, died at age 82 in 2023. While he was the reason for the princess' regal title, Princess Olympia's grandfather was also the source of much drama and personal strife in his family members' lives.

After being kicked off his throne and exiled from the country in the 1970s, the former Greek king was something of a misfit toy. He was a king without a throne, unable to return to the island nation that had previously been his birthright. This political upset trickled down through the generations. It was for this reason that Princess Olympia and her siblings ended up being raised in London, far away from their family's former homeland. After years of being unable to re-enter Greece, however, King Constantine was finally granted re-entry into the country in 2013. It was there where he died 10 years later, in a hospital in Athens. 

Princess Olympia was seen attending her grandfather's funeral in February 2024. Rather than being located in the family's original home of Greece, however, the ceremony was held in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England. Dressed in the appropriate black attire, the princess formed a united front with her parents and four younger brothers.

The most popular years in a relationship for couples to break up, according to experts, are years three, seven, 11, and 15. Sadly, Princess Olympia of Greece proved this theory right when she called it quits with her long-time love, Peregrine "Perry" Pearson, after three years of dating. In the beginning, all signs pointed to the fact that the princess and her beau were the perfect match. 

While Princess Olympia grew up in the lap of luxury, Pearson was also born with a silver spoon in his mouth and is now a nobleman with a multi-million dollar fortune. However, according to Tatler, insiders close to the couple reported that they simply grew apart before making the tough decision to go their separate ways.

With someone as glamorous and charismatic as Princess Olympia, though, it should come as no surprise that the royal has since been spotted out and about with two flames. She caused a minor scandal when paparazzi snapped her leaving her London home in the early hours of the morning with Thomas Straker, a chef who made a name for himself on TikTok. A more solid romance made its debut, though, when Olympia took Argentinian businessman Martin Pacanowski as her date to The National Portrait Gallery's Portrait Gala in early 2024. This union supposedly has legs, as a source told the Daily Mail that the two "get on extremely well."