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More than 200 current and former kings and queens, shipping magnates, politicians, businessmen and media owners attended the reception organized by the Greek royal couple to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their wedding.

Constantine and his wife Anne-Marie received their high-standing guests and accepted their wishes at the Marine Club of Piraeus.

Constantine’s two sisters, namely Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Irene had arrived for the occasion as well as Sofia’s daughters Elena and Cristina. Of course, the five children of the former Greek King and his wife and their grandchildren attended the event as well.

Representatives of several royal families attended the cocktail party too, including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark - the sister of Anne-Marie, the Prince of Jordan, former Bulgarian King Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his wife Margarita, and Prince Alexander of Serbia and his wife Katherine.

Among the guests were some of the biggest Greek businessmen such as Vardis Vardinogiannis and his wife Marianna, owner of Antenna TV Minos Kyriakou and his wife Marie, owner of DOL media group Stavros Psycharis, famous lawyer Alexandros Likourezos and his wife - actress Zoe Laskari, former Foreign Minister Dora Bakogiannis and her husband Isidoros Kouvelos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Kapralos, shipping magnates Lemos, Niarchos, Goulandris, Markos Nomikos and many more.

Queen Sofia of Spain (sister of Constantine)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Princess Benedikte of Denmark (sisters of Anne-Marie)

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his wife Margarita

Vardis Vardinogiannis and his wife Marianna

Dora Bakogiannis and Isidoros Kouvelos

Alexandros Likourezos and Zoe Laskari

They were all greeted at the entrance of the Marine Club by the celebrating hosts Constantine and Anne-Marie.

The cocktail party began shortly after 09:00 pm. According to sources, the menu consisted of the following dishes:

Appetizer - ravioli stuffed with pistachios from Aegina island

Main course - veal fillet with potatoes, or fish

Dessert - cheesecake.

The tables were laden with expensive wines and champagne.

In the early evening, Constantine delivered ​​a speech, and the guests watched on a specially installed video wall a video of his grandchildren sending their greetings to their grandparents on the occasion of their golden anniversary.

An orchestra and singers who performed arias from famous operas attended to the mood of the guests.

Earlier during the day, the building of the Bishop’s Residence in Athens was opened for the first time after the earthquake in 1999 that had caused severe damage it, to hold a special ceremony in honour of the Greek royal couple.

Photo: espresso.gr

At twelve o’clock Constantine and Anne-Marie, their children and grandchildren entered the church, where a special prayer for health and longevity was read in the presence of Greek Archbishop Jerome. During the brief ceremony, a choir performed Byzantine anthems.

Photo: espresso.gr

The two thrones with a crown and the Greek flag carved on them that were used during their wedding half a century ago were placed in the centre of the church especially for the occasion.

The golden wedding celebration of Constantine and Anne-Marie was the occasion that gathered a lot of celebrities in Athens, some of whom attended the dinner that Queen Sofia of Spain organized at the Acropolis Museum on 17 September to celebrate her name day.

Prince Pavlos and his wife Marie-Chantalle

Princess Alexia and her husband Carlos Morales

Prince Nikolaos and his wife Tatiana Blatnik

Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos

Infanta Elena of Spain

Prince Alexander of Serbia and his wife Katherine

Publisher Stavros Psycharis and his wife