Wedding of Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sophia

The wedding of Juan Carlos, Prince of Asturias, and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark took place on Monday, 14 May 1962.

The couple was married in three ceremonies: one according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, the groom's faith, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite; one according to the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church, the bride's faith, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens; and a third civil ceremony that was held upon their return to the Royal Palace.

Don Juan Carlos was the eldest son of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, pretender to the Spanish throne, and Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, while Princess Sofía was the eldest daughter of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece.

Juan Carlos, who then held the title of Prince of Asturias in pretense,[1] and Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark, third cousins through Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, first met in 1954 on a cruise in the Greek Islands on board the liner SS Agamemnon.

The cruise was organized by Queen Frederica with the intent of promoting Greek tourism and encourage matches among the younger generation of European royalty.

The engagement was announced on 13 September 1961 at the home of Juan Carlos's paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenie, in Lausanne.

"[4] The uncertain position of Juan Carlos as a prince from a deposed dynasty made him a controversial choice as a future husband for a princess from a reigning family.

The Centre Union and United Democratic Left parties abstained from voting but voiced their criticism and "denounced the practice of granting dowries as anachronistic and barbarous.

The first ceremony began at 10:00 AM and was held according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite.

The bride wore a silver and white lamé gown covered in tulle and antique lace with a 5 metres (16 ft) train designed by Greek-born Parisian couturier, Jean Dessès.

[8] The bride wore the Belgian lace veil her mother wore at her own wedding in 1938 and a diamond tiara that Kaiser Wilhelm II presented to his daughter, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, the bride's maternal grandmother, on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Ernst August of Hanover in 1913.

[14] They have lived separately since August 2020 when Juan Carlos left Spain in exile amid corruption accusations.