Nancy Leeds Wynkoop, 1925-2006

Peter Kurth has asked me to post his obituary of Nancy Leeds Wynkoop,
who died last Wednesday in Woodstock, VT. His text follows.

mjcar...

On 1 January 1920 - not exactly "during World War 1

mjcar...

Really? Nancy Leeds was created a Royal Highness, rather than gaining
that style by marriage? What is the reference for this?

mjcar...

(I am assuming that this is not intended to be a consequence of her
grandmother allegedly having been created a Royal Highness.) How is
this possibly so?

After the children and grandchildren of King Constantine II comes his
sister, Irene, one-time Crown Princess of Greece. His elder sister,
Sophia, appears to be out of the running, as presumably are her
children and grandchildren by King Juan Carlos of Spain - presumably
because of their Roman Catholicism (the Greek monarch had to be
Orthodox). Let's also presume that the issue of Constantine II's late
aunts, Princess Helen, married to King Carol II of Romania, and
Princess Irene, wife of Aimone of Aosta, are also out of the running
for the same reason; that Princess Katherine (Lady Brandram) lost or
renounced her succession rights, and that his cousin Alexandra,

atsarisborn...

It's news to ME that women had any claim to the Greek throne whatsoever

mjcar...

The Greek Constitution clearly states that they did.

mjcar...

A web search indicates that Princess Alexandra was accorded the
title of Princess and the style HRH but without any dynastic rights,
because her parents' marriage was not considered valid.

mjcar...

"Crown Princess" is the common Western translation of the Greek
Diadoch, meaning heir to the throne; you may be right about the title,
but her place in the succession appears clear and, unless she has
renounced, her existence also renders the allegation that Mrs Wynkoop
was next in the succession after Constantine II's issue mistaken.

mjcar...

I believe so, but I was trying to be as generous as I could in finding
reasons to exclude people in order to test the assertion. Helen's
marriage into a foreign reigning House may well have occasioned her
renunciation, but along with most of the other Princesses, we have yet
to see evidence of this.

daughter of King Alexander, had no succession rights. That deals with
the issue of King Constantine I.

His next brother, George, had a son (died 1980 without issue) and a
daughter (who married two Roman Catholics, so let's assume her issue is
also out).

Then comes Prince Nicholas, who had three daughters. Olga, the eldest,
married an Orthodox (Paul of Yugoslavia): why would their son Alexander
(born 1924) not be next in line? (The two younger daughters married a
Toerring-Jettenbach and the 1st Duke of Kent, respectively - are they
out because they married Protestants?)

The next branch is that of Prince Andrew, father of the Duke of
Edinburgh. Let us assume that the Duke's purported renounciation is
valid, and that his four sisters put themselves out of the running for
having married Protestants.

The last son of George I was Prince Christopher, the husband of HRH
Nancy Leeds. By his second marriage he had a son, Prince Michael of
Greece, who is still living and is Orthodox. Why would he be out of
the running?

Having exhausted the sons of George I, the eldest daughter was
Alexandra who married the Grand Duke Paul of Russia. They had a son,
Dmitri, whose marriage was morgantic for Russian succession purposes,
and from whom the Princes Romanovsky-Ilyinsky descend. Are they
outside of the Greek succession?

Finally, we come to Princess Maria, the second daughter of King George
I, and wife of the Grand Duke George. They had two daughters, of whom
the younger was Mrs Wynkoop's mother. Why should the issue of the
younger daughter have held precedence in the Greek succession line to
the issue of the elder daughter (who married Prince Chavchavadse,
presumably an Orthodox, and had a son, born 1924)?

This seems like a spurious claim to me, but I would be delighted to
receive an education on the subject.

Michael A-R