Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta

A portrait of Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta by Philip de Laszlo, c1931. 

Princess Irene was born a Princess of Greece and Denmark. By marriage, she was Duchess of Aosta and a member of the Italian Royal Family. From 1941 until 1943, she was titular queen consort of the Nazi-sponsored puppet kingdom of Croatia. 

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark was born on February 13, 1904 in Athens, Greece. Her parents were King Constantine I of Greece and the former Princess Sophie of Prussia.  The sixth child in a brood of seven, Irene’s siblings were: future King George II of Greece (1890-1947); future King Alexander of Greece (1893-1920); Princess Helen, later Queen Mother of Romania (1896-1982); future King Paul of Greece (1901-1964)l and Princess Katharine, later Mrs. Brandram (1911-1994).

Crown Prince and Princess of Greece and family. Clockwise from far left: Paul, Alexander, George, Helen, Irene, Constantine I and Sophia. Image from Wikimedia Commons

In 1927, King George, announced his sister’s engagement to Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe, a nephew of Christian X of Denmark. However, nothing happened out of that pronouncement. Finally, on July 1, 1939, Irene married Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta (9 March 1900 – 29 January 1948). An only child was born out from this marriage: Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke ofAosta (27 September 1943 – 1 June 2021)

At the height of World War II, Princess Irene threw her service in providing care for the sick and wounded. A trained nurse, she headed a Red Cross hospital train in March 1942 that headed to Russia, where she led a repatriation of wounded Italian soldiers. Despite the difficult journey, Irene returned to Florence the following month. In 1942, Prince Aimone inherited the title of Duke of Aosta after the death of his older brother, Amedeo. On May 18, 1941, he was proclaimed King of the independent state of Croatia, taking the name of Tomislav II. This made Irene queen consort, although the couple never set foot on the territory. Aimone abdicated in 1943.

Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta, holds her baby, Prince Amedeo. Image from Wikimedia Commons

On the orders of Heinrich Himmler, the Nazis interned Irene and little Amedeo in Austrian concentration camp of Hirschegg, near Graz, together with her sister in-law, Anna d'Orléans  and the dowager duchess’ daughters, Margherita and Maria Cristina. They were liberated by the French in May 1945. After they were freed, Irene and Amedeo lived for a few weeks in Switzerland and on July 7, 1945 they returned to Italy, and setteled first in Milan, where she was reunited with her husband. It was the first time for Amedeo to meet his father. They next moved to Naples and finally in Fiesole, near Florence. After the  1946 plebiscite which ended the monarchy in Italy, the family went into exile.  Irene and Amedeo fled to Switzerland, while Aimone moved to Buenos Aires in Argentina, where he died of heart attack on 29 January 1948. Amedeo assumed the ducal title and the position as head of the House of Savoy-Aosta. In June 1948, the family was allowed to return to Italy, and Irene spent the rest of her life living in Fiesole, where he established her residence at Villa Dominico, near the home of her older sister, Helen, who lived at Villa Sparta.  After battling a long illness, Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta died in Fiesole on April 15, 1974. She was buried at the Basilica Superga in Turin.