Prince Peter | |
---|---|
Born | Paris, France | 3 December 1908
Died | 15 October 1980 London, England | (aged 71)
Burial | 5 September 1981 Lille Bernstorff, Denmark |
Spouse | |
House | Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |
Father | Prince George of Greece and Denmark |
Mother | Marie Bonaparte |
Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Πέτρος; 3 December 1908 – 15 October 1980) was a Greek prince, soldier and anthropologist specialising in Tibetan culture and polyandry. Born in Paris and high in the line of succession to the Greek throne, Prince Peter was deemed to have forfeited his succession rights by marrying a twice-divorced Russian commoner, Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova. Following his first scientific voyage to Asia, Peter served as an officer of the Greek army during the Second World War. The Prince returned to Asia several more times for his research of Tibetan culture. He strongly protested against the royal family's treatment of his wife. After King Paul's death, he declared himself heir presumptive to the Greek throne, on the pretext that female dynasts had been unlawfully granted succession rights in 1952. Peter eventually separated from his wife and died childless in London.