Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark

Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (; 4 May 1913 – 2 October 2007), styled in the United Kingdom as Lady Katherine Brandram from 1947 until 2007, was the third daughter and youngest child of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophia of Prussia.

Early life Katherine (far right) and her family in 1919, then in exile in Switzerland.

Katherine was born on 4 May 1913 in the Royal Palace in Athens, a few weeks after her paternal grandfather, King George I of the Hellenes, was assassinated in Thessaloniki. She was baptised on 14 June 1913. Her godparents were Olga Constantinovna (the Dowager Queen of Greece, her paternal grandmother), Alexandra (the Dowager Queen of the United Kingdom, her paternal grandfather's sister and her maternal grandmother's sister-in-law), George V (the King of the United Kingdom, her mother's maternal cousin and her father's paternal cousin), Wilhelm II, German Emperor (her maternal uncle), The Greek Navy (represented by the Minister of Marine) and The Greek Army (represented by the Minister of War).

Katherine had five siblings – three brothers (George, Alexander and Paul, each of whom would become King of the Hellenes) and two sisters (Princess Helen, who married Crown Prince Carol of Romania, and Princess Irene who married Prince Aimone of Savoy, Duke of Spoleto). When she was christened, the members of the whole Greek Army and Greek Navy became her godparents. At three years of age, she and her mother were trapped in the Tatoi Palace, outside Athens, when a fire broke out. The Queen, carrying her, managed to escape in time.

Life in exile Her father abdicated in 1917, replaced as king by her brother Alexander. She and her parents were exiled to Switzerland. They were reinstated following Alexander's death in 1920, but Constantine abdicated again in 1922. Exiled again, this time to Sicily, her father died in Palermo in 1923. The family moved to Villa Sparta in Florence, where Katherine took up painting. Her second brother George became King George II in 1922, but was deposed in 1924.

Katherine was educated in England, at a boarding school at Broadstairs and then North Foreland Lodge. Her mother died in January 1932, after which she continued to live at the Villa Sparta with her sister, Helen. She and the future Elizabeth II were bridesmaids at the wedding of her first cousin, Princess Marina, to Prince George in 1934. On 1 April at the Royal Palace, three weeks prior to the wedding, her brother King George had a stroke and died shortly after in Katherine's presence. George was succeeded on the Greek throne by Katherine's third brother Paul, who acted as best man at the wedding, which took place according to schedule on 21 April 1947.

She then accompanied her husband to his new army posting in Baghdad, and they later settled in England. On 25 August 1947, King George VI granted her the rank and title of a duke's daughter and she became known as Lady Katherine Brandram. She and her husband lived in Eaton Square in Belgravia, and later moved to Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

According to her obituary in The Daily Telegraph, "Lady Katherine lived quietly but remained in close touch with her own and the British royal families. She attended the Queen's wedding to Prince Philip (her first cousin on her father’s side and second cousin once removed on her mother’s side), and was a guest at the service to mark Prince Philip's 80th birthday at St George's Chapel, Windsor, in 2001." 5= 5. Olga Constantinovna of Russia 7= 7. Victoria, Princess Royal 9= 9. Louise of Hesse-Kassel 11= 11. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg 15= 15. Victoria of the United Kingdom