Her nephews Elena, Cristina and Felipe call her Tía Pecu, short for peculiar. The life of the princess Irene of Greece It was different from that of its brothers from the beginning. Sofia and Constantine were born in Athens, but she was born in South Africa, during the family’s exile due to the invasion of Axis forces in Greece. She was a young woman passionate about music and archaeology.
There has been alarming talk about the state of health of Queen Sofía’s little sister, with whom she has lived for years in the Zarzuela palace. Some media outlets even doubted the “cognitive capacity” of Mrs. Irene, 81, and spoke of the great concern of her relatives regarding the seriousness of the situation. The youngest daughter of Kings Pablo and Federica of Greece is the person closest to the queen emeritus, her best company, since the sentimental and physical distance from Don Juan Carlos and who shares with her all her family experiences, even the long and lonely ones. summer stays in Mallorca of the mother of Felipe VI.
Sources close to the Royal Family denied these speculations, assuring that the princess suffered from the ailments typical of her age, especially after having overcome cancer, but she was fine and led a fairly normal life. And we were able to see it just a week ago, when Irene accompanied Doña Sofía, once again, to the presentation of the BMW Painting Prize at the Teatro Real.
This Tuesday we can confirm the good health of the queen’s sister, whom we have seen having lunch in a restaurant in Madrid with Sonia Catris, the director of the “World in Harmony” foundation, created by Irene in 1986 to help to needy people in India, where Queen Frederick spent long periods with her unmarried daughter, resting, meditating and receiving the teachings of a respected Hindu saint. When in 1981 the queen Federica of Hannover, Her mother died, Aunt Pecu moved to Madrid and settled in the Zarzuela Palace, and since then she has lived between Spain, Greece and India.
In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her sister had an area dedicated to her medical care and attention installed. “She would sit in an armchair in the room to keep me company and at the same time she would study her papers and update her agenda. She took care of me at every moment during those months,” the princess said in an interview.
This Tuesday, at the table at the restaurant “La Parrilla del Barril”, on San Agustín Street, another friend and the businessman Diego Hidalgo, a close friend of King Juan Carlos and well-known benefactor, and one of the founders of the Prisa group, were also sitting. .
The “World in Harmony” office, where the princess has her office, is very close to the restaurant, and the sister of the late King Constantine made the journey on foot, and also walked back to work after lunch.
According to other nearby diners, Irene, who is a vegetarian, ate a succulent plate of rice, was very communicative and smiling throughout the meal and gave the impression of having had a great time.
Since the death of her brother Constantine, on January 10, the princess travels less to Greece, although she continues to visit India, where she was a few months ago, a very active life that dispels the alarms about her health. The death of Constantine of Greece less than a year ago united Doña Sofía and Irene even more, and they have visited together her sister-in-law, the widow of her brother, Anna Maria of Greece, sister of Margaret of Denmark.