Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark recently spoke to CNN’s Richard Quest for his series Quest’s World of Wonder in Athens, Greece.
While Prince Nikolaos’s family went into exile from Greece in 1967, it was always Nikolaos’s dream to return to Greece and live. He was 11-years-old when he made his first trip to the country for his paternal grandmother’s funeral. That dream finally became a reality five years ago when he and his wife, Tatiana moved to Athens.
During the episode, the Prince said, “I often wake up in the morning, I look out my window, and I pinch myself to say how happy I am to be here with [Tatiana]. Because it was a lifelong ambition of mine to move here.”
Quest asked Tatiana about moving to Athens, and she responded by calling it exciting, adding that she fell in love with the city of Athens.
A few years ago Greece was in economic turmoil which led to widespread protests across the country. Tatiana, touching on the subject, explained that Athens is now booming and like a “phoenix rising from the ashes.”
She added, “There’s a lot to discover. I don’t think it’s the beautiful city that everyone imagines it to be. You have to dig in and get to really experience it, taste it, enjoy it. Athens is alive, and it’s exciting.”
Her husband agreed, “If there’s one thing that you could leave Athens with, it is that there is hope. Because the Greeks are, the Athenians are, resilient people.”
When asked about why he wanted to return to Greece and help the country through avenues like charity, Nikolaos stated that his love for Greece was in his DNA.
The Prince and Princess welcomed Quest for a meal at their home where Tatiana revealed that she thinks young girls must be disappointed when they meet her because little girls always believe princesses should be in tiaras and ballgowns. However, Tatiana prefers to get her hands dirty.
This past weekend, Tatiana posted images from the interview on her personal Instagram account saying, “So much fun to film with Richard Quest on his recent trip to #Athens for his CNN show “Quest’s World of Wonders”. Here, seeing the other side of Athens- mountains & farms -whilst discussing the future of the city I call home- Athens: A Phoenix rising from the Ashes. Thank you @asealy7 and your amazing team.”
