Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark was born on January 7, 1939, in Rome to Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark and his second wife Princess Françoise d'Orléans of France. His father was the youngest son of King George I of Greece, and his mother was the daughter of the Orleanist claimant to the French throne, Prince Jean d'Orléans, Duke of Guise.
Prince Michael's godparents were Queen Helen, Queen Mother of Romania and King George II of Greece, who were his first cousins. Unfortunately, his father passed away when he was just a year old, leaving him an only child. His mother died in 1953 when he was 14, leaving him an orphan.
As a result of the outbreak of World War II, Prince Michael's family was forced to scatter. His mother's father, the Duke of Guise, left their residence in Brussels for their property in Morocco, where he died. His mother took Prince Michael to join her mother's household in Larache, Morocco, where her elder sister and her family were also taking refuge.
After the war, Prince Michael's family spent time in Spain and Morocco, where he spent his early childhood years. When his mother died in Paris in 1953, France had repealed the law of banishment against its former ruling families, and Prince Michael's uncle, the Comte de Paris, took him under his care and raised him with his Orléans cousins.
Prince Michael went on to become a historian and author, writing several historical books and biographies of Greek and European figures. He also worked as a contributing writer for Architectural Digest.
