The First Home of Queen Sofia Becomes a Museum

During October, some of the personal belongings that Queen Sofia left behind at the Greek Tatoi Palace have come to light. These items were left when she and her family had to hastily leave the Hellenic country in 1967. Cocktail and gala dresses, and even the Roger Vivier shoes she wore at her wedding to King Juan Carlos, are part of an inventory of over 70,000 items and belongings that the Greek Ministry of Culture has compiled during the restoration of this historic site, a project aimed at opening it to the public as a museum of the first home of King Felipe VI's mother.

At the foot of Mount Parnes, about 20 kilometres from Athens, King George I, the second king of Greece, commissioned the construction of the Tatoi Palace in 1870 on a wooded estate of pines and eucalyptus spanning nearly five hectares, with forty buildings that included a blacksmith, dairy, butcher, and even a hotel. His wife, Queen Olga, added a temple and a cemetery after the death of their daughter Alexandra. Since the 19th century, it has been the burial place of kings and princes, the last being Constantine of Greece, brother of Queen Sofia.

It was the family home of the Duke of Edinburgh and in the mid-20th century became the permanent residence of the royal family, after years of being a summer residence. During their childhood, Constantine, Sofia, and Irene played in its gardens. The two girls even made some archaeological discoveries on the estate, which they published in two books: 'Ceramics in Decelea' and 'Archaeological Miscellany'.

Times of splendour when its facilities housed royal cars and carriages, artworks, everyday utensils, clothing, books, and jewellery. A whole life that the Hellenic royal family was forced to abandon on several occasions throughout contemporary history: first, due to the German invasion during World War II and the subsequent Greek Civil War; and finally, in 1973, with the official abolition of the monarchy, although King Constantine II had already been deposed and forced into exile years earlier, in December 1967.

Then began the decline of the Tatoi Palace, which has suffered several fires, the last in 2021, looting, vandalism, and even an earthquake in 1999, while nature slowly devoured it. Prime Minister George Papandreou was the architect of its expropriation in 1994, after the former monarch organized from exile the transfer of several valuable items in 1991, which was considered looting. Papandreou also revoked the Greek citizenship of Constantine and his family, who could not return to Greek lands until 2014, after 46 years of exile, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his father's death.

By then, the abandonment of the palace and its surroundings, which have belonged to the state since 2003, was evident. Rust, boarded-up windows, and collapsed roofs were the hallmarks of the place that housed the remnants of the Greek royal dynasty. In 2007, the government first announced its intention to convert it into a museum, but in 2012, the possibility of selling it was considered.

Finally, in 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced an ambitious investment to carry out the comprehensive rehabilitation of the estate. A project that is now in its final phase. It is expected that by the end of 2025, the first spaces can be opened to the public: the main palace and the stables of King George I. The works on the Tatoi Royal Estate are expected to be completed in 2026, with the gardens, various buildings, and the greenhouse restored for different cultural purposes.

"I am glad it will reopen to the public and that people can understand what this family represented, a family that was an important part of our history," expressed Pavlos of Greece in an interview with the magazine 'Ta Nea'. He was the last member of the royal family to be born on the estate and was only seven months old when they had to leave the property.

His father, Constantine, took the expropriation to the European Court of Human Rights, which recognized the family's right to financial compensation, which for Pavlos "does not erase the feeling of loss." "We still feel that things that were part of our life and history were taken from us," he stated.

Among those things that now belong to the state are some of the youthful dresses of the emeritus queen. Among the most notable is "a beige satin cocktail dress with embroidered flowers by designer Jean Dessès. Paired with a matching petticoat, Sofia wore it in 1961 on the occasion of her engagement to Juan Carlos," describes the Greek Ministry of Culture. Also included is the white satin dress with red floral print that she also wore with her fiancé and the light blue organza evening dress, embroidered with silver thread and sequins, with the interior lined with cotton satin and light blue tulle, which she wore at the dinner before her wedding day.