The Romance of former King Constantine with Aliki Vougiouklaki

The love affair between the prince and the Greek “Grace Kelly” occupied the Greek and international media in the 1960s. On the occasion of the death of former King Constantine, the media recalled his love for the Greek star, rumoured to have drawn the wrath of Queen Frederica.

In 1959, Constantine and his sisters attended the play “A Place in Youth” (“Τόπος στα νιάτα”), where Aliki Vougiouklaki played. Behind the scenes at the Musuri Theatre, the prince met a fantastic actress, and after that, rumours of their romance began to spread. According to reports, the then-prince sent Aliki a bouquet of yellow roses daily.

It was even said that the song of Manos Hadjidakis, “There, high in Imittos, there is a secret” (“Εκεί, ψηλά στον Υμηττό, υπάρχει κάποιο μυστικό”) talks about the secret meetings of the prince with the actress.

In an interview 30 years later, Aliki Vougiouklaki was asked to answer a question from Nikos Hadzinikolaou about an incident that occurred in 1962 at the Metropolitan Theater when, during the premiere of a play, a prince entered, and everyone stood up to greet him. However, Aliki remained seated and held her hand to Constantine for him to kiss her. A day later, newspaper headlines reported a massive scandal…

“I was mad at him,” Aliki Vougiouklaki told Nikos Hatzinikolaou. He then asked her if Constantinos was in love with her and if he would come to the theatre to watch her rehearse.

“Finos made a special way so he (the prince) could come to the seats. It was a dirt road, and they paved it a little better so he wouldn’t ruin his sports car,” Vuyuklaki replied. Hatzinikolaou then mentioned rumours of Frederica’s anger.

“We were very young, like children. I felt like a queen and did not want to be a princess. I was the princess of my life. We chatted for hours, communicating with a gentle boy who was pressured and oppressed by his mother.

Then she sent him abroad so that he was away from me. Right after that, until the year 62, my first tour took place that summer we met.

In an interview with RIK in 2014, the former king spoke about his love for the famous Greek actress: “Aliki was a fantastic actress, an amazing person, a good person".

Recently the police asked me if it was confirmed that there was a tunnel that goes from the palace directly to her house.

I laughed and said, let’s admit that there is a tunnel. If Aliki decides to change her address, what will happen? Will the tunnel have to be dug elsewhere?” – he said, referring to Thassos Tryphonos.