Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, the inseparable younger sister of Spain’s Queen Sofía, has passed away in Madrid’s Zarzuela Palace. A statement from the Royal House reads: “It is with deep sadness that the Greek Royal Family announces that HRH Princess Irene, beloved sister and aunt, passed away on Thursday, January 15th 2026, at 11:40 local time, in Zarzuela Palace in Madrid surrounded by loved ones. Details will follow regarding the funeral procession.”
Princess Irene was 83 at the time of her death. She leaves behind her a silent, but decisive mark in the history of the Greek and Spanish monarchies. Close confidant of King Felipe VI’s mother, for decades, Princess Irene became a silent witness of the ins and outs of the Spanish monarchy. She led an interesting life marked by her constant renunciation of the limelight, absolute loyalty to her family, and a spirituality influenced by the years she lived with her mother in India.
In her last moments, she had been accompanied by Queen Sofía, who canceled her schedule of activities in Palma de Mallorca to be by her sister’s side, Hello! magazine reported.
Settled in Zarzuela since the mid-eighties, for more than forty years, Princess Irene became the main support of her older sister, although she used to say that her role was not “official.” With an intense, unpredictable, and luminous personality, Irene won the affection of her large family, who affectionately called her “Aunt Pecu” (for being so peculiar), with whom she spoke in English and Greek despite speaking correct Spanish, and who loved and accompanied her until the end. She never married, but remained close with her kin. Queen Sofía and King Juan Carlos of Spain’s daughter, Princess Cristina, even named her only daughter Irene in her aunt’s honor.
Princess Irene was born on April 11, 1942 in Cape Town, South Africa, in the middle of World War II, while her family lived in exile due to the Nazi occupation of Greece. The first months of her life were spent on a farm, surrounded by domestic animals and wild landscapes, in an environment far from the European palaces that would come to define her adulthood.
From an early age, Princess Irene showed a personality of her own. She studied archaeology in Greece, another common interest with her sister, but soon broadened her horizons to the East. She spent six years in India, where she came into contact with the Gandhi family and was trained in comparative religious studies in ancient Madras.
