Marina

To many, the enduring image of Princess Marina was her annual appearance at Wimbledon, where she indulged her passion for tennis and always presented one of the winner's trophies before a rapturous crowd. Her dark features confirmed in most people's minds her Greek origins - she and Prince Philip were cousins. Her marriage to George, Duke of Kent, the rakish younger brother to Edward VIII and George VI, ended in tragedy when her husband was killed in a World War II air crash. How she rebuilt her life, brought up the present Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael, and added style and elegance to a royal house that had developed a reputation for dowdiness, is all past of Sophia Watson's biography. With access to hitherto untapped sources Marina is a welcome antidote to the anni horribili of the House of Windsor today.