Greece’s uncrowned English ‘queen’: How forgotten Joyce Brittain-Jones was the great secret love of King George II and helped him cope with Nazi onslaught in WWII – but pair’s romance ended in tragedy

She was a surprisingly striking English beauty who was the uncrowned ‘queen’ of Greece for almost twelve years – but no one knows her name now.

She does not appear in official documents, has no place in history books or authorized biographies. She has been erased from history.

But Joyce Brittain-Jones was the great love of King George II of Greece. She was the secret mistress whose support was vital when his country came into contact with Nazi Germany in World War II.

Also known as ‘J’, Miss Brown and Mrs Jones, she remained in the shadows.

Without her, George, a cousin of Prince Philip, would not have been able to cope with the pressures of war. Joyce was his rock.

In London, the wartime reign of our own King George in exile could never have been as successful as it is today without the support and self-preservation instincts of his prickly Queen Elizabeth.

And so it was in Athens. ‘Miss Brown’ was at the King’s side throughout the country’s darkest hours – including the bloody flight to and from Crete in 1941 – and George’s wartime government would have crumbled without her.

The seductive Emerald Joyce Henrietta Wallach was born the daughter of a hugely successful lawyer in Bengal at the height of the British Raj. At the age of 17, she came to London to be presented at court.

She was one of the most beautiful debutantes of her year and was soon snapped up by a celebrated cricketer and boxer, Jack Brittain-Jones, who was also an officer in the smart Black Watch regiment.

The couple was posted to Delhi, where Jack got the job as aide-de-camp to Viceroy Lord Willingdon.

It was a high social position in the heat and dust of the Imperial Raj – but Joyce did not immediately join him.

She remained in London, where she met the exiled king by chance. The monarchy was expelled from Greece in 1924, but later returned.

Joyce spent time with George at his home from home, Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair – hence one of her nicknames.

Eventually, Joyce was forced to join her husband in Delhi, but in 1934, Greece’s King George showed up for an unofficial tour of India, and that’s when their relationship became serious.

Joyce’s marriage crumbled, as did the king’s. He had made a dynastic match by marrying Elisabeth, the daughter of the King of Romania, but it was an ill-conceived move.

Elisabeth was introverted and socially isolated and hated her husband and didn’t mind saying so. “Cold, with a volcanic temper,” was a description of her, and she and King George divorced in 1935.

That year the monarchy was restored in Greece. Joyce immediately sailed to land to join George, but stayed far out of sight so as not to upset the Greek people.

She lived in the summer palace of the royal family on Mount Parnis, 48 ​​kilometers from Athens.

There she spent her time, according to some accounts, ‘knitting and reading’. But Joyce was a very intelligent woman, who quickly came to terms with the Greek politicians who flocked around her newly recovered husband.

Until the outbreak of war in 1939, Joyce continued to hold this position of a powerful, silent – ​​and invisible – advisor.

Her opinions and advice were what the somewhat weak king needed.

And slowly the Foreign Office in London, eager to keep Greece as an ally in the event of war, began to recognize how important Joyce had become.

Germany overran Greece in April 1941 and the royal family, along with many others, made their way by sea to what was considered the safety of Crete, 400 miles away.

But just over a month later, Germany invaded the island – and a bloody battle broke out with the Allies trying and failing to take the island back.

Joyce fled by plane to Cairo together with the king dachshund Otto.

But the king remained a figurehead for his refugee peoples before eventually fleeing on the back of a donkey, dressed in full dress and medals.

Soon the royal couple was back in London before flying to Washington to rally support for the Greek nation with the US president.

Meanwhile, Joyce – whose name does not appear in official documents relating to the visit – played an important role in steadying King George’s negotiating hand.

On their return to London, Joyce took up residence in Montpelier Walk in Knightsbridge, while the King made his official residence at Claridge’s Hotel, a 15-minute walk away.

The couple was together most nights. They were every bit a married couple – blissfully happy in each other’s company – and looked forward to the peace that would soon come.

When that happened, George returned to Athens to reclaim his throne. But more important to him was his love for Joyce. It was more important than the ceremony, the power and the wealth of kingship.

His plan was to gracefully return to the shadows and abdicate the throne in favor of his younger brother Paul.

He would then return to London, settle down with Joyce and make her his queen – even though he would now be an ex-king.

It wasn’t meant to be. In 1947, George suffered a heart attack in Athens and died, aged just 56. He never achieved his one true wish: to be with Joyce for the rest of his life.

As for his dearest love, she disappeared again and quietly remarried a former British spy, Colonel Edwin Boxshall. She suffered from Parkinson’s disease early on and died in Chelsea in 1974.

Forever a queen – in all but name.