Once a Canadian anti-submarine and convoy escort during World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic, Christina O would become a private yacht and wedding destination for a number of internationally famous couples.
After the war, the 325-foot surplus navy vessel was purchased by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis who named it after his daughter. Following a conversion that cost 4 million dollars and included bar stools upholstered with the foreskins of whales (Onassis loved to tell his guests about the leather), it became one of the largest private yachts in the world, with a master suite, 18 staterooms and several indoor and outdoor entertaining areas. On her aft main deck, a mosaic pool could be drained and then raised as a dance floor. In 1956, the yacht was used for the wedding reception of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly.
Twelve years later, on October 20, 1968, the Christina O was used for another big event: the wedding of Onassis to Jacqueline Kennedy, just five years after the passing of her former husband, President John F. Kennedy. Some Americans were disappointed in the former First Lady’s choice of a new husband, but others were sympathetic. “The idea that he owned a yacht and could just literally sail her away from all of her troubles … was incredibly appealing,” said biographer Tina Cassidy in the 2017 documentary, Jackie After O.
On the day of their wedding, the couple cruised through the Ionian Sea to Skorpios Island off the western coast of Greece, where there was a small chapel surrounded by
cypress trees. Paparazzi in boats attempted to photograph the event, but after the nuptials were performed in English and Greek, the newlyweds got back onboard Christina O, where they had met years prior, to celebrate their new marriage.
Decades later, the yacht is still a love boat for celebrities, including Heidi Klum and Tom Kaulitz, who were married aboard in 2019 off the Italian island of Capri. —Lidia Goldberg
This article was originally published in the June 2023 issue.
