Editing Christopher Lee (section)

=== Family and relationships ===
[[File:Christopher Lee and Birgit Kroencke, Women's World Awards 2009.jpg|thumb|upright|Lee with his wife, Birgit Krøncke, March 2009]]

The Carandinis, Lee's maternal ancestors, were given the right to bear the [[coat of arms]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] by the [[Frederick Barbarossa|Emperor Frederick Barbarossa]].<ref name="Wise 2002" /><ref name="tiscali" /> In the late 1950s, Lee was engaged to Countess Henriette Ewa Agnes von Rosen, whom he had met at a nightclub in [[Stockholm]].{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=220}} Her father, Count Fritz von Rosen, proved demanding, getting them to delay the wedding for a year, asking his London-based friends to interview Lee, hiring private detectives to investigate him, and asking Lee to provide him with references, which Lee obtained from [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]], [[Boulting brothers|John Boulting]], and [[Joe Jackson (police officer)|Joe Jackson]].{{sfn|Lee|2003|pp=182–183}} Lee found the meeting of her extended family to be like something from a surrealist [[Luis Buñuel]] film, and thought they were "killing me with cream."{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=184}} Finally, Lee had to have the permission of the [[Monarchy of Sweden|King of Sweden]] to marry. Lee had met him some years before while filming ''Tales of Hans Anderson'', where he received his blessing.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=184}} However, shortly before the wedding, Lee ended the engagement. He was concerned that his financial insecurity in his chosen profession meant that she "deserved better" than being "pitched into the dishevelled world of an actor." She understood, and they called the wedding off.{{sfn|Lee|2003|pp=185–186}}

Lee was introduced to the Danish painter and former model Birgit "Gitte" Krøncke (1935–2024) by a Danish friend in 1960.{{sfn|Lee|2003|pp=196–198}} They were engaged soon after, and married on 17 March 1961.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=199}} They had a daughter, Christina Erika Carandini Lee (b. 1963).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://christopherleeweb.com/forums/front-page-news/bride-and-groom |title=To the Bride and Groom! |last=Prepolec |first=Charles |publisher=Christopher Lee Web |date=27 July 2001 |access-date=4 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816165408/http://christopherleeweb.com/forums/front-page-news/bride-and-groom |archive-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> Lee was the uncle of the British actress [[Harriet Walter]].<ref name="tiscali" /> Both Lee and his daughter Christina provided spoken vocals on Rhapsody of Fire's album ''From Chaos to Eternity''. Lee relocated to Los Angeles in the 1970s after becoming disillusioned with film roles he was being offered in Britain at the time, and stated that in Hollywood, "I was no longer a ''horror star.'' I was an actor."<ref name="JohnsonMiller2016">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Tom Johnson |last2=Miller |first2=Mark A. |title=The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948–2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85g-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |date=1 May 2016 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-0896-9 |page=288}}</ref> He subsequently moved back to England and lived with his family in [[Cadogan Square]] in west London until his death.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Real life film stars who have put in an appearance |journal=Sloane Square |year=2020 |issue=September 2020 |page=58 |url=https://www.cadogan.co.uk/propeller/uploads/2020/11/Sloane-Square-September-20.pdf}}</ref> <!--His Cadogan Square home was briefly featured in the music video accompanying his cover of "[[My Way]]" from his album ''[[Revelation (Christopher Lee album)|Revelation]]''.-->