UPPER EAST SIDE FIT FOR MANHATTAN ROYALTY:

PRINCE PAVLOS AND MARIE-CHANTAL ANOINT 78TH STREET TOWNHOUSE FOR $7.5 MILLION

After shopping for almost a year, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, 31, and her husband, the Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, 32, spent about $7.5 million on a five-story townhouse at 154 East 78th Street on May 5.

"It's a great single family house," said Jed Garfield, managing partner of Leslie J. Garfield and Company realty, of the 78th Street mansion which is being sold by Robert Fribourg of the Fribourg Continental Grain Company family. "It's in great shape-you can take your bags and move on in."

The Princess is the daughter of Chantal and Robert Miller, who sold his duty-free business to Bernard Arnault in 1998. She is the middle Miller sister: Pia, the oldest, is married to Christopher Getty; Alexandra, the youngest, is the wife of Alexander von Furstenberg. The Prince is the son of the former King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie of Greece. He is a hedge-fund manager, and she works for various philanthropic organizations including the New York City Ballet. Their fairy-tale life started with their wedding at London's Cathedral of Saint Sophia in July 1995. They are expecting their third child.

Mr. Garfield said the couple was outbid on two other houses before they signed a contract to purchase the 6,000-square-foot Georgian townhouse on 78th Street. It has a dining room with a fireplace and a south-facing garden designed by Madison Cox on the first floor, and a library with a fireplace and a wet bar on the second floor. A master bedroom suite with two bathrooms, a steam shower and a south-facing terrace occupies the third floor and two children's bedrooms-one with a fireplace-are on the fourth floor. The fifth-floor features two additional bedrooms, one bathroom and two terraces. There's also a finished basement with an office. Real estate taxes on the house, between Lexington and Third avenues, are $22,500.

Mr. Fribourg, who bought the house in 1997 for $2.6 million, put it on the market in mid-April. Brokers said the current owner had elegantly decorated and renovated the house and upgraded all wiring, plumbing, air conditioning, heating, windows and staircases. Mr. Fribourg's broker, Patricia Warburg Cliff, of Douglas Elliman, would not confirm the deal, which is expected to close in a few months. "I'm not at liberty to discuss it," she said.

According to real estate sources, the Prince and Princess also seriously considered buying 16 East 76th Street, a 7,300-square-foot townhouse that the Italian government bought in 1991-for $4.8 million from designer Calvin Klein-to house its ambassador. Mr. Klein bought it from the Gucci family. Marilyn Corradini of Stribling & Associates realty, who is representing the Italians said the four-bedroom house is still "being very selectively shown," for just under $10 million.

The Prince and Princess didn't reply to a request for comment.