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Frederica of Hanover(Friederike Luise;Greek:Φρειδερίκη;18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981) wasQueen of Greecefrom 1 April 1947 until 6 March 1964 as the wife ofKing Pauland theQueen MotherofGreecefrom March 6, 1964 until December 8, 1974, when the monarchy was officially abolished after a referendum.
| Frederica | |
|---|---|
 Frederica before her arrival in Greece | |
| Queen consort of the Hellenes | |
| Tenure | 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964 |
| Born | 18 April 1917 Blankenburg (Harz),Duchy of Brunswick,German Empire |
| Died | 6 February 1981(aged 63) Madrid,Kingdom of Spain |
| Burial | 12 February 1981 Royal Cemetery,Tatoi Palace,Greece |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Hanover |
| Father | Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick |
| Mother | Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia |
| Signature |  |
Early life
editBornHer Royal HighnessFriederike Luise,Princess of Hanover,[1]Princess of Great Britain and Ireland,[2]andPrincess of Brunswick-Lüneburg[3]on 18 April 1917 inBlankenburg am Harz,in theGermanDuchy of Brunswick,she was the only daughter and third child ofErnest Augustus,then reigningDuke of Brunswick,and his wifePrincess Viktoria Luise of Prussia,herself the only daughter of the German EmperorWilhelm II.Both her father and maternal grandfather abdicated their thrones in November 1918 following Germany's defeat inWorld War I,[1]whileher paternal grandfatherhad beenstrippedof his Britishroyal dukedomthe previous year.
In 1934,Adolf Hitler,in his ambition to link the British and German royal houses, asked for Frederica's parents to arrange for the marriage of their seventeen-year-old daughter to thePrince of Wales.[4][5]In her memoirs, Frederica's mother described that she and her husband were "shattered" and such a possibility "had never entered our minds".[6]Victoria Louise herself had once been considered as a potential bride for the very same person prior to her marriage. Moreover, the age difference was too great (the Prince of Wales was twenty-three years Frederica's senior), and her parents were unwilling to "put any such pressure" on their daughter.[6]
To her family, she was known asFreddie.[7]
Marriage
editPrince Paul of Greeceproposed to her during the summer of 1936, while he was inBerlinattending the1936 Summer Olympics.Paul was a son ofKing Constantine Iand Frederica's great auntSophia.Accordingly, they were maternal first cousins once removed. They were also paternal second cousins as great-grandchildren ofChristian IX of Denmark.Their engagement was announced officially on 28 September 1937, and Britain's KingGeorge VIgave his consent pursuant to theRoyal Marriages Act 1772on 26 December 1937.[3]They married inAthenson 9 January 1938.[2]Frederica became Hereditary Princess of Greece, her husband beingheir presumptiveto his childless elder brother,King George II.
During the early part of their marriage, they resided at a villa inPsychikoin the suburbs of Athens. Ten months after their marriage, their first child, the futureQueen Sofía of Spain(and future mother ofFelipe VI), was born on 2 November 1938. On 2 June 1940, Frederica gave birth to the futureKing Constantine II.
According to several accounts, she had an affair withCIA director,Allen Dulles,after meeting him in 1958.[8][9]
War and exile
editAt the peak ofWorld War II,in April 1941, theGreek royal familywas evacuated toCretein aSunderland flying boat.Shortly afterwards, the German forces attacked Crete. Frederica and her family were evacuated again, setting up agovernment-in-exileoffice inLondon.
In exile, King George II and the rest of the Greek royal family settled inSouth Africa.Here Frederica's last child,Princess Irene,was born on 11 May 1942. The South African leader, GeneralJan Smuts,served as hergodfather.The family eventually settled inEgyptin February 1944.
After the war, the1946 Greek referendumrestored King George to the throne. The Hereditary Prince and Princess returned to their villa inPsychiko.
Queen consort
editOn 1 April 1947, George II died and Frederica's husband ascended the throne as Paul I, with Frederica asqueen consort.ACommunistinsurgency in Northern Greece led to theGreek Civil War.The King and Queen toured Northern Greece under tight security to appeal for loyalty in the summer of 1947.
Queen Frederica was constantly attacked for her German ancestry.[10]Left-wing politicians in Greece repeatedly used the fact that theKaiserwas her grandfather, and that she had brothers who were members of the SS, as propaganda against her.[11]She was also criticized variously as "very Prussian" and "was a Nazi".[11]When she was in London representing her sick husband at the wedding of his first cousinPrince Philip of Greece and Denmarkto KingGeorge VI's elder daughterPrincess Elizabethin November 1947,Winston Churchillremarked on the Kaiser being her grandfather. Queen Frederica had replied acknowledging the fact, but reminding him that she was also descended from Queen Victoria, and that her father would be the British king if the country had operated underSalic Law(allowing only males to inherit the crown).[12]
During the civil war, Queen Frederica set the Queen's Camps or Child Cities (translation of: Παιδο(υ)πόλεις /PaidopoleisorPaidupoleis) a network of 53 camps around Greece where she would rescue children of members of DSE and former partisans.[13][14][15]
TheGreek Civil Warended in August 1949. The King and Queen took this opportunity to strengthen the monarchy, and paid official visits to MarshalJosip Broz TitoinBelgrade,PresidentsLuigi EinaudiofItalyinRome,Theodor HeussofWest Germany,andBechara El KhouryofLebanon,EmperorHaile Selassie I of Ethiopia,Governor-GeneralChakravarthi RajagopalachariofIndia,KingGeorge VIof the United Kingdom, and the United States as guest of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower.However, at home in Greece and abroad in the United Kingdom, Queen Frederica was targeted by the opposition, because as a girl she had belonged to theBund Deutscher Mädel(League of German Girls), a branch of theHitler Youthgroup for young women; her supporters argued that evading membership in the group would be difficult under the existing political climate inNazi Germanyat the time.
Unlike her meek husband, in post-War Greece Frederica was one of the most hated public figures.[16]This was due to a string of reasons that included her political interference, her intemperate character, her German ethnicity, and the fact she became identified in the public consciousness with all that was reactionary.[16]Frederica has been described as "inherently undemocratic".[17][18]She was notorious for her numerous arbitrary and unconstitutional interventions in Greek politics[19]and clashes with democratically elected governments. She actively politicked against the election ofAlexander Papagos.[20]At home in Greece and abroad in the United Kingdom, she was targeted by the opposition. In 1963 while visiting London, rioting by Greek leftists demonstrating against the situation with the political prisoners of theGreek Civil War,forced her to temporarily seek refuge in a stranger's house. Her political interference was harshly criticized and was a significant factor in the strengthening of republican sentiments.
Frederica's 16 November 1953 appearance inLifeas America's guest was taken on one of the many state visits she paid around the world. Also that year she appeared on the cover ofTime.On 14 May 1962, her eldest daughter Sofía married PrinceJuan Carlos of Spain(later King Juan Carlos I of Spain) in Athens.
Queen dowager
editOn 6 March 1964, King Paul died of cancer. When her son,King Constantine II,marriedPrincess Anne-Marie of Denmarklater that year on 18 September, Queen Frederica stepped back from the majority of her public duties in favor of her daughter-in-law. She remained a figure of controversy and was accused in the press of being theéminence grisebehind the throne.[21]
She retired to the countryside where she lived an almost reclusive life. However, she continued to attend royal events that were family-oriented, such as the baptisms of her grandchildren in both Spain and Greece.
Exile
edit
King Constantine II's clashes with the democratically elected Prime MinisterGeorge Papandreou Sr.were blamed by critics for causing the destabilisation that led to a military coup on 21 April 1967 and the rise of theregime of the colonels.[citation needed]Faced with a difficult situation, King Constantine initially collaborated with the military dictatorship,[citation needed]swearing in their government under a royalist prime minister. Later that year he attempted a counter-coup in an attempt to restore democracy, whose failure forced him into exile. Following this, the junta appointed a regent to carry out the tasks of the exiled monarch.
In 1971, Frederica published an autobiography,A Measure of Understanding.[22]
On 1 June 1973 the junta abolished the Greek monarchy without consulting the Greek people and then attempted to legitimize its actions through a1973 plebiscitethat was widely suspected of being rigged. The head of the junta became the new head-of-state asPresident of GreeceGeorge Papadopoulos.
The dictatorship ended on 24 July 1974 and the pre-junta constitutional monarchy was never restored. Aplebiscite was held on 8 December 1974in which Constantine (who was able to campaign only from outside the country) freely admitted past errors, and promised to support democracy.[23]However, 69% of Greeks freely voted to make Greece a democratic republic.
Death
editFrederica died on 6 February 1981 in exile in Madrid of heart failure, reportedly following eyelid surgery[24](blepharoplasty), although a biographer has claimed the surgery was cataract removal.[25]
She was interred atTatoi(the royal family's palace and burial ground in Greece). Her son and his family were allowed to attend the service but had to leave immediately afterwards.
Honours
edit| Styles of Queen Frederica of Greece | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
- Denmark: Knight of theOrder of the Elephant[26]
- Italy: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic[27]
- Thailand: Dame Grand Cordon with Chain of theOrder of the Royal House of Chakri[28]
See also
edit- Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark– Lists members of European royalty sharing a mutual ancestor with Frederica of Hanover
References
edit- ^abHugh Montgomery-Massingberd(1973).Burke'sGuide to the Royal Family.Burke's Peerage Ltd. pp.290, 300.ISBN0-220-66222-3.
- ^ab"Haus Braunschweig-Lûneburg (Maison de Brunswick-Lunebourg)".Almanach de Gotha(in French). Gotha:Justus Perthes.1942. p. 39.
- ^ab"The London Gazette".The Stationery Office.31 December 1937: 8169.Retrieved20 January2017.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^Viktoria Luise, HRH (1977).The Kaiser's daughter.W. H. Allen. p. 188.ISBN9780491018081.
- ^Petropoulos, Jonathan (2006).Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany.Oxford University Press. pp.161–162.ISBN9780195161335.
- ^abViktoria Luise, p.188
- ^The Royals. Written by Kitty Kelley
- ^Kinzer, Stephen (10 November 2012)."When a C.I.A. Director Had Scores of Affairs".The New York Times.
- ^Winks, Robin (1994). Grose, Peter (ed.)."The Wise Man of Intelligence: Uncovering the Life of Allen Dulles".Foreign Affairs.73(6): 144–149.doi:10.2307/20046934.ISSN0015-7120.JSTOR20046934.
- ^Van der Kiste, John (1999).Kings of the Hellenes: The Greek Kings, 1863-1974.Sutton Publishing Ltd. p. 178.ISBN9780750921473.
- ^abVan der Kiste, p.178
- ^Van der Kiste, p.177
- ^See the recent archival research from the General State Archives of Greece of the former Royal Palaces of letters from citizens from the area of Trikala to Frederiki for admission to hospitals or employment. Μιχάλης Φύλλας,«Επιστολές Τρικαλινών στη βασίλισσα Φρειδερίκη «Στηρίζω εις σας μεγαλειοτάτη όλας μου τας ελπίδας...», Θεσσαλικό Ημερολόγιο, τομ. 77 (2020), σελ.282-286[1],και την Σάμο, Μιχάλης Φύλλας,«Επίκειται ο εξ ασιτείας θάνατός μου...». Όψεις της σαμιακής κοινωνίας στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '60», Απόπλους, τχ.83 (Άνοιξη 2020), σελ.330-336[2]
- ^Σύλλογος Πολιτικών Εξορίστων Γυναικών,Στρατόπεδα Γυναικών (Χίος, Τρίκερι, Μακρόνησος, Αϊ-Στράτης 1948-1954), εκδ. Αλφειός, 2006,ISBN960-87931-8-1
- ^https:// Alpha tv.gr/index.asp?a_id=76&news_id=26761[dead link]
- ^abGeorge P. Malouhos, 'Former King Constantine: The Third End',In,16 January 2023,[3]
- ^Kaloudis, George StergiouModern Greek democracy: the end of a long journey,University Press of America, Inc., 2000 p. 35
- ^Pettifer, JamesThe Greeks:the land and people since the war,Viking, 1993, p20
- ^Keeley, Robert V.,The Colonels' Coup and the American Embassy: A Diplomat's View of the Breakdown of Democracy in Cold War Greece,Penn State University Press 2001, p36
- ^"Greece: The King's Wife".Time.26 October 1953.
- ^Vickers, Hugo (2003).Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece.St. Martin's Griffin. pp.387.ISBN9780312302399.
- ^Publisher: Macmillan (1971),ISBN0333124545
- ^Proclamation of King Constantine for the 1974 Referendumhttps:// greekroyalfamily.gr/images/stories/eggrafa_afieromata/DIAGELMA20DIMOPSIFISMATOS201974.pdf
- ^Wolfgang Saxon, Frederika, Greek Queen Mother; In Madrid Hospital as an Exile,The New York Times,7 February 1981
- ^Van der Kiste, p.185
- ^Jørgen Pedersen:Riddere af Elefantordenen 1559–2009,Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2009.ISBN8776744345
- ^Sitio web del Quirinal
- ^Royal Thai Government Gazette (28 December 1960). "แจ้งความสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์" (thajsky)Dostupné online
Further reading
edit- Divani, Lena (2019). "ΠΑΥΛΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΡΕΙΔΕΡΙΚΗ: Η βασίλισσα που έγινε βασιλιάς".Ζευγάρια που έγραψαν την ιστορία της Ελλάδας(in Greek). Patakis.ISBN978-960-16-8603-5.
External links
edit
- New York Timesobituary
- Μιχάλης Φύλλας,«Επιστολές Τρικαλινών στη βασίλισσα Φρειδερίκη «Στηρίζω εις σας μεγαλειοτάτη όλας μου τας ελπίδας...», Θεσσαλικό Ημερολόγιο, τομ. 77 (2020), σελ.282-286.[4]
- Μιχάλης Φύλλας,«Επίκειται ο εξ ασιτείας θάνατός μου...». Όψεις της σαμιακής κοινωνίας στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '60», Απόπλους, τχ.83 (Άνοιξη 2020), σελ.330-336[5]