Greek Royals

[Oxynia]

guinastasia said:

And Constantine I? (Sorry I keep adding them on).

No worries, sorry I am dominating the answers!

Considering that he abdicated not once but twice, formed allegiance to the Central Powers during WWI and kicked the immensely popular Venizelos out of the PM spot, he is not a well-regarded king. At. All.

Although he was instrumental in reinstating the Olympic Games and had mild successes as a military officer (adding territory to Greece), he really has nothing much going for him that could take away the distate people feel over his anti-Allies position during the war. He put Greece behind his personal agenda, which Greeks have neither forgotten nor forgiven.

[Deleted]

Okay. Dominate away!

What about various queen consorts? I know Olga was very beloved, and Frederike, well, not at all, but what about Sophie, and Elisabetha? (George II's wife, at least for his first reign. They divorced before he came back)

[Auroranorth]

He put Greece behind his personal agenda, which Greeks have neither forgotten nor forgiven.

Seems reasonable to me that they'd dislike him. You're supposed to do what's best for the country, whether you like it or not.

[Mouse]

auroranorth said:

He put Greece behind his personal agenda, which Greeks have neither forgotten nor forgiven.

Seems reasonable to me that they'd dislike him. You're supposed to do what's best for the country, whether you like it or not.

You're also supposed to be the king (or queen) of all the people, not just a certain faction.

[greenbunny]

Hi the story aboyt the baby's names when something like this according to Frederika and King Paul had picked out girl names I want to say "Anastasia" or "Irene" (used for younger sister" but when she had a baby girl people had gathered at Tatoi palace and starting chanting "Sophia" Sophia" so she said to give into the the public (last time that happed ) that' became the offical name.

[Oxynia]

what about Sophie, and Elisabetha? (George II's wife, at least for his first reign. They divorced before he came back)

I guess it's an indication of the patriarchal nature of Greek education that we didn't really study the queen consorts as much as the kings in history class. From what I can gather through strictly anecdotal learning, Elisabeth was seen as an odd fit and a bit of a cold fish. Because George was in exile so often, his wife was not really well-known to the Greeks and she seemed to keep an emotional distance from them. So mystery begat suspicion, especially since word was that he was completely unhappy with her. He dumped her whilst still in exile, which meant the Greeks could only sit around and gossip about all the horrible reasons for their marital strife. And of course all of the blame was laid on her and her image has really not recovered from that.

Sophia had a very hard time in Greece because of her German roots and her husband's pro-German affinities in WWI. At the time, she could do no right in the eyes of the Greeks. Since then, historical scholars have recognised that despite being the sister of the Kaiser, she was very much pro-Allied and give her credit for that. Sadly for her, most people in Greece remain unforgiving towards her husband and paint her with the same brush, which is to say she is as much of an historical pariah as he is.

[Deleted]

That's a shame, because most of what I've read of Sophie has been good.

Elisabetha....well, that's a different story.

[Oxynia]

Sophia was probably a lovely woman but very few people ever got to see the real her, just the image of her that they created for themselves. I remember a story about the fire at Tatoi and how she grabbed her youngest child in her arms and ran over a mile to safety. That's a selfless instinct, and that tends to come out in others ways as well. Pity that was never really seen by the masses. Her image has been overshadowed by her idiot of a husband.

[Mouse]

It sounds like these Greek kings were hopelessly inept and/or poorly trained in statecraft. Ideally, their role should've been akin to that of Queen Victoria, but they never had a Prince Albert as a role model. They got bad advice and didn't have the brains or savvy to get a good grip on their job. Especially not Constantine II, who clearly did a lot of damage.

[Deleted]

Well, George I wasn't so bad. Also, he married a Russian grand duchess AND was the brother of the popular Princess of Wales.

It's a shame thought that the Greeks couldn't have chosen a monarch from their own people, as the Serbians did.