Frederika of Hanover
Encyclopedia
Frederica of Hanover was Queen consort
of the Hellenes
as the wife of King Paul of Greece
.
, Kingdom of Prussia
, German Empire
. She was the daughter of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick
and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia
, the only daughter of German Emperor William II and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
. As daughter of a Hanoverian Prince, she was Princess Frederica of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland, and also Duchess Frederica of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Through her maternal grandfather, Frederica was a great-granddaughter of German Emperor Frederick III
and Victoria, Princess Royal
, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Through this relationship, Frederica was a distant cousin of the United Kingdom's Elizabeth II and also of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
. As a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom
, she was, at birth, 34th in the line of succession to the British throne
, although she had no British rank or title.
when he was there to see the 1936 Summer Olympics
. Their engagement was announced officially on 28 September 1937. On 9 January 1938 they married in Athens
. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece
and Sophie of Prussia, sister of German Emperor William II (therefore he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and a first cousin once removed to Frederica). In addition to her standard style, Princess Frederica, she used the style of Hereditary Princess (Greek
: Πριγκήπισσα Διαδόχου, Prinkēpissa Diadókhou, literally "Princess of the Heir") as her husband was heir presumptive to his childless elder brother, King George II.
During the early part of their marriage they resided at Villa Psychiko in the suburbs of Athens. Ten months after their marriage their first child was born on 2 November 1938: Princess Sophia
, the future Queen Sofia of Spain. On 2 June 1940 their son and heir, Crown Prince Constantine
, future King Constantine was born .
, in April, 1941 the Greek Royal Family evacuated to Crete
in a Sunderland flying boat. In exile, King George II and the rest of the Greek Royal Family settled in South Africa
. Here Frederica's last child, Princess Irene
, was born on 11 May 1942. The South African leader, General Jan Smuts
, served as her godfather
.
Shortly afterwards the German forces attacked Crete. Frederica and her family were evacuated again, setting up a government-in-exile office in London
. The family eventually settled in Egypt
in February 1944.
On 1 September 1946 the Greek people decided by referendum
to restore King George to the throne. The Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess returned to their villa in Psychiko.
. Communist political instability in Northern Greece led to the Greek Civil War
. The King and Queen toured Northern Greece under severe security to try to appeal for loyalty in the summer of 1947.
During the civil war Queen Frederica set the Queen's Camps or Child-cities (translation of: Παιδο(υ)πόλεις / Paidopoleis or Paidupoleis) a network of 53 Camps around Greece
where she would gather mostly orphans and children of poor families. These camps provided much needed shelter, food, and education to these children who were aged 3 years to adolescence.
The role of these Queen's Camps is disputed as a means of propaganda by the monarchy through the educational program. The Queen's Camps were a way to fend for the children - victims of the civil war
. There were allegations, generally by opposition or communist sources, which held that children were illegally adopted by American families while they were in the Paidopoleis.
The Greek Civil War
ended in August, 1949. The Sovereigns took this opportunity to strengthen the monarchy, they paid official visits to Marshal Josip Broz Tito
in Belgrade
, the Presidents Luigi Einaudi
of Italy
in Rome
, Theodor Heuss
of West Germany
, Bechara El Khoury
of Lebanon
, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
, Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari of India
, King George VI of the United Kingdom
, and the United States
as guest of President Dwight 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 the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls
), a branch of the Hitler Youth
group for young women; her supporters argued that evading membership in the group would be difficult under the existing political climate in Nazi Germany
at the time.
Her 16 November 1953 appearance in Life
as 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 of Time
. On 14 May 1962 her eldest daughter Sofia married Prince Juan Carlos of Spain, (later King Juan Carlos I of Spain) in Athens.
Frederika has been described as "inherently undemocratic". She was notorious for her numerous arbitrary and unconstitutional interventions in Greek politics
and clashes with democratically elected governments. She actively politicked against the election of Alexander Papagos
. At home in Greece and abroad in the United Kingdom, she was targeted by the opposition. In 1963 while visiting London rioting forced her to temporary seek refuge in a stranger's house. Her interference in politics was harshly criticized and possibly the most significant factor in the strengthening of republican sentiments.
. Frederica assumed the title of queen dowager
but continued to serve in the role of Queen. When her son Constantine II
married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark
later that year on 18 September, Queen Frederica stepped back from the majority of her public Royal duties in favor of the new Queen. She remained a figure of controversy and was accused in the press of being the eminence grise behind the throne. In response she renounced her apanage and retired to the countryside where she lived an almost reclusive life. However, she continued to attend Royal events which were family-oriented, such as the baptisms of her grandchildren in both Spain and Greece.
were blamed by critics for causing the destabilisation that led to a military coup on 21 April 1967 and the rise of the regime of the colonels
. Faced with a difficult situation, King Constantine initially collaborated with the military dictatorship, 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.
On 1 June 1973 the junta abolished the Greek Monarchy without the consent of the Greek people and then attempted to legitimize its actions through a 1973 plebiscite
that was widely suspected of being rigged. The new head-of-state became President of Greece
George Papadopoulos
.
The dictatorship ended on 24 July 1974 and the pre-junta constitutional monarchy was never restored. A plebiscite was held in which King Constantine (who was able to campaign only from outside the country) freely admitted his past errors, promised to support democracy, and in particular, promised to keep his mother Queen Frederica away from Greece and out of Greek politics. 70% of Greeks voted to make Greece a democratic republic.
surgery. In its obituary of the Queen, The New York Times reported that she died during "eyelid surgery," which led to frequent but unsubstantiated rumors that she died while undergoing cosmetic surgery. Other sources state that her cause of death was a heart attack while undergoing the removal of cataracts.
She was interred at Tatoi
(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.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of the Hellenes
Queen Consort of Greece
Consorts of the Kings of Greece were persons married to the rulers of the Kingdom of Greece during their reign. As all monarchs of modern Greece were male with the title of King of the Hellenes, all Greek consorts were women with the title of Queen of the Hellenes and style Majesty...
as the wife of King Paul of Greece
Paul of Greece
Paul reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.-Family and early life:Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer....
.
Early life
Frederica was born on 18 April 1917 in Blankenburg am HarzBlankenburg am Harz
Blankenburg is a town and health resort in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, at the north foot of the Harz Mountains, southwest of Halberstadt....
, Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. She was the daughter of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick
Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick
Ernest Augustus III , reigning Duke of Brunswick , was a grandson of George V of Hanover, whom the Prussians deposed in 1866...
and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia
Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia
Victoria Louise of Prussia was the only daughter and the seventh child of William II, German Emperor and Empress Augusta Victoria. She was their last surviving child. Princess Victoria Louise is the maternal grandmother of Queen Sophie of Spain and the former King Constantine II of the Hellenes...
, the only daughter of German Emperor William II and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was the last German Empress and Queen of Prussia. Her full German name was Auguste Victoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.She was the eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess...
. As daughter of a Hanoverian Prince, she was Princess Frederica of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland, and also Duchess Frederica of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Through her maternal grandfather, Frederica was a great-granddaughter of German Emperor Frederick III
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
and Victoria, Princess Royal
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Through this relationship, Frederica was a distant cousin of the United Kingdom's Elizabeth II and also of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
. As a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, she was, at birth, 34th in the line of succession to the British throne
Line of succession to the British Throne
The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
, although she had no British rank or title.
Marriage
In 1936 Prince Paul, Crown Prince of Greece, proposed to her in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
when he was there to see the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
. Their engagement was announced officially on 28 September 1937. On 9 January 1938 they married in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
and Sophie of Prussia, sister of German Emperor William II (therefore he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and a first cousin once removed to Frederica). In addition to her standard style, Princess Frederica, she used the style of Hereditary Princess (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Πριγκήπισσα Διαδόχου, Prinkēpissa Diadókhou, literally "Princess of the Heir") as her husband was heir presumptive to his childless elder brother, King George II.
During the early part of their marriage they resided at Villa Psychiko in the suburbs of Athens. Ten months after their marriage their first child was born on 2 November 1938: Princess Sophia
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...
, the future Queen Sofia of Spain. On 2 June 1940 their son and heir, Crown Prince Constantine
Constantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
, future King Constantine was born .
War and exile
At the peak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in April, 1941 the Greek Royal Family evacuated to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
in a Sunderland flying boat. In exile, King George II and the rest of the Greek Royal Family settled in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Here Frederica's last child, Princess Irene
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark is the youngest child of King Paul of Greece and his wife Frederika of Hanover. She is the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and of deposed King Constantine II of Greece...
, was born on 11 May 1942. The South African leader, General Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
, served as her godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
.
Shortly afterwards the German forces attacked Crete. Frederica and her family were evacuated again, setting up a government-in-exile office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The family eventually settled in Egypt
History of Modern Egypt
The definition of modern history has varied in accordance to different definitions of Modernity. Some scholars date it as far back as 1517 with the Ottomans’ defeat of the Mamlūks in 1516–17...
in February 1944.
On 1 September 1946 the Greek people decided by referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to restore King George to the throne. The Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess returned to their villa in Psychiko.
Queen
On 1 April 1947 George II died and Frederica's husband ascended the throne as Paul I, which made Frederica queen consortQueen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
. Communist political instability in Northern Greece led to the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
. The King and Queen toured Northern Greece under severe security to try to appeal for loyalty in the summer of 1947.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where she would gather mostly orphans and children of poor families. These camps provided much needed shelter, food, and education to these children who were aged 3 years to adolescence.
The role of these Queen's Camps is disputed as a means of propaganda by the monarchy through the educational program. The Queen's Camps were a way to fend for the children - victims of the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. There were allegations, generally by opposition or communist sources, which held that children were illegally adopted by American families while they were in the Paidopoleis.
The Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
ended in August, 1949. The Sovereigns took this opportunity to strengthen the monarchy, they paid official visits to Marshal Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the Presidents Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss was a liberal German politician who served as the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany after World War II from 1949 to 1959...
of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury was the first post-independence President of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption in 1943...
of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
, Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, King George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as guest of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. However, at home in Greece and abroad in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Queen Frederica was targeted by the opposition, because as a girl she had belonged to the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls
League of German Girls
The League of German Girls or League of German Maidens , was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany....
), a branch of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
group for young women; her supporters argued that evading membership in the group would be difficult under the existing political climate in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
at the time.
Her 16 November 1953 appearance in Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
as 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 of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. On 14 May 1962 her eldest daughter Sofia married Prince Juan Carlos of Spain, (later King Juan Carlos I of Spain) in Athens.
Frederika has been described as "inherently undemocratic". She was notorious for her numerous arbitrary and unconstitutional interventions in Greek politics
and clashes with democratically elected governments. She actively politicked against the election of Alexander Papagos
Alexander Papagos
Field Marshal Alexander Papagos , was a Greek General who led the Greek Army in the Greco-Italian War and the later stages of the Greek Civil War and became the country's Prime Minister...
. At home in Greece and abroad in the United Kingdom, she was targeted by the opposition. In 1963 while visiting London rioting forced her to temporary seek refuge in a stranger's house. Her interference in politics was harshly criticized and possibly the most significant factor in the strengthening of republican sentiments.
Queen Dowager
On 6 March 1964 King Paul died of cancer, and her son ascended the throne as Constantine IIConstantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
. Frederica assumed the title of queen dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...
but continued to serve in the role of Queen. When her son Constantine II
Constantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece is the wife of former King Constantine II of Greece, who was deposed in referendums in 1973 and in 1974. Her title "Queen of Greece" is not recognized under the terms of the republican Constitution of Greece...
later that year on 18 September, Queen Frederica stepped back from the majority of her public Royal duties in favor of the new Queen. She remained a figure of controversy and was accused in the press of being the eminence grise behind the throne. In response she renounced her apanage and retired to the countryside where she lived an almost reclusive life. However, she continued to attend Royal events which were family-oriented, such as the baptisms of her grandchildren in both Spain and Greece.
Exile
King Constantine's clashes with the democratically elected Prime Minister George Papandreou Sr.George Papandreou (senior)
Georgios Papandreou was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as Prime Minister of Greece...
were blamed by critics for causing the destabilisation that led to a military coup on 21 April 1967 and the rise of the regime of the colonels
Greek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
. Faced with a difficult situation, King Constantine initially collaborated with the military dictatorship, 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.
On 1 June 1973 the junta abolished the Greek Monarchy without the consent of the Greek people and then attempted to legitimize its actions through a 1973 plebiscite
Greek plebiscite, 1973
The Greek plebiscite of 29 July 1973 was held by the then ruling dictatorial regime under Georgios Papadopoulos and resulted in the abolition of monarchy and the establishment of a Republic, initiating the first period of the Metapolitefsi.- Background :...
that was widely suspected of being rigged. The new head-of-state became President of Greece
President of Greece
The President of the Hellenic Republic , colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the head of state of Greece. The office of the President of the Republic was established after the Greek republic referendum, 1974 and formally by the Constitution of Greece in 1975. The...
George Papadopoulos
George Papadopoulos
Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos was the head of the military coup d'état that took place in Greece on 21 April 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. Papadopoulos was a Colonel of Artillery...
.
The dictatorship ended on 24 July 1974 and the pre-junta constitutional monarchy was never restored. A plebiscite was held in which King Constantine (who was able to campaign only from outside the country) freely admitted his past errors, promised to support democracy, and in particular, promised to keep his mother Queen Frederica away from Greece and out of Greek politics. 70% of Greeks voted to make Greece a democratic republic.
Death
Queen Frederica died on 6 February 1981 in exile in Madrid during ophthalmicOphthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
surgery. In its obituary of the Queen, The New York Times reported that she died during "eyelid surgery," which led to frequent but unsubstantiated rumors that she died while undergoing cosmetic surgery. Other sources state that her cause of death was a heart attack while undergoing the removal of cataracts.
She was interred at Tatoi
Tatoi
Tatoi, located 5 km north of Athens's suburbs, and 27 km from the Athenian Acropolis was the summer palace and 10,000 acre estate of the former Greek Royal Family, and the site of George II of the Hellenes's birth...
(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.
Titles and styles
- 18 April 1917 – 9 January 1938: Her Royal Highness Princess Friederike of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland
- 9 January 1938 – 1 April 1947: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark, Duchess of Sparta
- 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964: Her Majesty The Queen of the Hellenes
- 6 March 1964 – 6 February 1981: Her Majesty Queen Frideriki of Greece, the Queen Mother.