Julie von Nordenpflycht (1786–1842), was a Greek-German noblewoman, letter writer and court office holder. She was the

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

of the queen of Greece,

Amalia of Oldenburg Amalia of Oldenburg (; 21 December 181820 May 1875) was a Bavarian princess who became Queen of Greece from 1836 to 1862 as the wife of King Otto Friedrich Ludwig. She was loved widely by the Greeks due to her patriotic love for the countr ...

.Lüth C.
Fra Fredensborg til Athen: Fragment af en Kvindes Liv
'. Copenhagen; Gyldendalske;1926.

Biography

She was a native of Germany. She arrived to Greece after Amalia of Oldenburg became queen of Greece in 1836, and was given a position in the newly formed Greek Royal Household.

Greek Court

The Greek Royal Household was formed for the first time at this time period, as Greece had just become an independent monarchy. There was no tradition of a royal court and almost all of the courtiers were Germans who had accompanied the king and queen from Germany, except for a few members of the Greek elite. The ladies-in-waiting of the first queen of independent Greece was organized in one Grande-Maitresse, followed by three second rank ''dames d'honneur'', and two ''dames de palais''.
Almanach de Paris: annuaire international diplomatique
' The position of principal lady in waiting (Grande-Maitresse) was given to Dorothea von Weichs-Glon, wife of the queen's chamberlain Clemens von Weichs-Glon, while Julie von Nordenpflycht was made ''dame d'honneur''.

Favorite

Nordenpflycht was a confidante and favorite of the queen. Her strong position at court was known, and in Greece, she was referred to by the public by a soubriquet Lüth mentioned in her (Danish language diary as ''Dronningens Amme'', which was Danish for "The Queens Wet Nurse" or "The Queen's Nurse". In 1839, the principal lady-in-waiting Dorothea von Weichs-Glon was dismissed from service because of her excessive drinking, and von Nordenpflycht acted as her replacement until the arrival of the appointed successor Wilhelmine von Plüskow from Germany. This caused a conflict at court as Weichs was discontent over her dismissal, and von Nordenpflycht discontent in having to surrender her position to von Plüskow, and there was a rivalry between von Nordenpflycht and von Plüskow. During this time, there was a growing crisis around the childlessness of the royal couple. The childlessness was to some extent blamed on the queen's love for riding and dancing, and when Plüskow advised her to stop in order to conceive, but was contradicted by Julie von Nordenpflycht, who successfully pointed out about the queen that "She is so young, it is an innocent pleasure for her who has so few". Nordenpflycht died in 1842. She was replaced in the queen's confidence by Wilhelmine von Plüskow.

Legacy

She is described by the diarist

Christiane Lüth Christiane Lüth (1817–1900), was a Danish-German diarist. She is known for her diary, regarded as a valuable source on the Greek Royal court under King Otto. Life Lüth was born on Nordsjælland, the daughter of the Danish official Heinr. Fr. ...

. Several of her letters from Greece to her relatives in Germany are preserved, which gives valuable documentation about the Greek court life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordenpflycht, Julie von 1786 births 1842 deaths Ladies-in-waiting Greek courtiers 19th-century Greek women Royal favourites 19th-century letter writers History of Greece (1832–1862) 19th-century German women