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 country and her beauty. During her tenure as queen, she was dedicated to social improvement and the founding of many gardens in Athens, and she was the first to introduce the worldwide
Christmas tree to Greece.
When she arrived in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in 1837, she at first won the hearts of the Greeks with her refreshing beauty. After she became more politically involved, she then became the target of harsh attacks—and her image suffered further as she proved unable to provide an heir to the throne. She and her husband were expelled from Greece in 1862, after an uprising. She spent the rest of her years in exile in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
.
She acted as Regent of Greece in 1850-1851, and a second time in 1861-1862 during the absence of Otto.
Amalia is attributed to the creation of the “romantic folksy court dress,” which in return became Greece’s national costume.
Early life and marriage
Early years and family life
Duchess Amalia Maria Frederica was born on 21 December 1818 in
Oldenburg to
Duke Paul Frederick Augustus of Oldenburg and his wife
Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym as their first child. She was less than two years old when her mother died, on 13 September 1820. Her father remarried in 1825 to
Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, though she soon died in 1828; his last marriage was with
Princess Cecilia of Sweden
Cecilia of Sweden (Swedish: ''Cecilia Gustavsdotter Vasa'') (16 November 1540 in Stockholm – 27 January 1627 in Brussels), was Princess of Sweden as the daughter of King Gustav I and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, and Margravine of ...
in 1831.
Due to her father’s marriages, Amalia had 5 siblings, 4 being born as
half-siblings
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.
While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separa ...
: Duchess Frederica,
Duke Nikolaus Friedrich, Duke Alexander, Duke August, and
Anton Gunther Friedrich Elimar.
Marriage
On 22 December 1836, Duchess Amalia of Oldenburg married King
Otto Friedrich Ludwig in
Oldenburg. Born as the second son of King
Ludwig I of Bavaria
en, Louis Charles Augustus
, image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
, succession=King of Bavaria
, reign =
, coronation ...
, Prince Otto of Bavaria had been appointed king of the newly created
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...
in 1833. Otto visited Germany to find a bride after he had been declared to be of legal majority. He then met Amalia in
Marienbad in Bohemia.
Amalia was Lutheran and Otto was Catholic, and they were wed in both a Lutheran and Catholic wedding ceremony. It was an understanding, that while they were allowed to keep their religion, any child born to them would be raised in the Orthodox religion of Greece. On 14 February 1837 she arrived in Athens, in Greece.
Queen of Greece
In the early years of the new monarchy, Queen Amalia, with her beauty and vivaciousness, brought a spirit of smart fashion and progress to the impoverished country. She laboured actively towards social improvement and the creation of many gardens in Athens, and at first won the hearts of the Greeks with her refreshing beauty and the patriotic love she demonstrated for her new home country. Amalia was the first to introduce the Christmas tree to Greece.
During her first years in Greece, Athens was a relatively small town; the king and queen resided in a small house while the
Old Royal Palace
The Old Royal Palace ( el, Παλαιά Ανάκτορα ''Palaiá Anáktora'') is the first royal palace of modern Greece, completed in 1843. It has housed the Hellenic Parliament since 1934. The Old Palace is situated at the heart of modern A ...
was being built. Having few exceptions, the Royal Household was made up of mostly Germans. The queen's chamberlain and principal lady-in-waiting were the German couple Clemens von Weichs-Glon and Dorothea von Weichs-Glon, her favourite companion being
Julie von Nordenpflycht. The queen's sister, Princess Frederike, lived with her in Greece for several years until she left after the September revolution of 1843.
[Lüth C. ]
Fra Fredensborg til Athen: Fragment af en Kvindes Liv
'. Copenhagen; Gyldendalske; 1926.
The diarist
Christiane Lüth described the queen in 1839-40:
Christiane Lüth describes the court in Athens as a small community full of gossip: "The least pleasant thing was that there was always a German lackey on the servant seat who heard every word said; for the entire court staff was with few exceptions German. There was endless gossip, as the Queen felt an interest for the least important things, so that everything which could be forwarded to her by lackeys, lady's maids and chamber maids was „gefundenes Fressen“"
and that the queen was a "master" of gossip.
Queen Amalia loved to dance and ride,
arranged balls at court and could be seen riding in and around Athens, and in leisure activities which was common for upper-class women in Western Europe but new in Greece where women had normally lived in seclusion during the Ottoman Empire.
Succession crisis and political activity
As King Otto and his Bavarian advisers became more enmeshed in political struggles with Greek political forces, the queen became more politically involved, also. She became the target of harsh attacks when she became involved in politics. She remained a Protestant in an almost universally
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
country throughout her husband's reign.
Christiane Lüth describes the role of the queen during the
3 September 1843 Revolution:
Lüth described the queen as nervous and pessimistic during the days following the revolution. She did not wish to hear sermon and had her books packed ready to leave if necessary, and advised her sister Princess Friederike to leave Greece since she could no longer guarantee her safety. The king and queen wrote to King
Louis of Bavaria to ask for his assistance, but the queen remarked that they could not expect a response for six weeks, and by that time „und Gott weiss wo wir dann sind“
God's know how things stand' On the queen's
name day
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...
no ball was given at the Palace: "... it was not seen wise, one would not risk having a
Gustav III
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
Masquerade. There are daily rumours that Athens will be set alight on all four corners, so to speak, and everyone massacered."
Initially, Queen Amalia's Lutheran religion was not given much attention, but the aversion to it grew when she did not give birth to a child which could be raised Orthodox. One of the biggest crises of Otto's reign, as well as Amalia's unpopularity, was the succession crisis. The cause of the childlessness of Otto and Amalia has been the cause of debate. During this time period, infertility was commonly considered the fault of the woman, and Amalia's frequent dancing and riding were blamed for it.
She was exposed to various fertility treatments until her 35th birthday. Otto's brothers were given the right to the throne after him, but it was rumoured that queen Amalia wished to have her own brother Elimar of Oldenburg appointed heir instead.
The queen was eventually given more influence. Amalia was given the right to govern as regent in the case of the absence or incapability of the monarch or the heir to the throne. She acted as Regent of Greece in 1850-1851 when Otto was in Germany for health reasons, and a second time in 1861-1862, when Otto visited his family in Bavaria to discuss the succession crisis.
Her political influence was controversial. Her favorites were considered to have influence over her, notably her principal lady-in-waiting Baroness
Wilhelmine von Plüskow was widely rumored to influence state affairs, particularly in matters relating to Austria, through both the queen and the king, which exposed her to controversy.
Fashion influence
![Amalieoldenburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Amalieoldenburg.jpg)
When she arrived in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
as a queen in 1837, she had an immediate impact on social life and fashion. She realised that her attire ought to emulate that of her new people, and so she created a romantic folksy court dress, which became a national Greek costume still known as the ''Amalía dress''.
It follows the
Biedermeier style with a loose-fitting, white cotton or silk shirt, often decorated with lace at the neck and cuffs, over which a richly embroidered jacket or vest is worn, usually of dark blue or claret
velvet
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
. The skirt was ankle-length, unpressed-
pleated
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
, the color usually azure. It was completed with a soft cap or fez with a single, long, golden silk tassel, traditionally worn by married women, or with the ''kalpaki'' (a
toque
A toque ( or ) is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all.
Toques were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France. The mode was revived in the 1930s. Now it is primarily known as the traditional headgear ...
) of the unmarried woman, and sometimes with a black
veil
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
for church. This dress became the usual attire of all
Christian townswomen in both
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
-occupied and liberated
Balkan lands as far north as
Belgrade.
Assassination attempt
In February 1861, a university student named
Aristeidis Dosios (son of politician
Konstantinos Dosios
Konstantinos Dosios (1810–1871) was a Greek people, Greek lawyer and politician in the newly established independent state of Greece and minister plenipotentiary to the church. His son Aristeidis Dosios, an economist, author and banker, becam ...
)
[Brekis, Spyros, L Ph.D.; ''Ίστορια της Νεωτέρας Ελλάδος'' (''History of Modern Greece'') n Greek 2003.] unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the queen. He was sentenced to death, though Queen Amalia intervened and he was pardoned, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was hailed as a
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
for his attempt by certain factions, but the attempt also provoked among the people spontaneous feelings of sympathy towards the royal couple.
Expulsion
![The expulsion of King Otto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/The_expulsion_of_King_Otto.jpg)
Just over a year later,
an uprising took place in Athens while the royal couple were on a visit to the
Peloponnese. The
Great Powers, who had supported Otto, urged them not to resist, and Otto's reign came to an end. They left Greece aboard a British warship, with the Greek royal regalia that they had brought with them. It was reported in the press that the royal courtiers weren’t aspersed, however, the queen's controversial favorite,
Wilhelmine von Plüskow, was exposed to sarcasm from the crowd when she left.
It has been suggested that the king would not have been overthrown had Amalia borne an heir, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time of uprising. It is also true, however, that the Constitution of 1843 made provision for Otto to be succeeded by his two younger brothers and their descendants.
Exile and death
Otto and Amalia spent the rest of their years in exile, at home in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. They decided to speak
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
each day between 6 and 8 o'clock to remember their time in Greece.
Otto died in 1867. Queen Amalia survived her husband by almost eight years and died in
Bamberg on 20 May 1875. She was buried beside the king at the
Theatinerkirche in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
.
The cause of the royal couple's infertility remained contested even after an autopsy was performed on the queen.
Legacy
Queen Amalia founded the
National Gardens of Athens
The National Garden (formerly the Royal Garden) ( el, Εθνικός Κήπος)(it was named Royal Garden until 1974) is a public park of in the center of the Greek capital, Athens. It is located between the districts of Kolonaki and Pangra ...
in 1839, and an orphanage in Amaléion in 1855.
The town of
Amaliada in
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
and the village of
Amaliapolis
Amaliapoli () is a village at the western part of the Pagasetic Gulf, in the Magnesia regional unit of Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern t ...
in
Magnesia were named after the queen.
Archives
Queen Amalia's letters to her sister-in-law,
Princess Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria
Princess Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria (german: Mathilde Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine Charlotte von Bayern) (Augsburg, August 30, 1813 – Darmstadt, May 25, 1862) was the second child and eldest daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese o ...
, Grand Duchess of Hesse, written between 1837 and 1861, are preserved in the Hessian State Archive (Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt) in Darmstadt, Germany.
Queen Amalia's letters to her brother
Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
, issue = Frederick Augustus IIDuke Georg Ludwig
, house = House of Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Augustus
, mother = Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Ol ...
, written between 1861 and 1862, are preserved in the Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv in Oldenburg, Germany.
Titles
* 21 December 1818 – 20 May 1875: ''Her Highness'' Duchess Amalie of Oldenburg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp
* 22 December 1836 – 23 October 1862: ''Her Majesty'' The Queen of Greece
* 23 October 1862 – 20 May 1875: ''Her Majesty'' Queen Amalia of Greece
Ancestry
References
* Brekis, Spyros L. Ph.D.; ''Ιστορια της Νεωτερας Ελλαδος'' (''History of Modern Greece'') (in Greek) (coursebook in the 'History of Modern Greece' course of the University of Athens)
* Zaoussis, Alexander L.; ''Αμαλια και Οθων'' (''Amalia and Othon'') (in Greek) Okeanida, 2002.
External links
Greek royal tombs*
*
*
{{Authority control
1818 births
1875 deaths
19th-century regents of Greece
19th-century Greek women
Greek princesses
Bavarian princesses
Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich
Duchesses of Oldenburg
Greek queens consort
History of Greece (1832–1862)
House of Wittelsbach
People from Oldenburg (city)
Greek Lutherans
Greek Protestants
German Lutherans
German Protestants
19th-century women rulers