The Kings Of The Hellenes

[Sean.~]

Has anyone else read "No Ordinary Crown", the biography of Paul I. Or what about "The Royal House of Greece" (lots of pics)?

[betina]

Georgios I's Danish name was Vilhelm and not William.

[ChevalieurduCiel]

I guess He was The Man that any country would choose for a Leader!!:) One I know that He loved Greece and died for her!May God rest His soul!!

[iannis]

I thought that it would be interesting to share this paradox that took place in the Greek royal history and find out whether similar occurences have happened in other European or worldwide royal houses.
I'm referring to the fact that King George II, the first born child of King Constantine XII had to wait and see his younger brother Alexander come to the throne before him. Moreover, after Alexander's death, George saw his father reigning again and he only took the Greek throne after his father's abdication.
That happened due to the dramatic conditions in Greece after the end of WWI and the Asia Minor catastrophe and its consequences but it is still a fact that the first born Prince became a King after his younger brother and his father for the second time.
King George II must have been a man with patience!
Has this or something similar happened in other royal houses?

[Stefanie]

Well, my example is not the same but in Russia Czar Nicolas II only became Czar because his elder brother died. And we all know how this all ended.....
And in Great Britain the Queen mother never excused her brother-in-laws´ behaviour of marrying Wallis Simpson because therefore her husband had to become king and wasn´t prepared at all. Obviously one reason why he got sick with cancer and died quite early. So Elizabeth didn´t have enough time for her children and this is one reason why Charles is the man he is and he had an affair with Camilla and married Diana and both became unhappy a.s.o......

[COUNTESS]

Nicholas II was the eldest child of Alexander III. It was Alexander III, whose older brother died, his name was Nicholas, too. They were the sons of Alexander II.
King George got cancer, because he smoked heavily and directly caused his own problems. Whether Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother blamed him or not. The rest is silly.

[sinulord]

Originally Posted by laskaris

Jewelery,is something personal that passes from mother to daughter....I dont know who is wilhem/George....I only know King Georgios A' maybe he was' poor 'from a' poor 'family but rich enough to buy 10 Tatoi Estates of that era!!So the dowery was not invested on that!!

As for things you dont want to understand let me be clear and loud!!!Queen's Olgas Grand Children and Grand Grand Children {thus succetion line} AL have rights on the Russian Throne!!!

Jewelry is also passed down from mother to sons (especially eldest son) in royal and noble families for their consorts. It this way, it's assured that the jewels, a valuable family asset, stays within the family.

And Queen Olga's descendants are certainly not in the line of succession to the Russian throne.

[loveyoupavlos]

Someone should mention that before George I there was Otto,husband of Queen Amalia of Oldenburg. Unfortunately they did not have children (Amalia suffered the Mayer-Rokitansky Syndrome) so George became king after him..
He was the king that mostly loved Greece.

(by Wikipedia:
Otto, King of Greece (Greek: Όθων, Βασιλεύς της Ελλάδος, Othon, Vasilefs tis Ellados) (1 June 1815–26 July 1867) was made the first modern king of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers (the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire).
The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended the newly-created throne of Greece while still a minor. In 1837, Otto visited Germany and married the beautiful and talented 17 year old, Duchess Amelie of Oldenburg (21 December 1818–20 May 1875).)

[claypoint2]

How very sad. I didn't realize that Queen Amalia suffered from Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, which -- in addition to the dynastic implications -- can be so psychologically devastating for a woman.

My impression is that the memory of King Othon and Queen Amalia is still beloved in Greece.... I once worked with a Greek young man whose parents named him Othon, and his only sister was Amalia!

Originally Posted by laskaris

I think the word 'converted'is wrong!Someone is converted to Inddooism to Islam,but He is not 'converted" from Christian to Christian as Loutherans and Orthodox!!He simply "JOINED" the Orthodoxs after the Archbishop and the Patriarch gaved Him a Bless

Originally Posted by Sean.~

There is a conversion involved. As I've said before he did not convert and he remained a life long member of the Lutheran church.

You're both right in a sense, and wrong in a sense. The word "conversion" is usually reserved for a change from one religion to another, and not for a change in Christian denominations. In that case, a person would be "received" into the new denomination. However, a "reception" presupposes that the baptism and confirmation in the original denomination (in this case, Lutheran) are recognized as valid by the second denomination (in this case, Orthodox).

For Roman Catholics and the Orthodox (and, to some extent, for Anglicans) the central question is one of Apostolic Succession -- whether a denomination's bishops can trace their consecration back to the 12 apostles in an unbroken line. The concept is very much like a geneaology... a priestly lineage, if you will.

As it turns out, the Orthodox would not have recognized a Lutheran baptism (because most Lutheran ministers do not claim apostolic succession), so the King would have indeed been required to be baptized again according to the Orthodox rite if he were joining that denomination. Although I don't have first-hand knowledge of this case, it's very hard to imagine that a record of this baptism would not have been kept, if it had taken place.

[loveyoupavlos]

It's usual for greek people giving their children names of their kings.. For example names such as Olga,Amalia,Othon,Alice,are not greek names but they became common,after the princes and kings with those names..
There are lots of women in Greece named Frederika,which is a very unusual name for greeks,after queen Frederika (pr.Pavlos' grandmother), who built many institutions for orphans of the WWII..