March 3, 1876 birth of Maria of Greece, wife of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia.
Maria was born in Athens. She was the daughter of George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. Her paternal grandparents were Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Her maternal grandparents were Grand Duke Constantine of Russia (son of Nicholas I and brother of Alexander II) and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. Her paternal Aunts and uncles included Frederick VIII of Denmark, Alexandra of the UK and Maria Feodorovna. Her father originally a Danish prince named William, came to the Greek throne in 1863.
Maria's parents had eight children, of whom she was 5th born and 2nd daughter. All but a younger sister Olga made it to adulthood. Her siblings included Constantine I and Prince Andrew (father of Prince Philip). Her sister Alexandra also married into the Russian royal family, marrying Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia who was an Uncle of Nicholas II.
To tell her apart from her Aunt Empress Maria, she was called Greek Minnie.
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Her parents were devoted to their children and provided a happy childhood. They were not rich by royal standards and lived a simpler life. While her dad could be demanding, he believed that all children should happy and lively. The kids were known to ride bicycles in the hallways of the palace, often with their father leading the way.
They were raised by English nannies and English was her first language. She was fluent in Greek. English, German and French.
Every two years the children would spend the summer with their paternal grandparents in Denmark. They would meet up with both their Russian and English cousins while there. She had lifelong friendships with her cousins Victoria of Great Britain and Xenia of Russia.
At 20 she was proposed to by King Alexander I of Serbia during the Olympics but she turned him down.He later married Draga Mašin, but he died childless seven years later in 1903.
She often visited Russia during her childhood with her mother, staying with her mother's parents. In 1894 she had been there to attend the wedding of her cousin Grand Duchess Xenia. She met Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia who was the brother of Xenia's husband, at the time. Michael was first cousins of her mother. His father Grand Duke Michael was was the younger brother of Olga's father Konstantine. She was quite attracted by Michael who was 13 years older then her, was not interested. The tables were turned though when in 1895 they were reunited at a ball and this time Michael was attracted to her. But she found him too old for her taste and boring, and turned down a proposal from him. Her mother was disappointed as she had hoped for a Russian marriage for her daughter.
Michael was not to be dissuaded though. In 1896 Michael arrived in Greece quite intent still to marry her. He proposed to her once again while they were playing billiards and this time she agreed. Their engagement was announced April 4, 1896. They were meant to marry in the summer, but she kept putting it off until she called off the engagement all together. But Michael was not one to give up easily. Twice a year for five years Michael would propose to her. In 1900 she finally agreed to go through with it, and her mother hurried the wedding this time so she could not back out.
The couple were married on Corfu, with a very simple wedding and reception.
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They spent their honeymoon on the Greek royal yacht in Italy and then Austria Hungary. Now known as Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia she was welcomed in her new home as one of the family. Her Aunt was of course empress, not to mention her mother being born a Grand Duchess of Russia. Her father had been the Empress' favorite brother.
They settled in apartments in the New Michael palace, home of her father in law. They shared the palace with his widowed father and two unmarried brothers to whom she became quite close. Having suffered an injury when he was younger her husband was unable to serve in the military and instead worked as director of the Alexander III museum. In 1903 her father in law suffered a serious stroke and would later move to France.
She traveled a great deal in the years to follow, including to Denmark, France and England but she made a yearly trip home to her beloved Greece.
They had a home built for themselves in Crimea known as Harax. The villa was inspired by her love for everything English.Finished in 1907 it was 45 rooms. It over looked the Black sea and was in walking distance from the emperor's home in the area. For seven years the couple lived quietly at their estate though they would travel to court for events.
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In March 1913 Maria was devastated by the assasination of her beloved father.
By 1914 her marriage was distant. Her husband was a devoted father and husband, still in love with her. But for Maria the marriage has always been one of simple convenience, and she missed her home in Greece. In the summer she left for England with her daughter. It was said to be to help to improve the health of her daughter but in reality it was a trial separation from her husband. He accompanied them as far as Warsaw. Sadly it was the last time her husband would see his wife and daughters again.
He was meant to join them, the family settling in Harrogate, but the out break of WWI prevented it. She would actually start a hospital in Harrogate during the war. She had some nursing experience in Greece but she took the red cross nurse training and began nursing patients herself. Her hospital was such a success she would open a further two. Over 1200 patients were tended in her hospitals in 4 years. Her cousin George V was so impressed with her work that he awarded her the Royal Red Cross in 1915.
They moved to Grovesnor square, and she was very close to the British royals. She visited Queen Alexandra most evenings and played cards with her. Unfortunately the outbreak of the Russian revolution cut off her finances and she had to entrust the care of the hospitals to Alexandra. But her patients asked her to continue her work, and she remained director of the hospitals. Her and daughters had to move to a smaller residence. It was the support of her American sister in law Nancy Leeds which helped support them.
In 1918 her husband was arrested when he tried to leave for England. Through the Danish embassy Maria tried to have him released. Unfortunately her husband was shot January 13, 1919. Her brother in law Nicholas, her former brother in law Paul (married to her sister Alexandra, but her sister had died in 1891) and her half-Uncle Dmitri were also killed at the time.
Following her widowhood she reverted to her Greek name. In 1920 when Constantine I was to be restored to his throne, Maria and her daughters joined him and other members of the family on the sail from Italy back to Greece. It was during this trip that she met the captain of the ship, Perikles Ioannidis. He was an admiral in the Greek navy and five years younger then Maria. She was quite smitten with the Greek admiral.
She settled in Greece and was close to CP George (future George II) wife Elizabeth unlike other members of the family. Her relationship with her own daughters was not good. They resented their mother having taken them from their father and the fact they had never seen him again before he died.
Despite the objections of her children, she married Perikles in December 1922 in Germany.They returned to Greece but after the second republic in 1924 they would leave. They would live at her house in London she maintained, for a few years after that. She was a constant companion to Queen Alexandra in her last years of life, as she was her aunt's favorite. Following the death of Alexandra, she and her husband moved to Rome where they lived in Villa Attica. Much of her family had settled there. Her husband watched their finances, and they lived a very quiet life. She did make a trip in the 30s to the US to visit her daughters and grandchildren there.
She died December 14, 1940 in her beloved Athens. She was buried in the royal burial ground at Tatoi. Perikles would die in 1965. He had been made the military governor of the Dodecanese 7 years after his wife had died.
Her children with Grand Duke George Michael:
-Nina: She was married to Prince Paul Alexandrovich Chavchavadze who was in the direct male line of the last king of Georgia. They eventually settled in the US where she was an artist and he was an author . The couple had one son Prince David Chavchavadze. David was in the CIA as well as an author. He gave Nina four grandchildren and six great grand-children. She died in 1974 and her son died in 2014.
-Xenia: She married twice. Her first husband was William Leeds. William's mother Nancy Leeds was by her second marriage, Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark by marriage to Maria's brother Christopher (the same Nancy who had helped support Maria and her daughters during the revolution financially). They lived at their estate Kenwood in the US and had one daughter Nancy. They were divorced in 1930. She later married Herman Jud in 1946. She died in 1962, survived by her second husband and her daughter. She had one granddaughter Alexandra. Her daughter died in 2006.