Curly-headed and baby faced, the German bride of Crown Prince Paul had been recieved in Athens with indifference. She had been born princess of hanover in 1917, married in 1938 becoming "Greek" just one year before world war two crashed into the hear of europe. She did not at first possess any qualities of beauty or personality that could appeal to the greek people, and she was neither liked or disliked. She was quiet, young, in love with her husband, and she went on with the important task of producing children, first a girl, Princess Sophia, then a boy, Prince Constantine, then another girl princess Irene. Princess Irene was born in South Africa, during the years of war and exile - difficult years through which the young royal couple showed discretion, simplicity, and courage. But no one in Greece expected much of them, and when the plebiscite of 1946 brought royalty back to Greece, Frederica of all people, passed unnoticed.
Not for long.
It was during these after-war years and after-civil-war years that Frederica attained a new stature. I saw her work, and she was magnificent. Her extraordnairy dynamism had found an outlet, and she went through the destroyed towns and villages of greece like a beneficial tornado. She was brave and fearless and full of spirit, she travelled on roads that had proved mined the day before and were to prove it again the day after. She worked for days and weeks and months on end to gather the abandoned children, to find money, homes, help. She created an invaluable orgnasation for the rehabilition of refugees, she embraced th mothers, she gave shelter to the sick and the incapicated. She never stopped, she was tireless, she was clever, modern, realistic. She created centres which later became the heart of newborn villages. She organized groups of social workers who taught the villagers hygiene, dietetics, farming, weaving.
By the end of the four ties, queen frederica had gained an amount of religion, love, and respect that could have lasted her lifetime. She was for a short time in greek history a unique phenomenon, a well-loved queen, because if most kings of greece have has their moments of warm popularity, all its queens - amalia, olga, sophia, - have either been ignored or disliked.
If only she had stopped then, if she had sat back and taken a well-deserved rest, its probable both the history of greece and that of the greek monarchy would have been different.
But she did not stop. With that same energy and passionate interest she went into politics. And there also she disregarded the dangers and the loaded minefields.
