| Amalia of Oldenburg | |
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| Queen of Greece | |
| Queen Amalia of Greece portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler |
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| Tenure | 22 December 1836 – 23 October 1862 |
| Spouse | Otto of Greece |
| Full name | |
| English: Amalia Maria Frederica German: Amalie Marie Friederike Greek: Αμαλία Μαρία Φρειδερίκη |
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| House | Holstein-Gottorp (by birth) Wittelsbach (by marriage) |
| Father | Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg |
| Mother | Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym |
| Born | 21 December 1818 Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg |
| Died | 20 May 1875 (aged 56) Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Burial | Theatinerkirche, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece (Greek: Αμαλία, Βασίλισσα της Ελλάδος) (21 December 1818 - 20 May 1875) was Queen consort of Greece from 1836 to 1862 as the spouse of King Otto of Greece (1815–1867).
As the daughter of Duke Paul Frederick Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg), she was born a Duchess of Oldenburg. In Greece, the title "Duchess of Oldenburg" was never in use.
When she arrived in Greece in 1837, she at first won the hearts of the Greeks with her refreshing beauty. After the Queen became more politically involved, however, she became the target of harsh attacks - and her image suffered further as she proved unable to provide an heir. After an uprising, her husband and she was expelled from Greece in 1862. She spent the rest of her years in exile in Bavaria.
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Duchess Amalia was born in Oldenburg, capital of the Duchy of Oldenburg, on 21 December 1818. She was the first child of Duke Paul Frederick Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg) and his first wife, Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym.
On 22 December 1836, Duchess Amalia married King Otto of Greece in Oldenburg. Born as the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Prince Otto of Bavaria had been appointed King of the newly created Kingdom of Greece in 1833.
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 gardens in Athens, and at first won the hearts of the Greeks with her refreshing beauty. The town of Amaliás in Elis, and the village of Amaliapolis in Magnesia, were named for the Queen. She was also the first to introduce the Christmas tree to Greece.
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 - and her image suffered further as she proved unable to provide an heir. She also remained a Protestant in an almost universally Orthodox country, throughout her husband's reign.
When she arrived in Greece as a Queen consort in 1837, she had an immediate impact on social life and fashion. She realized 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.[1] It follows the Biedermeier style, with a loose-fitting, white cotton or silk shirt, often decorated with lace at the neck and handcuffs, over which a richly embroidered jacket or vest is worn, usually of dark blue or claret velvet. The skirt was ankle-length, unpressed-pleated silk, 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) of the unmarried woman, and sometimes with a black veil for church. This dress became the usual attire of all Christian townswomen in both Ottoman Empire-occupied and liberated Balkan lands as far north as Belgrade.
In February, 1861, a University student named Aristeidis Dosios (son of politician Konstantinos Dosios)[2] unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Queen. He was sentenced to death, but the Queen intervened, and he was pardoned and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was hailed as a hero for his attempt by certain factions, but the attempt also provoked spontaneous feelings of sympathy towards the royal couple among the people.
Just over a year later, while the royal couple were on a visit to the Peloponnese, an uprising in Athens took place. The Great Powers, who had supported Otto urged them not resist and Otto's reign was at an end. They left Greece aboard a British warship, with the Greek royal regalia that they had brought with them.
It has been suggested that had Amalia borne an heir, the King would not have been overthrown, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time of uprising.[3] It is also true, however, that the Constitution of 1843 made provision for his succession by his two younger brothers and their descendants.
King Otto and Queen Amalia spent the rest of their years in exile, home in Bavaria. They decided to speak Greek each day between 6 and 8 o'clock to remember their time in Greece.
King Otto died in 1862. Queen Amalia survived her husband by almost 13 years and died in Bamberg on 20 May 1875. She was buried at the Theatinerkirche in Munich beside the King.
She was found postmortem to have suffered from Müllerian agenesis, a congenital malformation in women characterised by a failure of the müllerian ducts to develop, resulting in a missing uterus and fallopian tubes.
| Styles of Queen Amalia of the Greeks |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
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Amalia of Oldenburg
Born: 21 December 1818 Died: 20 May 1875 |
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| Greek royalty | ||
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| Preceded by None |
Queen consort of Greece 22 December 1836 – 23 October 1862 |
Succeeded by Olga Constantinovna of Russia |
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