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  • AKA: Olga Konstantinovna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia
  • 1867-1913: Queen consort of the Hellenes
  • 1920-1920: Regent of Greece (for her grandson)

Biography

Olga Constantinovna of Russia was born 3 September 1851 in Pavlovsk, Russia to Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (1827-1892) and Alexandra von Sachsen-Altenburg (1830-1911) and died 18 June 1926 of unspecified causes. She married George I of Greece (1845-1913) 15 October 1867 .

Olga Constantinovna of Russia was Queen of Greece as the wife of King George I. She was briefly the regent of Greece in 1920.

A member of the Romanov dynasty, Olga was the oldest daughter of Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaievich and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. She spent her childhood in Saint Petersburg, Poland, and the Crimea, and married George in 1867 at the age of sixteen. At first, she felt ill at ease in the Kingdom of Greece, but she quickly became involved in social and charitable work. She founded hospitals and schools, but her attempt to promote a new, more accessible, Greek translation of the Gospels sparked riots by religious conservatives.

On the assassination of her husband in 1913, Olga returned to Russia. When the First World War broke out, she set up a military hospital in Pavlovsk Palace, which belonged to her brother. She was trapped in the palace after the Russian Revolution of 1917, until the Danish embassy intervened, allowing her to escape to Switzerland. Olga could not return to Greece as her eldest son, King Constantine I of Greece, had been deposed.

In October 1920, Olga returned to Athens on the fatal illness of her grandson King Alexander of Greece. After his death, she was appointed regent (in November) until the restoration of Constantine I the following month. After the defeat of the Greeks in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22 the Greek royal family were again exiled and Olga spent the last years of her life in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.




Children


Offspring of George I of Greece (1845-1913) and Olga Constantinovna of Russia
Name Birth Death Joined with
Constantine I of Greece (1868-1923) 2 August 1868 Athens 11 January 1923 Salerno Sophie von Preußen (1870-1932)
George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957)
Alexandra of Greece and Denmark (1870-1891) 30 August 1870 Corfu, Greece 24 September 1891 Moscow, Russia Paul of Russia (1860-1919)
Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872-1938) 22 January 1872 Athens, Greece 8 February 1938 Athens, Greece Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (1882-1957)
Marie of Greece and Denmark (1876-1940)
Olga of Greece and Denmark (1881-1881)
Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882-1944) 2 February 1882 Athens, Greece 3 December 1944 Metropole Hotel, Monte Carlo, Monaco Alice Mountbatten (1885-1969)
Christopher of Greece and Denmark (1888-1940)



Siblings


Offspring of Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (1827-1892) and Alexandra von Sachsen-Altenburg (1830-1911)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Nikolay Konstantinovich of Russia (1850-1918)
Olga Constantinovna of Russia (1851-1926) 3 September 1851 Pavlovsk, Russia 18 June 1926 George I of Greece (1845-1913)
Vera Konstantinovna of Russia (1854-1912)
Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (1858-1915)
Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia (1860-1919)
Vyacheslav Konstantinovich of Russia (1862-1879)


See Also



Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General
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