Amalia of Oldenburg

Amalia of Oldenburg
Queen Amalia of Greece portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler
Queen consort of Greece
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
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(1818-12-21) Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
Died	20 May 1875(1875-05-20) (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) (born 21 December 1818 in Oldenburg, died 20 May 1875 in Bamberg) was the consort of King Otto of Greece (1815–1867). Born the daughter of Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, she married King Otto on 22 December 1836, in Oldenburg. In Greece, the title "Duchess of Oldenburg" was never in use.

Fashion influence

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 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.

Political activity

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.

Assassination attempt

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.

Exile and death

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.^{[citation needed]}

Queen Amalia died in Bamberg in 1875 and was buried 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
Reference style	Her Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Ma'am

Titles

• 21 December 1818 – 20 May 1875: Her Highness Duchess Amalie of Oldenburg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp
• 22 December 1836 – 23 October 1862: Her Majesty The Queen of Greece
• 23 October 1862 – 20 May 1875: Her Majesty Queen Amalia of Greece

Ancestry

References

1. ^ http://www.greekfolkdancers.com/costumes.htm National Costume of Greece
2. ^ Brekis, Spyros, L Ph.D.; Ίστορια της Νεωτέρας Ελλάδος (History of Modern Greece) (in Greek) (2003)

External links

• "The Costume in 1800s". www.annaswebart.com. http://www.annaswebart.com/culture/costhistory/amalia/. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 

Amalia of Oldenburg House of Oldenburg Born: 21 December 1818 Died: 20 May 1875
Greek royalty
Preceded by None	Queen consort of Greece 22 December 1836 – 23 October 1862	Succeeded by Olga Constantinovna of Russia

Persondata
Name	Amalia Of Oldenburg
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	21 December 1818
Place of birth	Oldenburg
Date of death	20 May 1875
Place of death	Bamberg