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Princess Aspacia, Prince Christopher and Dowager Queen of Greece (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• 11 older comments, and then…
• Nathan Adams said:

  That does not look like a happy marriage.

• Harry Angstrom said:

  What year do you think this picture is taken? Here are some clues from the history of these folks: On the right: Greek Prince Christopher (1888-1940). His father was originally a Danish prince (does Christopher look Danish?). Through an unusual twist of history, his Danish father (1845-1913) became King George I of Greece in 1863 when he was only 17. King George had a long rule of 50 years and he was married for 46 years to Olga Konstantinovna (1851-1926) of Russia, they married in 1867. (That seems to be her, in the middle of the photo). They had 8 children, including Christopher who was the youngest. King George was assassinated in 1913 at age 68 (during the first Balkan war). Christopher was then age 25. Queen Olga, age 62, became a dowager at this point, another word for a widow. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece George was succeeded by his and Olga's oldest son who became King Constantine (1868-1923), who was Christopher's brother. Constantine was educated at Heidelberg University in Germany, trained in the Prussian army, and married to a nice Prussian girl, Princess Sophie of Prussia (1870-1932). On her mother's side Sophie's grandparents were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England. Her grandfather on her father's side was German emperor and her father was German emperor too and so was her brother, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Constantine was king of Greece from 1913-1917. During World War I Greece was neutral but eventually sided with the Allies. Constantine was was forced to abdicate and leave Greece due to his pro-German affiliations and sympathies. He abdicated in favor of his second son (and Olga's grandson) Alexander who did not last long as king. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_of_Greece

• Harry Angstrom said:

  Alexander (1893-1920) was king from 1917 to 1920. In 1919 King Alexander scandalously married a commoner, Aspasia Manos, (1896-1972) who is standing on the left, next to Olga. Alexander was was 26 and Aspasia was 23. This scandal led to King Alexander having to flee to Paris. He returned but not long after he died of bites from an altercation in the garden with his two pet monkeys. He was 27. (Not making this up!) Alexander died in October 1920 and his grandmother, Olga, served as Regent of Greece until her son Constantine could return from exile in Switzerland to be king for a second time. He abdicated for the second time, in 1922. Prince Christopher married a wealthy American widow in early 1920. He was later to become an uncle of the current Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Konstantinovna_of_Russia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_of_Greece en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_of_Prussia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Greece en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Aspasia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Christopher_of_Greece_and_De...

• Harry Angstrom said:

  Olga (1851-1926) Christopher: (1888-1940) Aspasia (1896-1972) If we guess that this is around the time of Aspasia's secret wedding on November 4, 1919 (or Alexander's funeral in 1920) then Olga has been a widow for 6 years and she is 68 in this pic, Chris would be age 31 and Aspasia age 23. But why is it mixed in with a series of photos from 1912? Had anybody heard of Aspasia in 1912? She would have been age 16, and does she look 16? What do you think?

• Harry Angstrom said:

  It appears from this article that Christopher's wife was called "Princess Christopher" and she was kind to Aspasia (aka Mme. Manos) query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9505E1DD173CE5...