Mary of Greece and Denmark
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Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark (* February 20 July / March 3, 1876 greg. In Athens ; † December 14, 1940 ibid) was a member of the House of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and was by marriage Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna Romanova.
Life
Childhood and youth
Maria was the second daughter of the Greek King Georg I (1845-1913) and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinowna Romanowa (1851-1926), daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Romanow and Princess Alexandra of Saxony-Altenburg and sister of the future King Constantine I. of Greece . On her father's side, she was a granddaughter of King Christian of Denmark and his wife Louise of Hesse .
Maria, called Minnie in the family , grew up with her siblings mostly in Athens. She received an education that was awarded to a girl of the time. This focused on German, English, French, mathematics, history and geography. She also taught a governess in court etiquette, drawing, playing the piano and dancing. As a child, she often visited families in Europe with her parents and siblings. They met annually at Hvidovre Castle near Copenhagen . Throughout her life, Maria had a close relationship with her cousin Grand Duchess Xenija Alexandrovna Romanowa , daughter of Tsar Alexander III. and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna , who was a sister of her father.
Life as a Russian Grand Duchess
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On April 30, 1900, Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark married Grand Duke Georgi Michailowitsch Romanow (1863-1919), son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolajewitsch Romanow and his wife Princess Cäcilie von Baden in Corfu . Maria made it clear to those around her that she refused to marry Georgi. She accepted his marriage proposal only reluctantly . The marriage was unhappy from the start. Maria and her husband soon went their separate ways. The births of their two daughters Nina on June 20, 1901 and Xenija on August 22, 1903 did not change that.
Over the years, Maria spent more and more time with her daughters abroad, on the pretext of benefiting the health of her children. Allegedly, she also took an opportunity to get away from her husband. Maria was in Great Britain when the First World War broke out. She did not consider returning to Russia. So she lived with Xenija and Nina in Great Britain, while Georgi, who served as a general in the Russian army , stayed behind in Russia. The girls suffered from being separated from their father.
Maria moved to Harrogate , North Yorkshire . She became the patron of three hospitals and co-financed them. After the October Revolution , the Romanovs' property was confiscated and her husband and three other family members were shot by the Bolsheviks on January 30, 1919 in the Petersburg Peter and Paul Fortress .
In her second marriage, Maria married the Greek admiral Perikles Ioannidis (1881-1965) in Wiesbaden on December 16, 1922 . The marriage remained childless. She died on December 14, 1940 in her hometown of Athens during the Greco-Italian War . She found her final resting place in the Tatoi royal cemetery .
progeny
- Princess Nina Georgievna Romanowa (born June 20, 1901 - February 27, 1974) ⚭ 1922 Prince Paul Alexandrowitsch Chavchavadze (1899–1971)
- Princess Xenija Georgievna Romanova (born August 22, 1903 - September 17, 1965) ⚭ 1921–1930 William Bateman Leeds Jr. (1902–1971), son of Nonnie May "Nancy" Stewart , better known as "Anastasia of Greece"; ⚭ 1946 Herman Jud (1911–1987)
Web links
- Ever. W. Ptschelow: Genealogy of the Romanovs 1855-1997 (Генеалогия рода Романовых 1855-1997), Moscow 1998, page 11
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mary of Greece and Denmark |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Grand Duchess Maria Georgovna Romanova; Maria Ioannidis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna Romanov |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 3, 1876 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Athens |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 14, 1940 |
| Place of death | Athens |