Frederica of Hanover

Frederica of Hanover (Frederica Louise Thyra Victoria Margaret Sophie Olga Cecily Isabelle Christina; ; 18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981) was Queen consort of the Hellenes as the wife of King Paul of Greece.

Early life

Frederica was born on 18 April 1917 in Blankenburg am Harz, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire. She was the daughter of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of German Emperor William II and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. As daughter of a Hanoverian Prince, she was Princess Frederica of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland, and also Duchess Frederica of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Through her maternal grandfather, Frederica was a great-granddaughter of German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Through this relationship, Frederica was a distant cousin of the United Kingdom's Elizabeth II and also of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, she was, at birth, 34th in the line of succession to the British throne, although she had no British rank or title.

Marriage

In 1936 Prince Paul, Crown Prince of Greece, proposed to her in Berlin when he was there to see the 1936 Summer Olympics. Their engagement was announced officially on 28 September 1937. On 9 January 1938 they married in Athens. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Sophie of Prussia, sister of German......
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