Otto of Greece

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Otto
Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1833
King of Greece
Reign	27 May 1832 – 23 October 1862
Predecessor	Monarchy established Georgios Kountouriotis as President of the Administrative Committee of Greece (1832)
Successor	George I (as King of the Hellenes)
Regent	Josef Ludwig von Armansperg (1832–1835)
Prime Ministers	See list Spyridon Trikoupis Alexandros Mavrokordatos Ioannis Kolettis Josef Ludwig von Armansperg Ignaz von Rudhart Andreas Metaxas Konstantinos Kanaris Kitsos Tzavelas Georgios Kountouriotis Athanasios Miaoulis Gennaios Kolokotronis
Born	Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria (1815-06-01)1 June 1815 Salzburg, Austrian Empire
Died	26 July 1867(1867-07-26) (aged 52) Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria
Burial	Theatinerkirche, Munich
Spouse	Amalia of Oldenburg ​ (m. 1836)​
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Ludwig I of Bavaria
Mother	Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Religion	Catholicism
Signature

Styles of Otto I of Greece
Reference style	His Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty

Otto (Greek: Όθων, romanized: Óthon; German: Otto Friedrich Ludwig von Wittelsbach; 1 June 1815 – 26 July 1867) was King of Greece from the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed in October 1862.

The second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended the newly created throne of Greece at age 17. His government was initially run by a three-man regency council made up of Bavarian court officials. Upon reaching his majority, Otto removed the regents when they proved unpopular with the people, and he ruled as an absolute monarch. Eventually, his subjects' demands for a constitution proved overwhelming, and in the face of an armed (but bloodless) insurrection, Otto granted a constitution in 1843.

Throughout his reign, Otto was unable to resolve Greece's poverty and prevent economic meddling from outside. Greek politics in this era were based on affiliations with the three Great Powers that had guaranteed Greece's independence, Britain, France and Russia, and Otto's ability to maintain the support of the powers was key to his remaining in power. To remain strong, Otto had to play the interests of each of the Great Powers' Greek adherents against the others, while not irritating the Great Powers. When Greece was blockaded by the British Royal Navy in 1850 and again in 1854, to stop Greece from attacking the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War, Otto's standing amongst Greeks suffered. As a result, there was an assassination attempt on Queen Amalia, and finally, in October 1862, Otto was deposed while in the countryside. He died in exile in Bavaria in 1867.