Olga Constantinovna of Russia (1851–1926) was Queen of the Hellenes as the wife of King George I of Greece. A member of the Romanov dynasty, she married George in 1867 aged 16. At first, she felt ill at ease in the Kingdom of Greece, but she quickly became involved in social and charitable work, although her attempt to promote a new, more accessible, Greek translation of the Gospels sparked riots by religious conservatives. On the assassination of her husband in 1913, Olga returned to Russia. When the First World War broke out, she set up a military hospital in Pavlovsk Palace. She was trapped there after the Russian Revolution of 1917, until the intervention of the Danish embassy allowed her to escape to Switzerland. Olga could not return to Greece as her son, King Constantine I, had been deposed. In October 1920, she returned to Athens on the fatal illness of her grandson, King Alexander. After his death, she was appointed regent until the restoration of Constantine I the following month. The Greek royal family were again exiled after defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) and Olga spent the last years of her life in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. (Full article...)
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