Otto of Greece

Birth of Otto of Greece ~ King of Greece

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Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig was born on the 1st June 1815, as the second son of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria.

Otto was born at Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, when it was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

He did have blood ties to Greece, through his ancestor, Bavarian Duke John II.

Otto ascended the newly created throne of Greece at age seventeen, as a minor who had to have a Regency, with three Bavarian nobles ruling in his name.

The seventeen-year-old monarch immediately endeared himself to his adopted country, by adopting the Greek national costume and Hellenizing his name to Othon.

Otto, ruled as King of Greece from May 27, 1832 until he was deposed on October 23, 1862.

He was a polarizing figure, who tried to bring Greece out of the chaos of revolution, and into the modern world.

In his attempt, he made enemies of nearly all the powers at play in the complex world of Greek politics, leading to an ignominious departure from the country.

But he left an indelible mark on the country, by transforming Athens into the great capital city that it is today.

Perhaps no one on Earth could have ruled effectively in the maelstrom of Greek politics at the time.

Eventually, the Greek people’s demands for a constitution proved impossible to ignore, and, in the face of an armed insurrection, Otto granted a constitution in 1843, renaming Palace Square in Athens as Syntagma (“Constitution”) Square.

In another contribution to Greek culture, Otto introduced beer to Greece.

He had been sure to bring his personal brewmaster, Herr Fuchs, with him when he came to the country, knowing that in those days there was no beer to be had in the hot Mediterranean country.

Otto visited Germany in 1836, marrying the beautiful and talented seventeen-year-old Duchess Amalia of Oldenburg.

The wedding took place on 22nd November 1836, but the event did not augur well for the Greek nation.

Not only did the marriage not produce an heir, but the new queen made herself unpopular by interfering in governmental affairs, and adhering to her Lutheran faith.

Otto was later unfaithful to his wife, and she in turn, went on to have affairs of her own.

Otto’s reign then proceeded to bumble along, making itself hated after the Greek people became more heavily taxed than they had been under Ottoman rule.Unrest continued, and Otto was in the midst of a situation that he could not control.

Enormous mistakes were made in his dealings with the political figures, who still played a role in Greek public life.

Otto contemplated entering the Crimean War with Russia and against Turkey, Britain, and France in 1853.

This resulted in a blockade of the great port of Piraeus, forcing Greece to assume neutrality in the conflict.

The continued inability of the royal couple to have children, also raised the thorny issue of succession ~ and whether or not Otto should stay in power.

In 1863, the Greek National Assembly elected Prince William of Denmark, aged only seventeen, under the regnal name of George I. The second son of King Christian IX of Denmark, he and his descendants reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973.

The exiled King Otto died in Bavaria in 1867, just five years after he had been forced into exile.

He was buried in the Theatiner Church in Munich.

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https://greekreporter.com/2022/10/31/king-otto-greece/

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

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Prince Otto von Bayern, who later became King Otto of Greece, 1833.

Credit: Oil painting by Friedrich Durck.