Expert: Joseph Logue - 8/25/2006

Question
I have been watching the PBS series "Royal Family" and have become confused how the Danish King's son became King of Greece at 19, simply by being named such by his brother-in-law, King Edward VII. How was this possible?

Thank you in advance for your time

Jane

Answer
Hello Jane,

That was an interesting show, and it illustrated the point that kings reign by the will of the people.  By that token, we see that kings are not "appointed by God," but can be installed (as was the case with Belgium) or when the people elect to have a king (as in Norway and Greece).

King George I of Greece (grandfather of Britain's Prince Phillip) was born Prince Wilhelm of Denmark.  After Greece became independent of Turkey in 1822, the Greeks decided they wanted a king but had no native-born royalty.  They first chose Prince Otto of Bavaria (who reigned 1830-1862).  When he left Greece following an insurrection, the Greeks went looking again and settled on the second son of Denmark's Christian IX (the first son became Frederick VIII of Denmark).  Wilhelm was the choice of the more powerful nations because his sister Alexandra was married to Britain's Edward VII and his other sister Dagmar was married to Russia's Alexander III.  With such family connections it was hoped that Greece would be able to remain stable, and that these alliances would protect it from further invasion.  Edward VII did not just name Wilhelm/George king of Greece (he was the Prince of Wales when Wilhelm became king), but the interconnected royalties all used their influence.  The Danish royal family, along with the Hanovers and the Hesses, is connected to almost every other royal family in Europe because of their acumen in marriage.

Incidentally, the same thing happened in the next generation, when Frederick VIII's son Carl was elected to become king of the newly independent Norway in 1905.  He reigned as Haakon VII.  He married his cousin Maud who was a daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra, further cementing the bonds between European houses.

Your local library should have plenty of titles on the subject.  Ask a reference librarian for assistance.

Thanks for visiting AllExperts, and come back soon.

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue