Early life Childhood , centre, and
Princess Marina, right; 1912 A granddaughter of King
George I of Greece, Princess Olga was born at
Tatoi Palace, the second home of the
Greek royal family, in 1903 to
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872–1938) and his wife
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (1882–1957). As was the Greek tradition, she was then named after her paternal grandmother,
Queen Olga. She grew up alongside her parents and younger sisters, Princesses
Elizabeth (1904–1955) and
Marina (1906–1968), at the Nicholas Palace, the current seat of the Italian Embassy in
Athens. Olga was brought up in relative simplicity and her early education was overseen by an English Norland nurse by the name of Miss Fox. Once a year, Olga and her family travelled to Russia, where they were regularly received by their
Romanov cousins. The princess and her sisters thus had the opportunity to play with the daughters of Tsar
Nicholas II, who were roughly the same age as them. They were also in
Saint Petersburg, when the
First World War broke out in 1914.
World War I and exile The First World War marked a difficult period for the Greek royal family. After the fallout between
King Constantine I and his prime minister
Eleftherios Venizelos over whether Greece should enter the conflict, a virtual civil war shook the Hellenic kingdom, which was partially occupied by the
Allies from 1915. Finally, on 10 June 1917, King Constantine was forced to leave power by the ultimatum of the French High Commissioner
Charles Jonnart and he went into exile with
his wife and children in German-speaking Switzerland. Described as the "evil genius behind the monarchy" by the
Venizelists, Prince Nicolas was quickly forced to leave Athens in turn and join his brother abroad. Olga and her family then settled in
St. Moritz, when Greece fell into a financial crisis for the first time during her lifetime. The restoration of Constantine I in 1920 allowed Olga to return to her native country for a brief period, but the king's final abdication in 1922 forced the young princess and her relatives to resume their life in exile. The princess then settled successively in
Sanremo, Paris and London, where she lived with members of her family.
Broken engagement Considered, along with her sister Marina, to be "one of the most beautiful young women of her time", Princess Olga had, according to biographer Ricardo Mateos Sainz de Medrano, a "discreet, romantic and fragile personality". Prior to her departure into exile, she was linked to the future
Frederik IX of Denmark and the engagement of the pair was announced publicly in 1922. However, the awkwardness of the Danish prince, who held the hand of one of Olga's sisters instead of hers during the official presentation of the young couple to the Athenian crowd, lastingly humiliated the future bride. Shortly after the event, Olga decided to return her ring to the heir to the Danish throne and called off their engagement. After moving to the UK, Olga's love life was the subject of much speculation. Public rumors and claims circulated about her romantic relationships and she was linked to the Prince of Wales (later
Edward VIII) for some time. Neither Edward nor Olga confirmed the rumors. A frequent guest of the British upper class, the Greek princess met
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, a grandson of
Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia, at a ball given by her cousin
Lady Zia Wernher. Immediately impressed by the beauty of Olga, Paul sought to win the favor of the princess, but she was rather indifferent to him. However, other encounters followed, notably at
Buckingham Palace, and Prince Paul finally managed to catch her attention.
In Yugoslavia Marriage and settlement in Yugoslavia in
Belgrade on their wedding day in 1923 Once Olga and Paul's engagement was announced on 26 July 1923, the young princess' trousseau was purchased and prepared in Paris. However, it was in Belgrade, in the prince's homeland, that the wedding was organized the following October. Now Princess of Yugoslavia, Olga began learning
Serbo-Croatian, which she quickly mastered though with a heavy Greek accent. Dividing her life between the
White Palace in Belgrade, a magnificent chalet in the
Bohinj valley and a villa on
Rumunska Ulica (now
Užička Ulica), Olga benefited from the fortune that her husband partly inherited from his maternal family. However, accustomed to a less provincial lifestyle, the princess found her daily life more monotonous and boring. Her relationship with King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia and
his wife were not warm. Olga, however, received regular visits from her sisters and other family members. She gave birth to three children between 1924 and 1936,
Prince Alexander (1924–2016),
Prince Nikola (1928–1954), and
Princess Elizabeth (born 1936), and spent a lot of time caring for them while her husband devoted himself to his art collections.
Regency of Paul On 9 October 1934 King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was assassinated during an official visit to
Marseille by a
Macedonian nationalist member of
IMRO. His successor, the young
Peter II was eleven years old, and a Council of Regency was set up under the leadership of Prince Paul. Although she had never aspired to a political life, Olga's husband had no choice but to accept the responsibility that fell to him and took control of state affairs. Having become in essence the "
first lady" of Yugoslavia, Olga had to more than ever represent her country alongside her husband. With him, she made several official stays abroad and notably met the dictators
Benito Mussolini and
Adolf Hitler in Rome and Berlin in April and June 1939, respectively. In the tense context of the late 1930s, the strongly-Anglophile Prince Paul gradually committed his country to a policy of alliance with the
Axis powers. It would seem, moreover, that the family ties between Olga and various members of the German upper class who embraced the
Nazi ideology (including her cousin,
Prince Philip of Hesse) had an effect on the political development of Prince Paul. In 1938, Olga left Yugoslavia for a long time to look after several elderly relatives. She stayed in Athens to witness the final days of her father, Prince Nicolas, and to take care of her mother, the Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna. A few months later, the princess travelled to Paris, where she reunited with her father-in-law, Prince Arsen of Yugoslavia, who died shortly afterward.
Second World War and
Hermann Göring (right), 1939 After the outbreak of the
Second World War, Prince Paul signed a treaty of alliance on 25 March 1941 and brought his country into the Axis camp. Opposing that decision, the
Yugoslav army revolted two days later and proclaimed the majority of young Peter II to assume full power. Paul, Olga and their three children were then arrested and handed over to the British, who deported them to Greece (where they were welcomed by
King George II) then to Egypt (under the pretext of intrigue). At the same time, the overthrow of the Yugoslav regency led Hitler to
bomb Belgrade and
invade the country in April 1941. Olga and her family were next sent to Kenya, where they arrived after three days of travel, on 28 April 1941. Settled far from Nairobi, in
Oserian, in the region of
Lake Naivasha, they took up residence in the country house of the late
Lord Erroll, where they would be watched by the former governor of the colony. Condemned to inactivity, Olga therefore devoted her days to maintaining the residence, learning to cook and supervising the education of her children, while her husband sank into melancholy and depression. Relatively isolated, the couple nevertheless befriended the families of settlers who resided in the region. In September 1941, they were allowed to move to Preston's house, a more modern house located in the same region. In September 1942, the death of
Prince George, Duke of Kent, in an
air crash left his wife, Princess Marina, inconsolable and the British government had to allow Olga to stay in the United Kingdom to keep her sister's company. Olga took advantage of her stay in Britain to plead her husband's cause to the government but without much success. Back in Kenya in January 1943, the princess found her husband severely affected by depression. As Paul's condition did not improve, the British government finally allowed Olga's family to settle in
South Africa in June 1943. There they found several members of the Greek royal family exiled in the dominion after the
invasion of their country by the Axis forces. Above all, they ceased to be treated as prisoners, even though they did not officially regain their freedom until 1 June 1946. Olga and her family were finally allowed to return to Europe in 1948.
Later life Return to Europe In 1948, Paul, Olga and their three children were finally granted permission to leave South Africa, but Yugoslavia had adopted a communist regime in 1945 and they could not return to their country. The family first settled in Switzerland, then in Paris. Olga also made frequent trips to London and Florence, where Paul owned
Villa di Pratolino located not far from
thumb|upright=1.2|Villa Sparta. In Tuscany, Olga had the pleasure of reuniting with her cousin and friend
Helen, Queen Mother of Romania, while in the United Kingdom she was always welcomed by her sister Marina, Duchess of Kent, and the rest of the
British royal family. In 1954, Olga and Paul's second son,
Nikola, was killed in a car accident in England. In 1957, Olga's mother Elena Vladimirovna died in Athens, Greece.
Final years Widowed in 1976, Olga stayed for longer periods in Great Britain. With her sister Marina's death in 1968, she was accommodated at
Kensington Palace, with
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and after the latter's death, directly at
Clarence House with
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The Greek princess then acquired the reputation of being a demanding guest. As she aged, Olga's health began to deteriorate. However, she continued to attend the great events of European royalty, such as the weddings of
Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia in 1972, her nephew
Prince Michael of Kent in 1978, and
Prince Charles and
Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. At the wedding of the Yugoslav pretender, it was also Princess Olga who accompanied him to the altar, as the prince's
mother and
grandmother were not able to attend the ceremony due to health issues.
Illness and death Affected by
Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life, Princess Olga was hospitalized for a long time in
Meudon. A few years before her death, in 1993, her daughter
Elizabeth decided to make a documentary film about her with the help of a Serbian journalist
Mira Adanja Polak. However, with Olga being heavily affected by the disease, the project of her daughter caused a scandal.
Prince Alexander brought a complaint against his sister Elizabeth before the French courts for damage to the image of their mother and claimed, in her name, $107,000 in damages. Princess Olga died in Paris on 16 October 1997. She was buried alongside her husband in the
Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Wiki Šumadija V Church of St. George in Topola 439 (Olga, Paul, Nicolas).jpg|Tombs of Princess Olga,
Prince Paul and
Prince Nikola in the Karađorđević family vault at
St. George's Church in Oplenac GrabOlga von Griechenland 1.jpg|Former grave (1997–2012) of Princess Olga in Lausanne On 28 September 2012, the remains of Princess Olga, her husband and their son Nikola were exhumed and then transported to Belgrade, Serbia. On 4 October, an official ceremony was held at
St. Michael's Cathedral in Belgrade by
Irinej, Serbian Patriarch. The children and grandchildren of the couple, as well as Crown Prince Alexander and his wife
Princess Katherine, and Serbian President
Tomislav Nikolić and his government participated in the event. Their remains were reburied in the Karađorđević family mausoleum of
Oplenac in
Topola. == Notes and references ==