In the early years of the new monarchy, Queen Amalia brought a spirit of smart fashion and progress to the impoverished country. She laboured actively towards social improvement and the creation of many gardens in Athens, and she endeared herself to the Greek populace with her displays of patriotism. Queen Amalia was the first to introduce the Christmas tree to Greece. During her first years in Greece, Athens was a relatively small town; the king and queen resided in a small house while the
Old Royal Palace was being built. Having few exceptions, the Royal Household was made up of mostly Germans. The queen's chamberlain and principal
lady-in-waiting were the German couple Clemens von Weichs-Glon and Dorothea von Weichs-Glon, her favourite companion being
Julie von Nordenpflycht. The queen's sister, Princess Frederike, lived with her in Greece for several years until she left after the September revolution of 1843. The diarist
Christiane Lüth described the queen in 1839–40: She acted as Regent of Greece in 1850-1851 when Otto was in Germany for health reasons,
Fashion influence When she arrived in
Greece as a queen in 1837, she had an immediate impact on social life and fashion. She realised that her attire ought to emulate that of her new people, and so she created a romantic folksy court dress, which became a national Greek costume still known as the
Amalía dress. It follows the
Biedermeier style with a loose-fitting, white cotton or silk shirt, often decorated with lace at the neck and cuffs, over which a richly embroidered jacket or vest is worn, usually of dark blue or claret
velvet. The skirt was ankle-length, unpressed-
pleated
silk, the color usually azure. It was completed with a soft cap or fez with a single, long, golden silk tassel, traditionally worn by married women, or with the
kalpaki (a
toque) of the unmarried woman, and sometimes with a black
veil for church. This dress became the usual attire of all
Christian townswomen in both
Ottoman Empire-occupied and liberated
Balkan lands as far north as
Belgrade.
Assassination attempt In February 1861, a university student named
Aristeidis Dosios (son of politician
Konstantinos Dosios) unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the queen. He was sentenced to death, though Queen Amalia intervened and he was pardoned, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was hailed as a
hero for his attempt by certain factions, but the attempt also provoked among the people spontaneous feelings of sympathy towards the royal couple.
Expulsion In 1862, just over a year after the assassination attempt,
an uprising took place in Athens while the royal couple were on a visit to the
Peloponnese. The
Great Powers, who had supported Otto, urged them not to resist, and Otto's reign came to an end. They left Greece aboard a British warship, with the Greek royal regalia that they had brought with them. It was reported in the press that the royal courtiers weren’t aspersed, however, the queen's controversial favorite,
Wilhelmine von Plüskow, was exposed to sarcasm from the crowd when she left. It has been suggested that the king would not have been overthrown had Amalia borne an heir, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time of uprising. It is also true, however, that the Constitution of 1843 made provision for Otto to be succeeded by his two younger brothers and their descendants. ==Exile and death==