Frederica of Hanover

Frederica was born in 1917 as the only daughter and third child of Ernest Augustus, then reigning Duke of Brunswick, and his wife Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, herself the only daughter of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a cousin of Elizabeth II. She married Paul of Greece, a son of King Constantine I and her aunt Sophia, in 1938. They had three children: Sofía, who became Queen of Spain; Constantine, who became King of Greece; and Irene, who never married. Frederica became Queen consort of Greece in 1947 when her husband ascended the throne after the death of his brother George II. She was involved in many charitable and social activities, especially during the Greek Civil War and the post-war reconstruction. She founded the Queen Frederica Foundation, which provided scholarships, housing, and medical care for the needy. She also supported the Greek Red Cross and the Hellenic College of London. She was a controversial figure in Greek politics, as she was accused of being a supporter of the far-right and a meddler in the affairs of state. She was also criticized for her lavish lifestyle and her German ancestry. She left Greece in 1964 after her husband's death and the accession of her son Constantine. She lived in Italy, Switzerland, India, and Spain, where she often visited her daughter Sofía and her grandchildren. She died in 1981 in Madrid from heart failure and was buried in Greece next to her husband.