Prince Philip passed away today aged 99. Not many people know that he was actually born as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. This reminded me of the story of the Kingdom of Greece which is iconic for the 19th century world of politics, diplomacy and royalty.

Greece gained independence in 1830 from the Ottoman Empire after a successful national uprising backed by three of the Great Powers: Britain, Russia and France. The new country was originally set to become a republic, but after the assassination of its first governor, the Great Powers decided that Greece should become a kingdom to create more stability and strengthen international relations.

The problem was now: who should become King of Greece? Nowadays we would think, pick an important Greek guy who knows the Greek people, but this is the 19th century and stability was needed.

And that's how Otto of Wisselbach, prince of Bavaria, the handsome prince in the picture, became King of Greece at the age of 17 and how Greece ended up being governed by a group of Bavarians.

Otto I of Greece governed for 30 years, but was deposed in 1862 after a popular revolt. Instead of becoming a republic now, the Greeks quite liked having a foreign monarch and voted in a referendum for keeping the monarchy and finding a new king.

Eventually Prince William of Denmark became king George I of Greece in 1863 and ruled for almost 50 years. He was the grandpa of late Prince Philip and this explains his title of prince of Denmark and Greece. He abandoned this title after his engagement to Elizabeth, adopted the surname Mountbatten and became Duke of Edinburgh. 

Originally posted on Instagram on April 9, 2021