Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Encyclopedia
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (Andreas; 2 February 1882 (N.S.
) - 3 December 1944) of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece
and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark
.
He began military training at an early age, and was commissioned as an officer in the Greek army
. His command positions were real appointments rather than honorary, and he saw service in the Balkan Wars
. In 1913, his father was assassinated and Andrew's elder brother, Constantine
, became king. Dissatisfaction with his brother's neutrality policy during World War I
led to his brother's abdication and most of the royal family, including Andrew, was exiled. On their return a few years later, Andrew saw service in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), but the war went badly for Greece, and Andrew was blamed, in part, for the loss of Greek territory. He was exiled for a second time in 1922, and spent most of the rest of his life in France.
By 1930, he was estranged from his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg
. His only son, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, served in the British navy during World War II
, while all four of his daughters were married to German royals, three of whom had Nazi
connections. Separated from his wife and son by the effects of the war, Andrew died in Monte Carlo
in 1944. He had seen neither of them since 1939.
in 1882. He was taught English by his caretakers as he grew up, but in conversations with his parents he refused to speak anything but Greek. He also spoke German, Danish, Russian and French. He attended cadet school and staff college at Athens, and was given additional private tuition in military subjects by Panagiotis Danglis
. Despite his short-sightedness, Andrew joined the army as a cavalry officer in May 1901.
at the coronation of her grand-uncle and his aunt's
husband, King Edward VII
, in London. Princess Alice was a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
. They fell in love, and the following year, on 6 October 1903, Andrew married Alice in a civil wedding at Darmstadt
. The following day two religious wedding services were performed: one Lutheran in the Evangelical Castle Church, and another Greek Orthodox in the Russian Chapel on the Mathildenhöhe.
Prince and Princess Andrew had five children, all of whom later had children of their own.
, as the Athens government refused to support the Cretan
parliament, which had called for the union of Crete (still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire
) with the Greek mainland. A group of dissatisfied officers formed a Greek nationalist Military League that eventually led to Prince Andrew's resignation from the army and the rise to power of Eleftherios Venizelos
.
A few years later, at the outbreak of the Balkan Wars
in 1912, Andrew was reinstated in the army as a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, and placed in command of a field hospital. During the war, his father was assassinated and Andrew inherited a villa on the island of Corfu
, Mon Repos. In 1914, Andrew (like many European princes) held honorary military posts in both the German
and Russian
empires, as well as Prussia
n, Russian, Danish and Italian knighthoods.
During World War I
, he continued to visit Britain, despite veiled accusations in the British House of Commons
that he was a German agent. His brother, King Constantine
, followed a neutrality policy, but the democratically elected government of Venizelos supported the Allies
. By June 1917, the King's neutrality policy had become so untenable that he abdicated and the Greek royal family were forced into exile. For the next few years, most of the Greek royal family lived in Switzerland
.
Andrew was given command of the Second Army Corps during the Battle of the Sakarya, which effectively stalemated the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). Andrew had little respect for his superior officers, whom he considered incompetent. On 19 September 1921, Andrew was ordered to attack the Turkish positions, which he considered a desperate move little short "of ill-concealed panic". Refusing to put his men in undue danger, Andrew followed his own battle plan, much to the dismay of the commanding general, Anastasios Papoulas
. Relieved of his Chief of Staff, and given a dressing-down by Papoulas, Andrew offered to resign his command but Papoulas refused. The Turks attacked and Andrew's Greek troops were forced to retreat. Andrew was placed on leave for two months, until he was transferred to the Supreme Army Council. In March 1922, he was appointed as commander of the Fifth Army Corps of Epirus
and the Ionian Islands
. Papoulas was replaced by General Georgios Hatzianestis
.
Dissatisfaction with the progress of the war led to another coup d'état in 1922 during which Prince Andrew was arrested, court-martialled and found guilty of "disobeying an order" and "acting on his own initiative" during the battle the previous year. Many defendants in the treason trials
that followed the coup were shot, including Hatzianestis and five senior politicians. British diplomats assumed that Andrew was also in mortal danger. Andrew, though spared, was banished for life and his family fled into exile aboard a British cruiser, HMS Calypso
. The family settled in a small house loaned to them by Andrew's wealthy sister-in-law, Princess George of Greece
, at Saint-Cloud
on the outskirts of Paris
.
In 1930, Andrew published a book entitled Towards Disaster: The Greek Army in Asia Minor in 1921, in which he defended his actions during the Battle of the Sakarya, but he essentially lived a life of enforced retirement, despite only being in his forties. During their time in exile the family became more and more dispersed. Alice suffered a nervous breakdown
and was institutionalized in Switzerland
. Their daughters married and settled in Germany
, separated from Andrew, and Philip was sent to school in the United Kingdom
, where he was looked after by his mother's British relatives. Andrew went to live in the South of France.
On the French Riviera, Andrew lived in a small apartment, or hotel rooms, or onboard a yacht with his lady friend, Countess Andrée de La Bigne. His marriage to Alice was effectively over, and after her recovery and release, she returned to Greece. In 1936, his sentence of exile was quashed by emergency laws, which also restored land and annuities to the King. Andrew returned to Greece for a brief visit that May. The following year, his daughter Cécile, son-in-law and two of his grandchildren were killed in an air accident at Ostend
; he met Alice for the first time in six years at the funeral, which was also attended by Hermann Göring
.
At the start of World War II
, he found himself essentially trapped in Vichy France
, while his son, Prince Philip, fought on the side of the British. They were unable to see or even correspond with one another. Two of Andrew's surviving sons-in-law fought on the German side: Prince Christoph of Hesse was a member of the NSDAP and the Waffen-SS
, and Berthold, Margrave of Baden
, was invalided out of the German army in 1940 after an injury in France. For five years, Andrew saw neither his wife nor his son. He died in the Metropole Hotel, Monte Carlo
, Monaco
of heart failure and arterial sclerosis just as the war was ending.
Andrew was at first buried in the Russian Orthodox church in Nice, but in 1946 his remains were transferred, by Greek cruiser, to the royal cemetery at Tatoi Palace, near Athens.
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
) - 3 December 1944) of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
.
He began military training at an early age, and was commissioned as an officer in the Greek army
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...
. His command positions were real appointments rather than honorary, and he saw service in the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
. In 1913, his father was assassinated and Andrew's elder brother, Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
, became king. Dissatisfaction with his brother's neutrality policy during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
led to his brother's abdication and most of the royal family, including Andrew, was exiled. On their return a few years later, Andrew saw service in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), but the war went badly for Greece, and Andrew was blamed, in part, for the loss of Greek territory. He was exiled for a second time in 1922, and spent most of the rest of his life in France.
By 1930, he was estranged from his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mother-in-law of Elizabeth II....
. His only son, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, served in the British navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, while all four of his daughters were married to German royals, three of whom had Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
connections. Separated from his wife and son by the effects of the war, Andrew died in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
in 1944. He had seen neither of them since 1939.
Early life
Prince Andrew (known as Andrea within the family) was born in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 1882. He was taught English by his caretakers as he grew up, but in conversations with his parents he refused to speak anything but Greek. He also spoke German, Danish, Russian and French. He attended cadet school and staff college at Athens, and was given additional private tuition in military subjects by Panagiotis Danglis
Panagiotis Danglis
Panagiotis Danglis was a Greek general of the Hellenic Army and a politician.He was born in Agrinio in 1853, graduated from the Scholi Evelpidon Officer Academy in 1878 as a Second Lieutenant of Artillery, and later extended his studies for another year in Belgium...
. Despite his short-sightedness, Andrew joined the army as a cavalry officer in May 1901.
Marriage and children
In 1902, Prince Andrew met Princess Alice of BattenbergPrincess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mother-in-law of Elizabeth II....
at the coronation of her grand-uncle and his aunt's
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
husband, King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, in London. Princess Alice was a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven was the eldest daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his first wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom .Her mother died while her brother and sisters...
. They fell in love, and the following year, on 6 October 1903, Andrew married Alice in a civil wedding at Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
. The following day two religious wedding services were performed: one Lutheran in the Evangelical Castle Church, and another Greek Orthodox in the Russian Chapel on the Mathildenhöhe.
Prince and Princess Andrew had five children, all of whom later had children of their own.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Margarita | 18 April 1905 | 24 April 1981 | Married 1931, to Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was the only son of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He was the titular Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg from 1950 until his death.-Early life:... |
| Princess Theodora | 30 May 1906 | 16 October 1969 | Married 1931, to Prince Berthold, Margrave of Baden |
| Princess Cecilie | 22 June 1911 | 16 November 1937 | Married 1931, to Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse was the first child of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich.... |
| Princess Sophie Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was the fourth child and youngest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, making her the elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh... |
26 June 1914 | 24 November 2001 | Married firstly in 1930, to Prince Christoph of Hesse; secondly in 1946, to Prince George William of Hanover |
| Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch.... |
10 June 1921 | Married 1947, to Princess Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth II | |
Early career
In 1909, the political situation in Greece led to a coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, as the Athens government refused to support the Cretan
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
parliament, which had called for the union of Crete (still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
) with the Greek mainland. A group of dissatisfied officers formed a Greek nationalist Military League that eventually led to Prince Andrew's resignation from the army and the rise to power of Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
.
A few years later, at the outbreak of the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
in 1912, Andrew was reinstated in the army as a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, and placed in command of a field hospital. During the war, his father was assassinated and Andrew inherited a villa on the island of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Mon Repos. In 1914, Andrew (like many European princes) held honorary military posts in both the German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
empires, as well as Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n, Russian, Danish and Italian knighthoods.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he continued to visit Britain, despite veiled accusations in the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
that he was a German agent. His brother, King Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
, followed a neutrality policy, but the democratically elected government of Venizelos supported the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
. By June 1917, the King's neutrality policy had become so untenable that he abdicated and the Greek royal family were forced into exile. For the next few years, most of the Greek royal family lived in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Exile from Greece
For three years, Constantine's second son, Alexander, was king of Greece, until his early death from the after effects of a monkey bite. Constantine was restored, and Andrew was once again reinstated in the army, this time as a major-general. The family took up residence at Mon Repos.Andrew was given command of the Second Army Corps during the Battle of the Sakarya, which effectively stalemated the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). Andrew had little respect for his superior officers, whom he considered incompetent. On 19 September 1921, Andrew was ordered to attack the Turkish positions, which he considered a desperate move little short "of ill-concealed panic". Refusing to put his men in undue danger, Andrew followed his own battle plan, much to the dismay of the commanding general, Anastasios Papoulas
Anastasios Papoulas
Anastasios Papoulas was a Greek general and commander-in-chief during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.- Life :Born in Missolonghi in 1859, Anastasios Papoulas entered politics in his early twenties eventually becoming a close friend and confidant of King Constantine. He was appointed commander...
. Relieved of his Chief of Staff, and given a dressing-down by Papoulas, Andrew offered to resign his command but Papoulas refused. The Turks attacked and Andrew's Greek troops were forced to retreat. Andrew was placed on leave for two months, until he was transferred to the Supreme Army Council. In March 1922, he was appointed as commander of the Fifth Army Corps of Epirus
Epirus (periphery)
Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The...
and the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
. Papoulas was replaced by General Georgios Hatzianestis
Georgios Hatzianestis
Georgios Hatzianestis was a Greek general. He was born in Athens. From May 1922 to the end of the war that September, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Greek armies during the last months of the Greco-Turkish War .Following the Trial of the Six, Hatzianestis was executed for...
.
Dissatisfaction with the progress of the war led to another coup d'état in 1922 during which Prince Andrew was arrested, court-martialled and found guilty of "disobeying an order" and "acting on his own initiative" during the battle the previous year. Many defendants in the treason trials
Trial of the Six
The Trial of the Six or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor...
that followed the coup were shot, including Hatzianestis and five senior politicians. British diplomats assumed that Andrew was also in mortal danger. Andrew, though spared, was banished for life and his family fled into exile aboard a British cruiser, HMS Calypso
HMS Calypso (D61)
HMS Calypso was a C class cruiser of the Caledon sub-class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940 by the Italian submarine Bagnolini.HMS Calypso was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company...
. The family settled in a small house loaned to them by Andrew's wealthy sister-in-law, Princess George of Greece
Princess Marie Bonaparte
Princess Marie Bonaparte was a French author and psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud. Her wealth contributed to the popularity of psychoanalysis, and enabled Freud's escape from Nazi Germany....
, at Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
on the outskirts of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In 1930, Andrew published a book entitled Towards Disaster: The Greek Army in Asia Minor in 1921, in which he defended his actions during the Battle of the Sakarya, but he essentially lived a life of enforced retirement, despite only being in his forties. During their time in exile the family became more and more dispersed. Alice suffered a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
and was institutionalized in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Their daughters married and settled in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, separated from Andrew, and Philip was sent to school in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he was looked after by his mother's British relatives. Andrew went to live in the South of France.
On the French Riviera, Andrew lived in a small apartment, or hotel rooms, or onboard a yacht with his lady friend, Countess Andrée de La Bigne. His marriage to Alice was effectively over, and after her recovery and release, she returned to Greece. In 1936, his sentence of exile was quashed by emergency laws, which also restored land and annuities to the King. Andrew returned to Greece for a brief visit that May. The following year, his daughter Cécile, son-in-law and two of his grandchildren were killed in an air accident at Ostend
Sabena OO-AUB Ostend crash
Sabena OO-AUB was a Junkers Ju 52 airliner owned by Belgian airline Sabena, operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Cologne, Germany, to London, United Kingdom, which crashed near Ostend, Belgium on . The flight was scheduled to stop at Brussels, but bad weather forced the pilot...
; he met Alice for the first time in six years at the funeral, which was also attended by Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
.
At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he found himself essentially trapped in Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, while his son, Prince Philip, fought on the side of the British. They were unable to see or even correspond with one another. Two of Andrew's surviving sons-in-law fought on the German side: Prince Christoph of Hesse was a member of the NSDAP and the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
, and Berthold, Margrave of Baden
Berthold, Margrave of Baden
Berthold Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst August Heinrich Karl, Margrave of Baden was born on 24 February 1906 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was the son of Prince Maximilian, Margrave of Baden and Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland. He died on 27 October 1963 in Spaichingen,...
, was invalided out of the German army in 1940 after an injury in France. For five years, Andrew saw neither his wife nor his son. He died in the Metropole Hotel, Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
of heart failure and arterial sclerosis just as the war was ending.
Andrew was at first buried in the Russian Orthodox church in Nice, but in 1946 his remains were transferred, by Greek cruiser, to the royal cemetery at Tatoi Palace, near Athens.
Titles and styles
- 2 February 1882 – 3 December 1944: His Royal Highness Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Ancestors
Further reading
- Greece, Prince Andrew of (1930). Towards Disaster: The Greek Army in Asia Minor in 1921 London: John Murray.