The Royal Danish CollectionAmalienborgVilhelm (Georg I)

Vilhelm (Georg I)

King of Greece from 1863. Son of Christian IX and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Married in 1867 to Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia. They had seven children.

When Prince Vilhelm was 17 years old, he participated in his sister Alexandra’s wedding in Britain. The wedding was attended by all the European Royal houses, and besides witnessing the wedding they had other business to attend to as well. Greece had no king and the European Royal houses thought that Prince Vilhelm would be suitable for that post. Prince Vilhelm therefore travelled to Greece in 1863 to become King in a country he had never before visited.

On his arrival in Greece, Vilhelm changed his name nam to George I. His time on the Greek throne was a happy one, in spite of constant unrest in Greece and her neighbouring countries. In 1913, when George I was visiting the frontline at Saloniki, he was shot by a mentally disturbed Greek schoolteacher. The shot hit the King in the back and he died on the street in the year when he would otherwise have celebrated his 50th anniversary in the Greek throne.

 

Relations

Prince Vilhelm, 1853

Christian IX and Queen Louise's middle son, Prince Vilhelm (later George I of Greece), portrayed by August Schiøtt in 1853, when the prince was eight years old.

The Dynasty – The Genealogical table room

The room functions for the visitor as an introduction to the museum and shows the Danish royal line.

Queen Louise

Queen Louise became queen in 1863. In 1842 she married Prince Christian (IX), and eventually became the first Royal Couple from the Glücksburg line after the childless Frederik VI.

Christian IX

In 1863 Christian IX succeeded the childless Frederik VII as king, and was the first monarch from the House of Glücksburg line of The Royal Family.