Frederica of Greece

Frederica of Greece (Frederica of Hanover, 1917 – 1981) was Queen Consort of Greece between 1947 and 1964, as the wife of King Paul I, and then Queen Mother of King Constantine II, between 1964 and 1967, when the Royal Family fled Greece, after Constantine’s failed counter-coup against the Military Junta. She retained her Greek official titles until the monarchy was formally abolished in 1974. As Queen, she was actively involved in politics. She was also active in Royal Welfare, which she used for political purposes. She created a network of Paidopoleis, or “Child Cities”, introduced by Royal Decree in 1947, to which children from Civil War conflict zones were transferred. This operation, officially the “Charity Drive ‘Welfare for the Northern Provinces of Greece’ Under the High Authority of Her Majesty, the Queen”, and known as Eranos in Greek, was carried out by the National Army. Fifty-two such Paidopoleis were opened all over Greece, operating under a military-style regimen. According to her critics, the Paidopoleis functioned as re-education institutions for children mostly abducted from communist or guerrilla-sympathiser families.