Prince Nicholas of Greece

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Prince Nicholas of Greece

Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark was born January 22, 1872, at the Royal Palace of Athens in Greece, the fourth child of King George I of the Hellenes and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. Nicholas had seven siblings:

Nicholas (front) with his siblings Constantine, Maria, George, and Alexandra, c1880. source: Wikipedia

Nicholas grew up with his family at the Royal Palace and Tatoi Palace, as well as spending summers in France and Denmark with his relatives. Known as “Greek Nicky” to avoid confusion with his cousin, the future Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, he was raised in the Greek Orthodox religion as required by the Greek Constitution. Along with his siblings, Nicholas was first educated privately at home by a series of tutors, and developed a passion for drawing and painting, and became fluent in several languages. At the age of 13, he began his military training, attending the College of Evelpides in Piraeus – the Greek Military Academy – and in 1890 obtained the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Greek Infantry. He went on to serve in the military for much of his early life, including leading a battery of artillery during the Greek- Turkish War in 1897. He also later served during the First Balkan War in 1912.

As a younger son of the King, Nicholas often represented his father at foreign and extended family events, including the coronation of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia in 1894 and the marriage of Princess Maud of Wales and Prince Carl of Denmark in 1896. In 1902, he also attended the coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. In 1896, along with his brothers Constantine and George, Nicholas helped to organize the Olympic Games in Athens – the first to be held in nearly 1600 years.

Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. source: Wikipedia

On August 29, 1902, Nicholas married his second cousin, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, at Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg, Russia. Elena was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (a son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The two had first met eight years earlier, and again several times in the next few years. However, it wasn’t until the summer of 1900 that a romance began. After her parents finally relenting – they felt he was too poor and had no prospect for the throne – the couple was finally able to wed. Following their wedding and honeymoon, Nicholas and Elena lived in a wing of the Royal Palace before moving to their new home – the Nicholas Palace – which was a wedding gift from Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had three daughters:

Following the assassination of his father in 1913, Nicholas inherited the Greek Royal Theater, where he then wrote and directed several plays that were published under a pseudonym. He later transferred ownership of the theater to the Greek State in 1935. In 1917, when his brother Constantine was forced from the throne, Nicholas and his family joined the King in exile in Switzerland. With the war having wiped out his wife’s fortune, the family faced financial difficulties for the first time in their lives. During their time in exile, Nicholas exhibited and sold many of his paintings, all signed with the name ‘Nicolas Leprince’. The family returned to Greece in 1920 when King Constantine was restored to the throne but again went into exile two years later when he was forced to abdicate. After staying in Italy and Britain, Nicholas and his family settled in Paris, where they relied upon the generosity of his elder brother George, and George’s very wealthy wife, Princess Marie Bonaparte. During this time, Nicholas taught drawing and painting and sold more of his paintings. He also published two memoirs, in 1926 and 1928, and leased the Nicholas Palace in Athens to the Hotel Grand Bretagne, providing a more comfortable living for his family.

Tombs of Prince Nicholas and his wife. photo: Par HellenicSpirit — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53526810

The Greek monarchy was restored in 1935, and the following year, Nicholas and his wife returned to Greece. Having suffered from declining health for several years, Prince Nicholas died on February 8, 1938, of atherosclerosis at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens. Following a large state funeral a few days later, he was interred at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace.

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