by Christos Zabounis

Long before Alexis Tsipras’s Ithaca, another book by a central figure of modern Greek history—Measure of Understanding by Queen Frederica—sought to present her own “version” in the form of an autobiography. We speak with Prince Christian of Hanover, Frederica’s great-nephew, since his grandfather was her brother, on the Palaiokastro Hill, where the Royal Cemetery of Tatoi is located. The wind howls, and we stand aside, allowing Princess Irene’s close relatives to stand by her grave. Christian lives in Madrid and had several opportunities to meet the late princess, mainly at family gatherings. He mentions a key phrase about her: “Greatness of spirit,” citing the way she confronted cancer. “It is fortunate that she agreed to share her thoughts and her outlook on life in Eva Theladas’s book, Irene, the Uncompromising Princess,” I comment. “And my aunt—her grandmother—had the same spirituality,” he adds. After all, Measure of Understanding refers to the reasonable limit to which a subject, an idea, or a behavior can be understood. What those of us who read her book came to understand is that, unlike the majority of the planet’s inhabitants who spend much of their transient lives revolving around themselves, the third daughter of King Paul and Queen Frederica devoted her life to serving others—a tradition institutionally rooted in her family, but one she elevated through self-sacrifice, humility, and, above all, quiet discretion. In the eulogy delivered by Prince Nikolaos, her spirit was captured in a few words: “You lived your life in a rare, enviable way. With silence that was not absence, with discretion that was not distance, with love without display (…) You had the ability to understand others without asking, to empathize without exposing, to give without ever asking for anything in return. As if you knew that goodness, when it is true, needs no witnesses (…) You showed me what strength without noise means, what dignity without arrogance means, what love that does not demand—but simply exists—means,” her godson concluded.

P.S. Measure of Understanding will be republished within the year.