by Christos Zabounis
In 1971, the memoirs of Queen Frederica of Greece were published simultaneously in the United States, Great Britain, and Greece. Four years earlier, she had been forced to leave the country following the failed counter-coup by her son, Constantine II, against the Colonels’ Junta. In Rome, where the exiled royal family settled, life unfolded quietly as they awaited their return to their homeland. Free from official obligations, the Queen Mother found time to record her thoughts and memories of the events that had marked her life. Written in a clear, flowing style, the book presents private conversations and publishes previously unseen correspondence with some of the most powerful figures of the era, including Winston Churchill. Yet there is also a philosophical dimension that makes the reading of this work even more compelling, as its title itself suggests. Having delved deeply into Eastern philosophy, Frederica brings together the concepts of moderation and understanding in a call for inner and spiritual awareness. In the chapter titled “The Light,” she describes in detail her long spiritual journey, prompted by the royal couple’s visit to Mount Athos in 1963, on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of the first monastic foundations there. The edition was recently reprinted with the permission of her grandson, Prince Paul, and with the support of Nikolas Kosmatos.
