Admiral Perikles Ioannidis, second husband of Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Perikles Ioannidis with his wife Princess Maria of Greece (on the left) and his mother-in-law Dowager Queen Olga of Greece (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

The second husband of Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark, Perikles Ioannidis was born on November 1, 1881, in Corinth, Greece. He attended school in his hometown and then entered the Hellenic Naval Academy, graduating with the rank of Ensign.

Perikles was a fervent monarchist and supported King Constantine I of Greece in his disagreements with Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos called the National Schism.  Eventually, their disagreement over how Greece should participate in World War I led to Venizelos forcing King Constantine I from the Greek throne and into exile. Perikles was sentenced to three years in prison because he supported the king. After the November 1920 parliamentary elections were won by the monarchist People’s Party, Perikles was released from prison and recalled to the navy where he attained the rank of admiral.

Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark was the daughter of King George I of Greece (born Prince Vilhelm I of Denmark) and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. Maria had married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia in 1900. George and Maria’s marriage was never particularly happy. Maria was not in love with her husband, despite his apparent devotion to her. She had never wanted to leave Greece and soon found excuses to leave Russia and her husband. She spent more time in Greece and elsewhere in Europe, often using her daughters’ health as the reason for her travels. Maria and her two daughters were in England when World War I broke out and chose not to return to Russia. They never saw George again. On January 28, 1919, George was killed by a firing squad with three other Grand Dukes of Russia at the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1920, Maria was able to return to Greece when her eldest brother King Constantine I was brought back to power. She traveled aboard a Greek destroyer commanded by Perikles. Maria was determined to marry a Greek and a romance developed. Perikles and Maria married two years later, on December 16, 1922, in Wiesbaden, Germany. They had no children.

Maria with her daughters, circa 1918; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon his marriage, Perikles acquired two stepdaughters, the daughters of Maria and her first husband:

The couple settled in Athens but In 1924, the Second Hellenic Republic was declared and the monarchy was abolished. They lived many years in exile, first in the United Kingdom until 1925, and then in Italy until 1935. In 1935, Perikles and Maria returned to Greece when the monarchy was restored with Maria’s nephew King George II upon the throne. Perikles and Maria’s marriage did have its issues. Perikles had mistresses and often gave his mistresses jewelry stolen from his wife. Maria lost money playing backgammon and Perikles was forced to carefully monitor their expenses. Maria died of a heart attack at the age of 64 in Athens, Greece on December 14, 1940. She was buried at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace near Athens.

Statue of Admiral Perikles Ioannidis in Rhodes one of the islands of the Dodecanese; Credit – By Thanasis Christodoulou – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46619481

In 1947, upon the return to Greece of the Dodecanese, a group of Greek islands that had been occupied during World War II, Perikles was named military governor until the establishment of a civilian government in 1951. Perikles then returned to Athens where he spent the remainder of his life devoted to philanthropy and public service. He was president of the Piraeus Yacht Club and a benefactor of the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece. He bequeathed his collection of photographs and historical items to the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece and the society’s collection is now housed at the National Historical Museum in Athens.

Admiral Perikles Ioannidis survived his wife by twenty-five years, dying in Athens, Greece on February 7, 1965, at the age of 83. He was buried with his wife Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace.

Grave of Perikles Ioannidis and Princess Maria in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace Credit – Par Kostisl — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25382837

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Works Cited

  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Periklís Ioannídis. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perikl%C3%ADs_Ioann%C3%ADdis [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].
  • Mehl, Scott. (2019). Princess Maria of Greece. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-maria-of-greece/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. (2019). Perikles Ioannidis. [online] Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perikles_Ioannidis [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2019). Иоаннидис, Периклис. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%BE%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%81,_%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81 [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].