Thiersch's suggestion was supported by Jean-Gabriel Eynard, a major financial benefactor of the Greek independence movement and friend of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece's governor.

Even an Irishman named Nicholas Macdonald Sarsfield Cod'd put himself forward, claiming descent from the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty.

[5] Ultimately, they settled on Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the amended London Protocol of 1830 recognized him as the de jure sovereign of Greece.

Although initially enthusiastic, Leopold was discouraged by the limited borders established by the protocol and Britain's refusal to grant financial support to the vulnerable new state.

[6] Kapodistrias' assassination in 1831 destabilized Greece, and caused British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston to convene the London conference.

Thousands lined the docks of Nafplio to witness his arrival, including many heroes of the revolution such as Theodoros Kolokotronis and Alexandros Mavrokordatos.

[12][better source needed] Popular heroes and leaders of the Greek Revolution, such as generals Theodoros Kolokotronis and Yiannis Makriyiannis, who opposed the Bavarian-dominated regency, were charged with treason, put in jail and sentenced to death.

[13] At that time, Athens had a population of roughly 4,000–5,000 people, located mainly in what today covers the district of Plaka in Athens.Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a large city.

The wedding took place not in Greece but in Oldenburg, on 22 November 1836; the marriage did not produce an heir, and the new queen made herself unpopular by interfering in the government and maintaining her Lutheran faith.

Otto's attempts to conciliate Greek sentiment through efforts to enlarge the frontiers of his kingdom, for example by the suggested acquisition of Crete in 1841, failed in their objective and only succeeded in embroiling him in conflict with the Great Powers.

Throughout his reign, King Otto found himself confronted by a recurring series of problems: partisanship of the Greeks, financial uncertainty, and ecclesiastical disputes.

[citation needed] According to Richard Clogg, the financial uncertainty of the Othonian monarchy was the result of The political machinations of the Great Powers were personified in their three legates in Athens: Theobald Piscatory (France), Gabriel Catacazy (Russian Empire), and Sir Edmund Lyons (United Kingdom).

Tolerance of other religions was over-supported by some in the English Party and others educated in the West as a symbol of Greece's progress as a liberal European state.

In the end, power over the Church and education was ceded to the Russian Party, while the king maintained a veto over the decision of the Synod of Bishops.

Although King Otto tried to function as an absolute monarch, as Thomas Gallant writes, he "was neither ruthless enough to be feared, nor compassionate enough to be loved, nor competent enough to be respected.

[11] Eventually joined by much of the population of the small capital, the crowd refused to disperse until the king agreed to grant a constitution, which would require that there be Greeks in the Council, that he convene a permanent National Assembly and that Otto personally thank the leaders of the uprising.

Left with little recourse now that his German troops were gone, King Otto gave in to the pressure and agreed to the demands of the crowd over the objections of his opinionated queen.

[18] The Great Idea (Μεγάλη Ιδέα), the irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, led him to contemplate entering the Crimean War on the side of Russia against Turkey and its British and French allies in 1853; the enterprise was unsuccessful and resulted in renewed intervention by the two Great Powers and a second blockade of the Piraeus port, forcing Greece to neutrality.

The continued inability of the royal couple to have children also raised the thorny issue of succession: the 1844 constitution insisted that Otto's successor had to be Orthodox, but as the king was childless, the only possible heirs were his younger brothers, Luitpold and Adalbert.

The staunch Catholicism of the Wittelsbachs complicated matters, as Luitpold refused to convert and Adalbert married Infanta Amalia of Spain.

The sons of Adalbert, and especially the eldest, Ludwig Ferdinand, were now considered the most likely candidates, but due to the issue of religion, no definite arrangements were ever made.

[20] [better source needed] While Otto was visiting the Peloponnese in 1862 a new coup was launched and this time a Provisional Government was set up and summoned a National Convention.

In 1863 the Greek National Assembly elected Prince William of Denmark, aged only 17, King of the Hellenes under the regnal name of George I.