During her first years in Greece Athens was a small town and the king and queen resided in a relatively small house while the Old Royal Palace was being built. With few exceptions, such as Katerina Botsari, the Royal Household was made up of Germans. The queen's chamberlain and principal lady-in-waiting were the German couple Clemens von Weichs-Glon and Dorothea von Weichs-Glon, her favorite companion was Julie von Nordenpflycht, and the queen's sister princess Frederike lived with her in Greece for several years until she left after the September revolution of 1843.