THE CAPITAL: Atomic Queen

To the U.S. for a six-week visit last week came Her Majesty Frederika, Queen of the Hellenes. Washington officialdom knew what to expect from the vivacious, curly-haired Queen; she had already made herself a big hit on her first trip to the U.S. five years ago. Sure enough, the lively Frederika danced into the capital with smiling, informal grace and two French poodles (Topsy and Toodles). With her were two of her three children: Crown Prince Constantine, Duke of Sparta, 18, and Princess Sophia, 20. Explained Frederika: King Paul stayed home to look after the country, and Princess Irene, 16, stayed home to look after the King.

Undaunted by the flood of protocol visits, teas, luncheons and dinners, the Queen and her children breasted swarms of friends and well-wishers, managed to turn up in perky form at every assembly on their calendar. At one function, Frederika was called to the telephone, delighted the company with her breezy informality by piping: “Excuse me, I have to go. My husband is calling me.” Touring an American National Red Cross center with Red Cross President Alfred Gruenther, she asked if blood donors later got brandy with their coffee. General Gruen-ther told her no, added: “I understand you’ve got quite a brandy in Greece.” Said Her Majesty: “It’s dynamite.”

Though her visit was billed as unofficial (and the U.S. was thus spared the need of according full honors), Queen Frederika had a serious purpose for her presence. Greece is soon to start operating its first nuclear reactor, and with King Paul, Frederika has become a student of nuclear physics. “For my part,” she told a TIME reporter last week, “although I know that radioactive isotopes and such are of great medical benefit, I am really most interested in theoretical physics. You have to learn something about it to have this interest. But now that I do—I want to understand what goes on inside the atom.” Then, at week’s end, with the ceremonial functions out of the way, Queen Frederika started on a self-educating tour of the U.S.’s top nuclear laboratories and plants.