After an unfortunate miscarriage in 1837, the expected son and heir never came. A biographer of the time wrote: “… an heir acts as an opiate for revolutions and has the power to calm a whole nation down…” The issue of the heir caused great concern to all Greek citizens. It contributed to the discontent of the people and led to aversion to the crown. In February 1861, in particular, Aristides Dossios tried to assassinate Amalia.