With the 1974 Greek republic referendum and Article 4 of the Constitution of Greece, all family members have been stripped of their honorific titles and the associated royal status. Many family members born after 1974 still use the titles "Prince of Greece" and "Princess of Greece" to describe themselves, but such descriptions are neither conferred nor legally recognised by the Greek state as nobility titles.[4] The family accepts that these terms are not nobility titles, but rather personal identifiers.[5][6][note 1]
A search for other candidates ensued, and eventually, Prince William of Denmark, of the House of Glücksburg, the second son of King Christian IX and younger brother of the then new Alexandra, Princess of Wales, was appointed king. The Greek Parliament unanimously approved on 18 March 1863[note 4] the ascension to the Greek throne of the prince, then aged 17, as King of the Hellenes under the regnal name of George I.[9] George arrived in Greece in October 1863.[9]
Following the National Schism during World War I and the subsequent Asia Minor Disaster, the monarchy was deposed in March 1924 and replaced by the Second Hellenic Republic.[10] Between 1924 and 1935 there were twenty-three changes of government in Greece, a dictatorship, and thirteen coups d'etat.[citation needed] In October 1935, General Georgios Kondylis, a former Venizelist, overthrew the government and arranged for a plebiscite to end the republic. On 3 November 1935, the official tally showed that 98% of the votes supported the restoration of the monarchy.[9] The balloting was not secret, and participation was compulsory. As Time described it at the time, "As a voter, one could drop into the ballot box a blue vote for George II, or one could cast a red ballot for the Republic."[11] George II returned to Greece on 25 November 1935, as King.
On 4 August 1936, the king endorsed the establishment of a government led by veteran army officer Ioannis Metaxas.[12]
George II followed the Greek government in exile after the German invasion of Greece in 1941 and returned to Greece in 1946, after a referendum that resulted in the maintaining of the constitutional monarchy.[13] He died in 1947 and was succeeded by his brother Paul. The new king reigned from the time of Greek civil war until his death in 1964, and was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.[10]
Downfall
On 21 April 1967, the elected government of Greece was overthrown by a group of middle-ranking army officers led by ColonelGeorgios Papadopoulos, and a military dictatorship was established. The military junta formed a new government sworn in by Constantine II. On 13 December 1967, the king launched a counter-coup that failed[14] and he, together with his family, fled to Rome and soon after to London.
The dictatorship nominally retained the monarchy but on 1 June 1973, Constantine II was declared "deposed," and Papadopoulos appointed himself "President of the Republic". Some two months later, on 29 July 1973, the military regime held a referendum, the official result of which confirmed, according to the junta, the abolition of the monarchy.[13]
After July 1974, the dictatorship fell. The military handed power over to Konstantinos Karamanlis, a conservative[note 5] politician who had been prime minister in the 1950s and early 60s.[15] Karamanlis formed a "government of national unity" and held a constitutional referendum on 8 December 1974. The voters confirmed the abolition of the monarchy by a vote of 69% to 31% and the establishment of a republican parliamentary democracy in Greece.[7] Later the upper house of parliament was abolished as well as freedom from prosecution for members of parliament.
Legal status
In the referendum of 1974, all members of the royal family were stripped of their titles pursuant to article 4 of the Greek constitution; honorifics such as "prince" and "princess" are not officially recognised in Greece.[4]
Italicised names denote that the individual has died. Bolded names denote that the individual is/was the head of the royal house. Please note that any living members who are not directly descended from Paul are considered extended family.
Crown Prince Pavlos, who was born as the eldest son of Constantine and Anne-Marie. He is currently the head of the royal house and is married to Marie-Chantal Miller.
^The pertinent court decision (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας, αριθμός 4575/1996) states (in Greek): "Η ονομασία αυτή, "πρώην βασιλιάς", αναφέρεται στο
δικόγραφο όχι ως τίτλος ευγενείας, ο οποίος απαγορεύεται από το Σύνταγμα (άρθρο
4 παρ. 7), αλλά για να προσδιοριστεί η ταυτότητα του αιτούντος, ο οποίος
στερείται, για τους λόγους που αναφέρθηκαν, επωνύμου. Εχει, δηλαδή, την έννοια
ότι ο αιτών είναι ο Κωνσταντίνος εκείνος που διατέλεσε βασιλιάς των Ελλήνων έως
την έκπτωσή του. Πρόκειται για αναφορά σε ένα ιστορικό γεγονός που, όπως και
άλλα στοιχεία, μπορεί πράγματι να προσδιορίσει την ταυτότητα του πιο πάνω
προσώπου, προκειμένου το πρόσωπο αυτό να τύχει δικαστικής προστασίας." Full-text available at Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας - Αναζήτηση Νομολογίας
^Technically, according to the Greek courts (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας, (αριθμός 4575/1996)), the personal identifier for Konstantinos is "Konstantinos, former King of Greece", something that the family accepts. Presumably, the identifier carries to the other family members having titles conferred to them by the Greek state before 1974, with their identifier becoming "former Prince" and "former Princess." The courts have not ruled on the validity of the identifiers for family members born after 1974.