Greek Royal Family

The Greek Royal Family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the House of Glücksburg that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. Its first monarch was George I, the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark. He and his successors styled themselves "Kings of the Hellenes".^[1] Most members of the dynasty (aside from the last king to reign, Constantine II and his queen consort, Anne-Marie of Denmark) hold the title Prince or Princess of Greece and Denmark with the style Royal Highness, except Marina, Consort of Prince Michael, and their daughters Princess Alexandra and Princess Olga.

Arrival

The personal standard of the Kings of Greece.

The family came to the throne after the overthrow in 1862 of the first king of the independent Greek state, Otto of Bavaria. In a referendum, the Greeks elected Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, the second son of Queen Victoria, as their new king, but the candidature was rejected by the Great Powers, who refused to permit any member of their respective royal families to ascend to the Greek throne. A search for other candidates ensued, and eventually, the Greeks offered the throne to Prince William of Denmark, the second son of the future King Christian IX, and younger brother of the new Princess of Wales and who was of the Danish Glücksburg Dynasty. He received six votes in the referendum, the Greek National Assembly proclaimed him king as George I, and he arrived in Greece in October 1863. George I would marry Grand Duchess Olga Constaninovna of Russia, and would have seven surviving children. After a reign of fifty years, George I was succeeded by his eldest son, Constantine I, who had married Princess Sophia of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II, in 1913. In turn, all three of Constantine's sons, George II, Alexander and Paul, would occupy the throne.

The royal family saw Greece experience several upheavals including the Balkan Wars, World War I, World War II (during which Greece experienced Axis occupation), the Greek Civil War, and the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. Following the National Schism during World War I and subsequent Asia Minor Disaster, the monarchy was deposed in March 1924 and replaced by the Second Hellenic Republic, which lasted until overthrown by a royalist coup d'état in October 1935.

Downfall

On April 21, 1967 the elected government was overthrown by a group of middle-ranking army officers led by Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos and a military dictatorship was established. The regime, known as The Regime of the Colonels, forced King Constantine II into accepting it as legitimate. On December 13, 1967, the King launched a counter-coup but it failed^[2] and he, together with his family, fled to exile in Rome and soon after to London.

On 1 June 1973, Constantine II was declared deposed by the military junta and Papadopoulos appointed himself as President of the Republic. On 29 July 1973, a questionable referendum sought to confirm the abolition of the monarchy. The dictatorship fell in August 1974 and the new regime held a fresh referendum on 8 December 1974, which confirmed the abolition of the monarchy by a vote of 69% to 30%. The deposed King has never questioned the validity of this referendum, as referenda establishing monarchy in Greece (1863, 1935) were also accepted by his predecessors.

Present status

In 2013 Constantine II and his wife Anne-Marie announced that they were once again living in Greece.^[3] As male-line descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark, members of the dynasty bear the title of Prince or Princess of Denmark and thus are traditionally referred to as Princes or Princesses of Greece and Denmark.^[4]

Members

• King Constantine II
• Queen Anne-Marie
  • Princess Alexia, born on 10 July 1965
  • Crown Prince Pavlos, born on 20 May 1967
    Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, born on 17 September 1968
    • Princess Maria-Olympia, born on 25 July 1996
    • Prince Constantine-Alexios born on October 29, 1998
    • Prince Achileas-Andreas, born on 12 August 2000
    • Prince Odysseas-Kimon, born on 17 September 2004
    • Prince Aristidis-Stavros, born on 29 June 2008
  • Prince Nikolaos, born on 1 October 1969
    Princess Tatiana, born 28 August 1980
  • Princess Theodora, born on 9 June 1983
  • Prince Philippos, born on 26 April 1986

The extended members of the Greek royal family are:

• Queen Sofía of Spain, eldest daughter of King Pavlos I and sister of King Constantine II
• Princess Irene, youngest child of King Pavlos I and younger sister of King Constantine II
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (grandson of King George I and thus King Constantine II's first cousin-once-removed and his wife)
  • The Duke discontinued using his Greek and Danish titles shortly before his 1947 marriage.
  • Prince Philip's family form the senior part of the British Royal Family.
• Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and Marina, his consort (grandson of King George I and King Constantine II's first cousin-once-removed and his wife)
  • Princess Alexandra, born on 15 October 1968
  • Princess Olga Isabelle, Duchess of Apulia, born on 17 November 1971

See also

• List of kings of Greece
• House of Oldenborg
• Kings of the Hellenes family tree
• Armorial of Greek Royal Family (French)

References

1. "Greece". MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
2. "Greece". MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
3. http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2013121416165/greek-royals-return-greece/
4. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XV, C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p.20.

External links

• The official website of the Greek Royal family