Greek Royal Family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Greek Royal Family is a direct family member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Its first monarch was George I. Most members of the Royal Family hold the title Prince (Princess) of Greece and Denmark with the style Royal Highness.
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[edit] Arrival
The family came to throne when Otto I of Greece allowed the United Kingdom and France to occupy the port at Piraeus so as to prevent Greece from aligning with Russia during the Crimean War (1853-1856). This prompted the army to overthrow Otto in 1862. The military powers offered the throne to Prince William of the Danish Glücksburg dynasty and he was crowned King George I in 1863. Members of this family would rule over Greece intermittently until 1974. [1] The beginning of George's reign was taken up with expanding Greece's territory. The royal family saw Greece experience several upheavals including the Balkan Wars, World War I, World War II (during which Greece was occupied by Italy), a civil war, and the overthrowing of Greece's parliamentary democracy by a military junta.
[edit] 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, cowed King Constantine II into accepting it as legitimate. On December 13, 1967, the King launched a counter-coup but failed[2] and he, together with his family, fled to exile in Rome. Following the fall of the military dictatorship the monarchy was not restored. The new 'democratic' government maintained the junta installed illegal republic and subsequently held a plebiscite in which the monarchy was abolished (by 70%-30%) in 1974.
[edit] Present status
All members of the former Royal Family are living abroad; Constantine II and his wife, Queen Anne-Marie and unmarried children currently reside in London. The family still hold their royal titles, but they do not represent Greece in any way, other than as individuals. Nevertheless, they are often addressed by their royal titles, and invited to functions of reigning royal families. They can, with the approval of the Danish Government and Crown, represent the Kingdom of Denmark[citation needed]. As male-line descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark the members of the former Greek Royal family are Princes or Princesses of Denmark in their own right; this is why they are referred to as Princes or Princesses of Greece and Denmark[citation needed].
[edit] Members
- HM King Constantine II of Greece
- HM Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
- TRH Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's eldest son and his wife)
- TRH Prince Constantine Alexios, Prince Achileas-Andreas, and Prince Odysseas-Kimon (The Crown Prince and Princess's sons)
- HRH Princess Maria-Olympia (The Crown Prince and Princess's daughter)
- HRH Prince Nikolaos (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's second son)
- HRH Prince Philippos (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's youngest son)
- HRH Princess Alexia (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's elder daughter)
- HRH Princess Theodora (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's younger daughter)
- TRH Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie's eldest son and his wife)
- HM Queen Sofía of Spain (King Constantine II's older sister)
- HRH Princess Irene (King Constantine II's younger sister)
- TRH Prince and Princess Michael (King Constantine II's cousin and his wife)
- Princess Alexandra and Princess Olga (Prince and Princess Michael's daughters)
