Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece

Pavlos
Crown Prince of Greece (more)
Spouse Marie Chantal Miller
Issue
Princess Maria Olympia
Prince Constantine Alexios
Prince Achileas Andreas
Prince Odysseas-Kimon
Prince Aristidis Stavros
House House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Father Constantine II of Greece
Mother Anne Marie of Denmark
Born 20 May 1967 (1967-05-20) (age 44)
Tatoi Palace, Tatoi, Greece
Religion Greek Orthodox
Greek Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen

Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, RE (in English: Paul; born 20 May 1967) is the eldest son and heir apparent of Constantine II, who was King of Greece from 1964 to 1973.[1]

By royal descent, he is a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg line of the House of Oldenburg. Since reaching adulthood, he has lived in New York City and in London, and has worked as an investment consultant.

He is an experienced bluewater yachtsman and crews on the multi-record-breaking monohull Mari-Cha IV owned by business man Robert W. Miller, his father-in-law.

Contents

Early life

Crown Prince Pavlos was born on 20 May 1967 in Athens, to King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Anne Marie, by birth a Princess of Denmark. His mother is a sister of Margrethe II of Denmark. His maternal grandparents were Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden.

By Greek tradition, he was named for his paternal grandfather, King Paul (Pavlos) of the Hellenes. His older sister, Princess Alexia, had been born two years earlier, in 1965. Crown Prince Pavlos was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church, with Charles, Prince of Wales (King Constantine’s second cousin), as one of his godparents.

Military coup of 1967

Crown Prince Pavlos was born into a turbulent era in Greek politics. His father, King Constantine II, had acceded to the throne on 6 March 1964, at the age of 23, following the death of his father, King Paul.

As 1967 drew to a close, the "Regime of the Colonels", led by Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, was increasingly characterised by suppression of civil liberties, along with imprisonment or exile of opponents. In December of that year, King Constantine attempted a counter-coup, but could not rally sufficient military support. The King fled with his wife and children to Rome. Crown Prince Pavlos' younger brother Prince Nikolaos, was born in Rome in 1969.

Abolition of the monarchy

During the years 1967–1973, Greece remained officially a monarchy, with a regency appointed in the absence of the king. Beginning in 1973, when Prince Pavlos was six years old, a series of rapid changes occurred in the government of Greece. On 1 June 1973, Constantine II was declared deposed and Georgios Papadopoulos became the self-appointed President of Greece. On 29 July 1973, the Greek plebiscite, 1973 was held to confirm the change.

On 17 November 1974, the Greek legislative election, 1974 was held, resulting in a victory for Constantine Karamanlis and his New Democratic (ND) party. On 8 December 1974, the Greek plebiscite, 1974 had a similar outcome to that of the previous year: the majority were in favour of a republican constitution (69%) over restoration of the monarchy (31%).

King Constantine accepted that his reign was at an end. He and Queen Anne Marie had been settled with their family in London for some time. Crown Prince Pavlos' youngest siblings were born in London, Princess Theodora in 1983 and Prince Philippos in 1986.

Education

Crown Prince Pavlos was educated in London at the Hellenic College of London. He then trained as a British army officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before taking a three-year commission with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC, graduating in 1993 in International Relations, Law and Organization and completing a Master of Science in Foreign Service, specialising in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, in 1995. His roommate at Georgetown was his cousin, Felipe of Spain, the Prince of Asturias.

Business interests

He is also on the board of the Anna-Maria Foundation and United World College, USA.

Marriage and issue

Crown Prince Pavlos married American heiress Marie-Chantal Miller (now styled as Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark) on 1 July 1995. After their marriage, the couple resided in New York City, where he worked as an investment consultant. Their children are:

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of
Crown Prince Pavlos
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir

Titles and styles

Crown Prince Pavlos has used the following titles and styles:

Coat of arms and banner

Ancestry

Crown Prince Pavlos is the highest ranked name on the list of British line of succession to be triply related to Queen Victoria. He is a descendant of Victoria's 3rd son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn through his mother Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and twice a descendant of Victoria's eldest daughter Victoria, German Empress and Princess Royal through the younger Victoria's son Wilhelm II, German Emperor through his paternal grandmother Frederica of Hanover, and through the younger Victoria's daughter Princess Sophia of Prussia through his paternal grandfather King Paul of Greece.

Footnotes

  1. ^ The monarchy was initially abolished in 1973 by the Regime of the Colonels. Rather than reinstating the monarchy prior to holding a referendum, the new democratic government which replaced the regime left the republic in place, and accepted the Greek president as head of state until the referendum took place. The referendum opted not to reinstate the monarchy.
  2. ^ The Greek Royal Family – News and Media
  3. ^ WWD.com – The Littlest Prince

References

Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 20 May 1967
Titles in pretence
First
Line of succession to the former Greek throne
1st position
Succeeded by
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark
Preceded by
Constantine II of Greece
Line of succession to the Headship of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
14th position
Succeeded by
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark
British royalty
Preceded by
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Line of succession to the British throne Succeeded by
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark