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Greek Royal Family

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The Greek Royal Family is a direct family member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Its first ruler was George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, as his queen consort.

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. The beginning of George's reign was taken up with expanding Greece's territory. The royal family saw Greece experiencce 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.

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 and he, together with his family, fled to exile in Rome. Following the fall of the military dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in 1974, a plebiscite was held in which the people (by 70%-30%) decided to have the monarchy abolished.

Present status

All members of the former Royal Family are living abroad; Constantine II and his wife, 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. 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. 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.

Members

References

External links



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Last updated on Monday March 03, 2008 at 15:20:40 PST (GMT -0800)
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