Kingdom of Greece Index

Constantine II, the last King of Greece, with his wife Queen Anne-Marie, reigned 1964 – 1973; Credit – Wikipedia

Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until 1821 when Greece declared its independence. After the Greek War of Independence (1821 – 1832), with the help of the three Great Powers – France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – the Ottoman Empire was finally defeated. In 1832, the Convention of London established Greece as a kingdom, and the Great Powers appointed 17-year-old Prince Otto of Bavaria, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, to be the new kingdom’s first King.  Having dismissed the Regency Council in 1835 when he came of age, Otto ruled as an absolute monarch for a few years, until uprisings by the Greek people occurred, demanding a Constitution. Otto had no recourse but to give in to the demands and allow for a constitution and establishment of a Greek National Assembly.  In 1862, while Otto was away from Athens, a coup d’état led to the formation of a provisional government and Otto was deposed.

Still wanting a monarchy, Greece began searching for a new King. While several other European princes were put forward as possible sovereigns, the Greek people and the Great Powers soon chose Prince Vilhelm, the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark, as their next King. On March 30, 1863, the 17-year-old Vilhelm was unanimously elected by the Greek National Assembly and took the name King George I of the Hellenes. A ceremonial enthronement was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 6, 1863.

In 1924, the Second Hellenic Republic was declared and the monarchy was abolished. The monarchy was restored in 1935.  On April 21, 1967, a coup d’état led by a group of army colonels took over Greece. A military junta ruled Greece from 1967 – 1974. On December 13, 1967, King Constantine II attempted a counter-coup against the military junta which failed and Constantine and his family had to flee to Italy. King Constantine II remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the junta abolished the monarchy. In 1974, after the fall of the junta, a referendum by the Greek people confirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic.

The Greek government did not permit Constantine to return to Greece until 1981 when he was allowed to enter Greece for several hours to attend the funeral of his mother. Constantine and his family paid a private visit to Greece in 1993. After 2003, when a property dispute between Constantine and the Greek government was settled, he was able to make visits to Greece and purchase a summer home there.

Below is an indexed listing with links to biographical articles about the Greek Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty. If it says “Notable Issue” before a name, that means not all of the children for the parent of that person are listed.  Also listed below are links to Greek Royal Wedding articles and various Greek Content Areas.

House of Wittelsbach (1832 – 1862)

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1863 – 1924) and (1935 – 1973)

Family of King George I

Family of King Constantine I

Family of King Alexander

King George II

Family of King Paul

Family of King Constantine II

Pretenders to the Throne

Greek Royal Weddings

Greek Miscellaneous Articles

Content Areas