What is the Greek Royal Family like today? The last king, Constantine II, and every member of the royal family!
Greece is located in the southeastern Balkan Peninsula and borders four countries: Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The country is also famous for Greek mythology and the Olympic Games, which have greatly influenced European culture.
The death of Constantine II, the last king of Greece, on January 10, 2023, also made headlines.
Therefore, this article will focus on the royal family in Greek history.
We hope that this article will spark your interest in Greece, even if only a little.
- 1 What is the current state of the Greek royal family?
- 2 What kind of country is Greece?
- 3 Queen Elizabeth’s husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, is also from the Greek royal family.
- 4 Constantine II, the last king
- 5 Current members of the Greek Royal Family
- 6 All currently live outside Greece.
- 7 Will you ever return as royalty?
- 8 If you are interested in the royal families of the world…
What is the current state of the Greek royal family?
Greece was originally a monarchy.
A monarchy is a form of state in which one ruler governs the country, a system in which the monarch is the sole sovereign.
However, in 1967, Greek citizens rebelling against the monarchy staged a coup d’etat, and members of the royal family at that time went into exile in other countries.
With no monarch, Greece switched to a republic, and as of 2023, the Greek royal family no longer exists.
However, the exiled members of the royal family are still alive as of 2023, living not in Greece but in other countries.
What kind of country is Greece?
Greece was originally an independent country from the Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic empire.
At the time of its founding, the country was ruled by a single king, but a coup d’état by the people led to the transition to a republic.
Many people are interested in the history of Greece, not only because of the Athens Olympics and Greek mythology, but also because Greece is often the setting for various films and other productions.
Here is a brief history of the founding of Greece and the first king.
Founded in 1832
The history of Greece dates back to 146 BC. In 146 BC, Greece was part of the Roman Empire.
In 395 B.C. the Roman Empire was divided into East and West, and Greece became part of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 1453, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Eastern Roman Empire and conquered its capital, Constantinople, and Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire.
In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was weakened and Greek independence was recognized by the London Protocols after the Greek War of Liberation, leading to the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832.
The first king was from southern Germany
The first king of Greece was Oson I, a German born in Salzburg, Austria.
Born the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, he was elected by England, France, and Russia as the first king of Greece at the London Conference of 1832.
The restorationist rule of King Osong I did not restore the economy and order that had been damaged by years of warfare, but instead antagonized the people.
This led to the abdication of Osson I in 1862.
Queen Elizabeth’s husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, is also from the Greek royal family.
His Royal Highness Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, who is also known as the face of the British royal family, is actually known to be from a Greek royal family.
His Royal Highness Philip was born as the eldest son (fifth child) of Andreas, the fourth son of Georgios I, the second king of Greece, and Aliki, from the Battenberg family.
In 1939, he entered the Dartmouth Naval Academy and met Queen Elizabeth when he was chosen to serve as hostess to members of the British Royal Family who visited the military academy.
Queen Elizabeth fell in love at first sight with His Royal Highness Prince Philip and they were married on November 20, 1947.
Constantine II, the last king
Constantine II died on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82.
For Greece, which abolished the monarchy in 1974, Constantine II is the last king of Greece.
On January 16, royal members from around the world gathered in Athens to pay their respects to Constantine II.
We will now review the history of Constantine II from his birth to his death.
upbringing
Constantine II was born on June 2, 1940, the second child of Paulos I and Queen Frideriki from the former Hanoverian royal family.
He ascended the throne in 1964 with the death of his father, Paulos I, then King of Greece.
That same year he also married Anna-Maria, sister of Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark.
Coup d’état led to exile
During his reign as king, he was in tension with Georgios Papandreou, then prime minister of Greece, and they discussed the insights of the national army.
This destabilized the political situation and led to a coup d’état on April 21, 1967, by communists who wanted to communize Greece during the Cold War.
In December of the same year, Constantine II took his family into exile in Rome.
This left Greece without a king for some time, and the monarchy remained a token monarchy.
However, in 1973, the military regime abolished the monarchy and declared a transition to a republic.
Then, in 1974, the monarchy was officially abolished.
(one’s) last years
After his exile, Constantine II spent time in London with his family.
He is a close friend of King Charles III of England, and Constantine II is the godfather of Prince William.
He returned to Athens in 2013 and spent the last years of his life there before passing away in Athens on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82.
Current members of the Greek Royal Family
Constantine II died on January 10, 2023, but who are the other members of the royal family today besides Constantine II?
Members of the Greek royal family include.
- Queen Anna-Maria (wife)
- Princess Alexia (eldest daughter)
- Dauphin Paulos (eldest son)
- Prince Nikolaos (second son)
- Princess Theodora (second daughter)
- Prince Philippos (third son)
Here is an introduction to the current members of the Greek royal family.
Queen Anna-Maria
The first is Queen Anna-Maria, wife of Constantine II.
Queen Anna-Maria was born on August 30, 1960, the third daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Queen Ingrid.
He has made headlines for his participation at the funeral of Constantine II, along with the choker he wore at their wedding.
Princess Alexia
Princess Alexia, eldest daughter (first child) of King Constantine II and Queen Anna-Maria, was born on July 10, 1965 in the castle pavilion of Mon Repos on the island of Kerchira in western Greece; she married Carlos, a Spanish architect, on July 8, 1999, and now lives in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands He lives with his family in Lanzarote, Canary Islands.
Prince Paul
Dauphin Paulos was born on May 20, 1967, the first son (second child) of King Constantine II and Queen Anna-Maria.
On July 1, 1995, he married Marie Chantal, a native of the United States, and they have four sons and one daughter, as follows
- Maria-Olympia (eldest daughter)
- Konstantinos Alexios (eldest son)
- Achilleas-Andreas (second son)
- Odysseas-Kimon (third son)
- Aristide Stauros (fourth son)
The children of Prince Paulos are active individually in modeling and acting, and have attracted attention as five beautiful sisters and brothers.
Prince Nikolaos
Prince Nikolaos, second son (third child) of Constantine II and Queen Anna-Maria, was born on October 1, 1969, in Rome, the exile residence of Constantine II.
She is a committee member of the Anna-Maria Foundation, which was created to provide relief for natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes in Greece.
On December 28, 2009, he became engaged to event planner Tatiana Blatnik.
Princess Theodora
Princess Theodora was born on June 9, 1983 in Paddington, London, the second daughter (fourth child) of King Constantine II and Queen Anna-Maria.
Since 2010, she has been working as an actress in various productions under the stage name Theodora Gries.
She became engaged to attorney Matthew Kumar on November 16, 2018 and planned to marry in May 2020, but the new coronavirus has postponed the wedding.
Prince Philippos
Prince Philippos was born on April 26, 1986 in Paddington, London, the third son (fifth child) of King Constantine II and Queen Anna-Maria.
He is currently a manager at a hedge fund in New York.
He and Nina Natasha Flor, daughter of Swiss businessman Thomas Flor, were married in a civil ceremony on December 12, 2020 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and wed on October 23, 2021 at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens.
All currently live outside Greece.
All members of the Greek royal family currently live outside Greece.
Queen Anna-Maria and her unmarried children have London as their residence, and Princess Alexia lives in the Canary Islands, Spain.
Although members of the Greek royal family still bear the title of Greek royalty, they are no longer considered to represent the Kingdom of Greece.
Will you ever return as royalty?
Since the family lineage of the King of Greece still exists today, many people may wonder if there is a possibility of a return to Greece as royalty.
However, it is infinitely unlikely that members of the Greek royal family will return to Greece as royalty.
Greece can be said to have no Greek royal family, as the monarchy was abolished and the king went into exile in another country.
Furthermore, it is unlikely that there is any intention to return to Greece as royalty now, since the royal family members still in existence have settled in other countries.
He will also need to gain the support of the public if he is to return as a member royal of the Greek royal family.
However, the future of the Greek royal family will be closely watched, partly because the presence of royal members has become stronger with the fall of Constantine II.
If you are interested in the royal families of the world…
In this article, we focused on the current state of the Greek royal family, while also introducing the history of the Kingdom of Greece and its first king.
I think that if we look not only at the history of the Greek kingdoms, but also at the royal family, we can look back on history with a new perspective.
This article has introduced the Greek royal family, but there are many more royal families in the world.
This website has compiled information on royal families around the world, so if you are interested, please take a look at every corner of the site.