The Monarchy in Greece

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Originally Posted by Cory

I noticed the enthusiam toward the royal wedding and the respect paid by the orthodox clergy and by the people to King Konstantinos IInd the Royal Family.

There were tens of [perhaps a few hundred] people, mainly foreign tourists and European media, as it is crystal-clear from watching the videos.

[Cory]

And the greek televisions?

[fandesacs2003]

Originally Posted by Cory

And the greek televisions?

Private channels were there. Not the national chains.

Originally Posted by roimat

. We only want to be able to see the Greek Royal Family to be treated as all the Royal Families, reigning or not. Respectfully and politely, as a part of Greek History. Not in the way they treat them till now the Greek politicians...

You are right! They have treated the RF as criminals. On the other side, you have politicians who behavior worst than the worst criminals, and they are well treated and powerfull. This is so unfair for the GRF and especially King Kostantin, who was reeally the most innocent than the previous members of his family.

[Cory]

The greeks will understand that the Royal Family is really a greek family and works for the greek people.

[roimat]

Originally Posted by Vlaha Karatsokaros

There were tens of [perhaps a few hundred] people, mainly foreign tourists and European media, as it is crystal-clear from watching the videos.

Were you in Spetses and you know who was there?Well, i was, and i can asure you that there were thousands of people, most of them Greeks, habitants of the Island but also from other parts of Greece, who came to see the wedding. Your...crystal clear watching isn't as clear as you think..;-)

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Originally Posted by roimat

Were you in Spetses and you know who was there?Well, i was, and i can asure you that there were thousands of people, most of them Greeks, habitants of the Island but also from other parts of Greece, who came to see the wedding. Your...crystal clear watching isn't as clear as you think..;-)

You do not need to assure me, nor am I trying to make a statement about the former royal family's popularity by the number of people who were present.
Any such argument on my or anyone else's part, in one direction or the other, would be futile simply because Spetses is a very small island, it can house overnight only a limited number of people and there is a limited number of fast-boat trips daily from Piraeus. And that is that.

[PrincessDianafan]

Do you think there is any possibility of the Greek monarchy being restored. They still seem very popular. Has there been any monarchy in recent history that's been restored?

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by PrincessDianafan

Do you think there is any possibility of the Greek monarchy being restored. They still seem very popular. Has there been any monarchy in recent history that's been restored?

Abolished monarchy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I doubt Greece with have a reigning King ever again.

[kbk]

Did anyone became a noble or was given an aristocratic title?

[roimat]

Originally Posted by kbk

Did anyone became a noble or was given an aristocratic title?

Dear kbk, according to the Greek Constitution, even when Greece was a Kingdom, aristocratic titles or nobility titles, were forbidden to Greek citizens. According to that ban, the title "Duke of Sparta" who was given to King Constantine the 1st, was rejected from the Supreme Court of Greece.

Originally Posted by Vlaha Karatsokaros

You do not need to assure me, nor am I trying to make a statement about the former royal family's popularity by the number of people who were present.
Any such argument on my or anyone else's part, in one direction or the other, would be futile simply because Spetses is a very small island, it can house overnight only a limited number of people and there is a limited number of fast-boat trips daily from Piraeus. And that is that.

Boat trips from Piraeus isn't the only way to go to Spetses....As a "greek" as you suppose to be, you should know that. And of course, there is no limited number of fast boats going to Spetses!
Spetses has a local population of 5,000. It can house more than 5 times people. What's the point now, i don't get it...

Originally Posted by PrincessDianafan

Do you think there is any possibility of the Greek monarchy being restored. They still seem very popular. Has there been any monarchy in recent history that's been restored?

According to Greek Constitution, the Article about the type of the State-Parliamentary Presidential Republic-cannot change. So, any change could be done only in an out-of-law act, or after a disaster, war, catastrophe or somthing like that....so, i think there is no possibility to have a chance..

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Originally Posted by roimat

Boat trips from Piraeus isn't the only way to go to Spetses....As a "greek" as you suppose to be, you should know that. And of course, there is no limited number of fast boats going to Spetses!
Spetses has a local population of 5,000. It can house more than 5 times people. What's the point now, i don't get it....

Surely, you can take a water taxi from Costa, across the water and there you are.
I was not tyring to make any point. I only said that the crowd was not that big adding, however, that no conclusion as to the popularity [or otherwise] of the former royal family can be drawn given the limited accessibility of the island.

[Mermaid1962]

I take it then that there was the Royal Family and the plain Mr./Mrs./Rev./Dr./Miss and nothing in between? That's interesting.

Originally Posted by roimat

Dear kbk, according to the Greek Constitution, even when Greece was a Kingdom, aristocratic titles or nobility titles, were forbidden to Greek citizens. .

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

I take it then that there was the Royal Family and the plain Mr./Mrs./Rev./Dr./Miss and nothing in between? That's interesting.

That's about right. Priests are referred to and addressed as Father XYZ. Doctors, either of medicine or philosophy, are for the most part also referred to as Mr. or Mrs. XYZ.
In fact, even the title of prince/ss did not exist formally. According to the then Constitution, a King's children were referred to as Vassilopais [=royal child] the equivalent of infante/a in Spanish.

[RJ TAYLER]

To this outsider it seems a little 'odd' that. Almost like they wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Right from the start. Even an order of chivalry would have helped the Royal Cause and recognised those who made a difference to the lives of the ordinary Greek person. Like a Sir Macfarlane Burnett for an example. It just seems as though it was going to be 'boom and bust' for both Royal and Republican sides through the foreseeable future.

[snowflower]

Actually it was the Greeks who did not want nobility titles , because they found the idea somehow "ridiculous" - as fas I have found out until now, Greeks never had a Hereditary titled nobility throughout their history and they did not want to have suddenly because ofthe monarchy, they viewed it I guess as a dividing factor. Queen Sophie had actually proposed this to her husband , to make some Greek nobles, but she found great resistence by society, even by those she wished to enoble.

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

@ R J Tayler
@ snowflower

The statements of you both are correct.
What R J Tayler claims carries great political importance. Without nobility [even in mere stylistic and honorary terms] that identifies itself with the sovereign, a monarchy cannot be sustained in the long run.

[KBoussemart]

I fully support the restoration of the monarchy in Greece! King Constantine II has always acted nobly, with integrity and in the best interests for the Greek People. The military junta and political leaders since that time have always acted selfishly and have brought about the financial crisis. Even if he were to return as a ceremonial head of state like the Swedish King, with no political power, he could be a strong cohesive force for national unity at this time in the Greece of the 21st Century. What Greece needs now is a political leader who will create a platform that includes the call for a return to the monarchy. A political movement is what is needed. The integrity of the King and his family could do so much more good in Greece. Let's work for and support this movement!

[NGalitzine]

Given the history of the Greek monarchy since 1863 I don't think they have ever really been seen as symbols of national unity. A sensible Greek monarch should always keep his bags packed because you never know when your people will turn against you.

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

The likelihood of the monarchy being restored in Greece is as high as the same happening in the USA.
In addition to the fact that the royals were never symbols of unity [even at the peak of their popularity], the former king - unlike his sisters, who are well liked and respected - enjoys minimal to negligible popularity.

There is NO movement for the monarchy or for Constantine, and non-Greek citizens are kindly advised to mind their business, that is, the internal affairs of their own countries.
I find the remarks of KBoussemart above quite offensive actually!

[Al_bina]

King Constantine can do nothing for Greece. There is no need for him to try to do anything. Greek people have made their choice and will live with it. It is interesting to observe Europe in the financial crisis.