The Monarchy in Greece

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

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]

And the greek televisions?

Private channels were there. Not the national chains.

. 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]

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]

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]

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]

Have Constantine II or his precedessors been elevating Greek nobility?

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

 

[roimat]

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.

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...

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]

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.

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]

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.

 

[latinist]

I'm guessing that the greek people are being lied about what monarchy means. A constitutional monarchy is by far better than any republic, a more stable system, from any point of view.
I find it odd that the greek Constitution speaks in an article that the form of government cannot be changed, it's just like in the romanian Constitution. Only that here in Romania we had more than 40 years of communism, this could be an explanation. But Greece had been protected by the britains after the war, in the famous deal between the great powers (10% soviet influence in Greece, 90% in Romania). It seems that being saved from the communism didn't save them from all the monarchy-fobia of the corrupt politicians.
According to my oppinion, the republic is the "heaven of the politicians", especially the most corrupt of them.

I wonder though, what would happen if in a popular, national referendum, the majority of people would vote for the change of the form of government, fot the restoration of the monarchy? How can a constitutional article stand against the will of the people?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Given the economic turmoil that Greece is in I believe a restoration of the Monarchy in Greece is far from the thoughts of the ordinary citizens!

A restoration of the Greek Monarchy is about as likely as the Irish Republic becoming one.

 

[TomBert]

Why should non-Greeks "mind their own business" about domestic politics in the Hellenic Republic? KBoussemart was not being rude, so I think offence is a bit of an over reaction to what is nothing more than a difference of opinion. I have lots of opinions about all sorts of countries all around the world. So does, no doubt, virtually everybody else on the planet who takes an interest in the world beyond their national borders. Sharing them on a forum seems, to me, the most natural thing. Keeping quite would make these forums incredibly dull indeed. As for Greece, I think it is great pity that King Constantine lost his throne, and I will say so whether or not it offends a Greek citizen.

 

[Artemisia]

Having lived in Greece for some time, I can confirm that the majority of the Greek people - in fact, every single Greek I met - never considered a restoration.

The Greek Monarchy is something very remote and alien to the people of the country; they view King Constantine and his family as complete strangers with no ties to the country whatsoever. I do not speak for all Greeks, of course; that's merely the impression I got during my stay.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Whilst I'd like to see Constantine restored, I think he'd be an absolute fool to take the job in the very very unlikely event that it was offered to him. The Greek monarchy has always been unstable. So he might get to live as King for the rest of his life but then they kick out Pavlos? The whole idea of monarchy in Greece just doesn't seem to work.

 

[Noble Consort Ming]

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!

Are you Greek? I know a lot of Greek immigrants and they dislike the royal family a lot. Mainly because the family is not even Greek. Not saying that's a good reason to not like someone but that's how it is among the people I've met.

At this point it would be like the United States saying that since we once had a king let's get ourselves another one. Except let's get someone who is from a different culture with no ties to our own who doesn't even speak our language(which is essentially what happened when the royal family was first chosen).

 

[NGalitzine]

I agree any restoration is unlikely, rather like political and economic stability in the nation has historically been.

As for Constantine and his family not being Greek after 150 years, that does seem like a rather childish argument, but if that is what the Greeks and their government believe then perhaps in this Olympic season they should ask the IOC to reclassify his Olympic gold medal as belonging to Denmark and not Greece.

 

[Warren]

...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!

Oh please, TRF has an international membership and we encourage discussion and debate of royal-related topics across the board.
What is more offensive is the lack of grace and futile attempt to restrict participation in these threads.

Warren
Administrator

 

[latinist]

To me it's clear: if the actual greek citizens reject the idea of monarchy, it's because they are being lied about it. They are being manipulated in this direction, due to insufficient historical knowledge, about what monarchy for their country meant and about how beloved were their former kings, by their ancestors. Only if we take a look at the situation from a hundred years ago, it's enough to see how popular monarchy in Greece was.
I don't know what to say, for me things are crystal clear regarding monarchy as a system and I really can't understand how can one be influenced from the various types of propaganda.

 

[Artemisia]

I think if someone found an authentic heir of one of the Ancient Greek Kingdoms, restoration might have had a chance. Their former Kings (some of them, at least), might have been beloved, then again those kings don't have anything to do with this house, do they? Not even remotely.

The problem with King Constantine's house is that when they were installed in Greece, no one asked their opinion - and the people simply did not accept the royal family as "their" royal family.

Just what historical significance, what connection are the Greek people supposed to feel to this house? Why should they even think of restoration, especially now, when the country faces far more prevailing and important problems? And what should there be a restoration at all? Personally, I am a supporter of current constitutional monarchies, but that's most definitely not the only system that works. Just how would restoration in Greece help solving any of the problems the country is facing?