Greek Royal Family
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The currently deposed Greek royal family (Greek: πρώην Βασιλική Οικογένεια της Ελλάδος[1]) was the ruling family for the Kingdom of Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973.
It is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg. The first monarch was George I, the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark.[2] The current head of the family is Pavlos, who assumed the role upon the death of his father, former King Constantine II on 10 January 2023.
With the 1974 Greek republic referendum and Article 4 of the Constitution of Greece, all family members have been stripped of their honorific titles and the associated royal status. Many family members born after 1974 still use the titles "Prince of Greece" and "Princess of Greece" to describe themselves, but such descriptions are neither conferred nor legally recognised by the Greek state as nobility titles.[3] The family accepts[4] that these terms are not nobility titles, but rather personal identifiers.[5][note 1]
Creation
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Family tree of Greek Royal Family members
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* Member of the extended royal family
Royal coat of arms
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The royal coat of arms still used by the royal family is a blue shield with the white cross of Greece with the greater coat of arms of Denmark of 1819-1903 in the centre. This was consequently also the arms of Denmark when the Danish prince William accepted the Greek throne as King George I. As such this includes the three lions of the arms of Denmark proper, the two lions of Schleswig, the three crowns of the former Kalmar Union, the stockfish of Iceland, the ram of Faroe Islands, the polar bear of Greenland, the lion and hearts of the King of the Goths, the wyvern of the King of the Wends, the nettle leaf of Holstein, the swan with a crown of Stormarn, the knight on horseback of Dithmarschen, the horse head of Lauenburg, the two red bars of the House of Oldenburg and the yellow cross of Delmenhorst. The same shield is in the personal standard of the Kings of Greece. The shield is surmounted by two figures of Heracles,[6] similar to the "wild men" of the Coat of arms of Denmark. The shield also has the Order of the Redeemer, while the royal motto reads " Ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ" ("The people's love is my strength").[7]
- ^ Wording follows the terminology used in FAQ on the family's website
- ^ "Greece:The Rise of Nationalism". MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2006.
- ^ Article 4, Paragraph 7 of the Greek Constitution states "Titles of nobility or distinction are neither conferred upon nor recognized in Greek citizens."
- ^ Γιατί αποδίδονται τίτλοι στον πρώην Βασιλέα των Ελλήνων και τα μέλη της οικογένειάς του;
- ^ Technically, according to the Greek courts (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας, (αριθμός 4575/1996)), the personal identifier for Konstantinos is "Konstantinos, former King of Greece", something that the family accepts. Presumably, the identifier carries to the other family members having titles conferred to them by the Greek state before 1974, with their identifier becoming "former Prince" and "former Princess." The courts have not ruled on the validity of the identifiers for family members born after 1974.
- ^ Ἑφημερίς τῆς Κυβερνήσεως τοῦ Βασιλείου τῆς Ἑλλάδος [Government Gazette of the Kingdom of Greece] (PDF) (in Greek), Athens: National Printing Office, 28 December 1863
- ^ "Greek Royal Arms". aroyalheraldry.weebly.com. 30 March 2022.
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