Kings of the Hellenes

This page shows the Kings of the Greek Royal Family, from King George I to King Constantine II. There are also timelines of significant Greek events. My Sources are located at the bottom of the page, and I would also like to thank Kristen Sterner for sending me the image of the royal couple.

Left to right: an illustration of the Greek Royal Family, from the time of King Christian IX of Denmark; King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie on their wedding day. BELOW: A timeline of significant Greek events.

Notes on Chart 1

King William George I* was born in 1845. He was offered the Greek throne in 1863, and became King George I. He and Queen Olga** had seven children: King Constantine I, Prince George, Princess Alexandra, Prince Nicholas, Princess Marie, Prince Andrew, and Prince Christopher. He reigned until 1913, when he was assassinated.

King Constantine I succeeded George I in 1913. He was a very unlucky monarch who ruled briefly twice. He was deposed in favor of his son Alexander I in 1917. Upon Alexander I's death in 1920, he was King once more, but was forced to abdicate in 1922 in favor of his eldest son, George II. He died in exile later that year. He and Queen Sophia had six children- three of whom became King- King George II, King Alexander I, Princess Helen, King Paul I, Princess Irene, and Princess Catherine.

King George II reigned after Constantine I was forced to abdicate in 1922. He was ousted in 1924 when a plebiscite abolished the monarchy, but was restored to the throne in 1935- when another plebiscite brought it back. In 1941, he took his government into exile because of the Nazi attack, but was restored to the throne in 1946. He and Queen Elizabeth, who divorced in 1935, did not have children. He died in 1947, and was succeeded by his brother Paul I.

King Alexander I reigned briefly from 1917-1920. He married a Greek commoner, Aspasia Manos, in 1919; the union was considered controversial by the Royal Family, the Church, and the Greek people. In 1920, he died from blood poisoning that came from a pet monkey biting him. His daughter Princess Alexandra, born posthumously, is the only member of the Greek Royal Family with Greek blood.

King Paul I succeeded George II. He was a known as a decent monarch, but was unpopular in part because of anti-German sentiment directed against Queen Frederika, a Princess of Hanover. They had three children: the present Queen Sofia of Spain, King Constantine II, and Princess Irene. He died in 1964.

King Constantine II succeeded his father in 1964. A military coup occurred in April 1967; he left in self-imposed exile In December. In 1974, a referendum, which some claim was fixed, formally abolished the monarchy. He has resettled in London and continues to fight the Greek government for confiscated Royal properties and his family's citizenship. He and Queen Anne-Marie have five children: Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos.

*I have listed King George I of Greece as "King William George I" in my diagram in order to list both his birth and accession name. Several genealogy sites also list him as "William George I."

**An amusing anecdote about Queen Olga occurred during King George V of Britain's reign. The King, who was a simple man, reportedly thought little of his wife Queen Mary's collection of objets d'art- with the exception of a small figurine of Lady Godiva. Queen Olga, who was very nearsighted, supposedly peered closely at the figurine, and said, "Ah, dear Queen Victoria."

Greek Royal Timeline

In creating the charts, I used Brian Tompsett's Directory of Royal Genealogical Data. His site is very thorough.

In writing my notes, I used Lisa May Davidson's article about the Greek Royal Family. It provides an in-depth look at the Family from the time of King George I to King Paul I, yet is very easy to read. My notes are only meant to identify the different Kings of Greece from one another; her article provides much more history and also discusses other family members.

For the timelines, I used Lisa Davidson's article, but also read the Report of the European Human Rights Commission. It is a long document, but it contains all the facts of King Constantine II's case against the Greek government.

This page was created on September 5, 2000 by Alex B.
URL: https://www.angelfire.com/celeb/millers/start.html
and all pages on this site are maintained by Alex B.
© Copyright 2000