GOING to court to fight for your rights is not a very kingly thing to do, I
suggested to the former King of the Hellenes. "It's not," he said, "but a king is
a human being. We still have human rights."
It all seemed faintly incongruous. The Human Rights Convention was designed
to protect the people from their rulers, not to protect hereditary monarchs
from those they once ruled. But, as a deposed sovereign, King Constantine
had clearly needed protection.
We met the day after he had defeated the Greek government at the European
Court. I found him magnanimous in victory. He received me in the homely
suite of offices he rents in Mayfair where, on the advice of his press officer, I
addressed him as "Your Majesty" - not a phrase I have had much occasion to
use before.
Although the present Greek monarchy goes back only to 1864, when the son
of the Danish King Christian IX was elected King George I of Greece,
Constantine is his direct descendant. He reigned for only three years before
the colonels seized power in the military coup of 1967. When democracy was
restored in 1974, Greece became a republic.
Exiled in London, Constantine is not only a king without a throne but a king
without a home. His family residence at Tatoi, near Athens, and Mon Repos,
his summer home in Corfu, were taken into public ownership - first by the
military regime in 1973 and again by the Athens parliament in 1994. A great
deal of money, some of it from EU funds, has restored Mon Repos, originally
built for the High Commissioner when Corfu was under British rule. Reached
by a sweeping wooded drive, it has a commanding view over the ocean.
It was easy enough for me to visit the house this summer, just before
restoration was complete. The man who remembers it so fondly would be
much less welcome. This home was not just the birthplace of Prince Philip,
King Constantine reminds me; it is also where Queen Anne-Marie gave birth
to their first child, Princess Alexia, in 1965.
The European Court ruled that the two homes, and an estate at Polyendri,
were owned by King Constantine and his family as private individuals rather
than as members of the royal family. Expropriation of the properties as part of
a constitutional settlement could be in the public interest, but only if
compensation were paid.
Though relieved to have won his case, King Constantine admitted it was
"distasteful" to have taken his countrymen to court. The Greek taxpayer, he
stressed, should not have to pay the cost of compensation. "All I want is my
home back," he said. "I had to defend the memories of my ancestors. They
bought these properties in good faith. If I didn't take this legal action, it would
look as if I didn't accept that."
Is it realistic to expect that the Greek government will let him have his
properties back? Greece will not even let him have a passport. "What is
realistic today is that I have to wait and see. I don't know how the
government intends to deal with this now. I made very clear that I would like
to talk about it and find a solution."
Would he be prepared to compromise? "When you come into negotiations, it
is impossible to think that you are going there without trying to find a solution.
I presume that they would have to have the same attitude, and then we can
come to an understanding. Obviously, the word 'compromise' comes into
effect at that point."
Does that mean he would settle for part of his estates? "I will accept anything
that is reasonable, and I am sure we can come to an understanding. If we
can't, then the European Court will decide for us."
Presumably, if the Greek government lets King Constantine have even some
of his properties back, it will have to give him a passport so he can return
home. "There's no reason why I can't go in with another passport if they won't
give me one," he said, "but if they want to give me one, I'd be delighted." He
chose not to tell me which country had issued his current travel papers, merely
saying it was not the UK.
The Greek parliament decided in 1994 that King Constantine could not keep
his passport unless he added his name to the Register of Citizens. He has
never had a surname, so parliament referred to him as Constantinos
Glucksborg. The name comes from his Danish great-grandfather Christian IX,
whose family house went by the catchy name of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksborg.
The former king originally claimed that having to call himself Glucksborg was
a degrading treatment or punishment, contrary to Article 3 of the Human
Rights Convention. But his complaint was thrown out by the Human Rights
Commission. It pointed out that Constantine was allowed to have any
surname he chose.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the case of The Former King of Greece
v Greece was that both sides were represented by English barristers. Before
David Pannick became a QC at 36, he appeared so often with Anthony
Lester, QC, that they were seen as the Batman and Robin of human rights
and public law. Now, they are on opposite sides, as they are in Strasbourg
today, arguing about free bus passes for the elderly. In the Greek case, Lord
Lester was for the former king, Mr Pannick for the government.
Did King Constantine find it strange that the two leading counsel came from
the same chambers and had worked closely together? "If you didn't know
that, listening to them there, you would never have believed it. Both sides
argued their case extremely well."
So what of the future? Greece claims the former king owes huge sums in
unpaid tax. But he dismissed this as a negotiating ploy. "I have never been
presented with a bill. Neither have my ancestors. The sovereign was not
allowed to pay tax in Greece - it was prohibited by our constitution."
The Greek government has suggested that King Constantine owes more in
back taxes than it might reasonably have to pay him in compensation. "I don't
know how they reach this sum," he said. He considers he is behaving in a
reasonable way and thinks they should, too.
If not, as he says, the European Court will have to set the level of
compensation. Will government members accept what the court says? "They
don't have to," he said carefully. "But if they don't, they won't last very long in
the European Convention of Human Rights."
~*~
Duke of York defends ex-wife(UK Times)
BY ALAN HAMILTON
THE Duke of York yesterday defended his former wife against
nutritionists who have criticised her for teaching the couple’s
children to count their calories.
In a new book the Duchess, who is sponsored by Weight
Watchers, discloses that their daughters Princess Beatrice, 12, and
Princess Eugenie, 10, use the organisation’s points system for
calculating the calorie and fat content of their meals. Experts in
eating disorders have said that teaching children to be conscious of
their diets can lead to problems such as anorexia and bulimia.
The Duke, who was touring the flood-hit village of Yalding, Kent,
said in answer to reporters’ questions: “What is the problem?
They do not know what they are talking about.”
In her book Reinventing Yourself With the Duchess of York, to
be published in the new year, the Duchess writes of her children:
“It’s a game. They test my knowledge as in ‘Mummy, how many
points for the two brownies you’re about to eat?’ ” In a weekend
interview with In—Style, the American magazine, the Duchess
claimed that her commitments with Weight Watchers left her no
time to go out with men, but she confessed to feelings of envy
when her former husband dated other women.
Speaking of the Duke of York, she said that he had been brought
up by his parents “without much emotion or affection”, and
claimed that the Duke of Edinburgh had ruled out the couple ever
remarrying.
~*~
Diana's car on sale for £75,000(Evening Standard)
by John Shaw
Any other 1981 Ford Escort would barely fetch £200 -
but this silver 1.6 Ghia, which once belonged to Princess
Diana, is expected to fetch up to £75,000.
The car, complete with a jaunty silver frog mascot, was an
engagement present from the Prince of Wales.
It was last sold for £5,150 at British Car Auctions,
Blackbushe, Surrey, in 1993. A spokesman said : "An
average Escort at that time would have sold for about
£800, but this car - minus the frog - made over six times
that price."
It was bought by Keith Lawson, a businessman from near
Great Yarmouth, for his daughter. But after Diana's death,
his daughter felt uncomfortable driving it and it was put up
for sale on the internet in the US.
Mr Lawson said he had a $1.5million bid but the sale fell
through. The car is due to go on sale on the web there
again in a month or two and he now expects between
£50,000 and £75,000. "It's too valuable for me to insure,"
he said.