Greek royals to make major change for first time in 50 years – details
Members of the Greek royal family are attempting to regain their citizenship of their home country. In a major move, the family has accepted that Greece is now a republic, five decades after the abolition of the monarchy.
The Greek royals were stripped of their citizenship in 1994 after the former monarch, the late King Constantine, ended up in a dispute over former royal residences and his refusal to renounce his children's claims to the former Greek throne.
It has been reported that on Thursday, several Greek royals signed a declaration asserting that Greece is a republic and changing their surname to 'de Grece', which is French for 'of Greece'.
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A decision on their citizenship has not yet been made, but the decision will need to be published in the official government gazette before the members are able to apply for state identity cards and Greek passports.
Members of the family who wish to regain citizenship include all five of Constantine's children: Crown Prince Pavlos, Princess Alexia, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos. Other members have not been named, but are believed to consist of Constantine's grandchildren.
King Constantine was the final King of Greece and ruled the European nation from 1964 to 1973. During his rule, Greece's government was overthrown by a military junta and Constantine was exiled from his homeland when he attempted to organise a counter-coup.
The military junta subsequently abolished Greece's monarchy in 1973 and the decision was confirmed the following year in a referendum following the restoration of democracy.
Speaking on Greek radio, Athanasios Balerpas, an official in the Interior Ministry, said: "A historically pending matter is being resolved. Let's look to the future now. I think it's a good moment because it closes an account from the past and we can now look forward as a people."
Constantine lived most of his life in exile, spending time in London with close friend King Charles, but he returned to his homeland in 2013 where he lived until his death on 10 January 2023.
It's been a busy year for the Greek royal family as Princess Theodora married her partner Matthew Kumar in a romantic ceremony held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
Matthew first popped the question to his fiancée in 2018 but their gorgeous nuptials were twice delayed, once for the COVID-19 pandemic and the second following the death of Constantine.
Following the intimate ceremony, Theodora and Matthew were greeted by cheering crowds and they kissed in front of their fans before departing in a silver Range Rover.
As the bride and groom left, Pavlos was seen personally shaking hands with and thanking members of the public who had gathered for his younger sister's nuptials.
