GREEK MONARCHY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 143, 13 December 1935, Page 20

GREEK MONARCHY

KING GEOEGE'S RECALL

CEREMONY IN LONDON

RIVAL POLITICAL LEADERS

(From "The Post's'- Representative.) LONDON, November 16.

King George of Greece has been very happy in London, but he has always held himself in readiness to return to the Greek Throne as soon as the people showed their desire to have him back. The recent plebiscite held at his request seems to have convinced him that there was some likelihood of security for the throne in the future, and he has set out for Athens. With the news of King George's departure from London (says the Athens correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph"), the struggle between General Condylis, the Premier and Regent, and ■M. Tsaldaris, the ex-Premier, who was displaced by General Condylis's recent coup, will be intensified. M. Tsaldaris, who has a majority in the Chamber, first pressed for the King to take the oath before it. General Condylis declared that this was unnecessary, since the King had not abdicated on his expulsion from the country, and his old oath sufficed. M. Tsaldaris will, doubtless, seek an opportunity at a meeting of the Chamber publicly to direct the King's attention to his claim that his resignation of the Premiership was enforced by military officers. He will also argue that the "Rump Parliament" of 98 Condylists, who in the absence of the remaining 300 members, voted inviting the King to return,- acted unconstitutionally. Thus he hopes to diminish the influence of General Condylis as king-maker. THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE. The crux of the struggle is the question under whose influence the new elections, which the King has indicated will have to follow his return to the throne, will be held—that of M. Tsaldaris, who holds the majority in Parliament, or that of General Condylis, the de facto Premier and Regent. Both are confident that whoever holds the elections will win them. M. Tsaldaris has even intimated "that if General Condylis holds the elections he will order his followers to abstain from voting. General Condylis has issued a statement, aimed against M. Tsaldaris, saying: "The King is returning not to reconstruct the careers of bankrupt politicians, but to reconstruct the nation." * It is evident that the. restored King will have a good many difficulties to contend with. A delegation came to London to give the invitation to return to the Throne. It consisted of M. Mavromichalis (representing the Government), whose grandfather was a leader in the Greek War of Independence, and a personal friend of Lord Byron; M. Balanos (Vice-President of the National Assembly), and General Papagos (Minister of War). Inside the Greek Legation the King was joined by Princess Katherine, his sister, Crown Prince Paul, his brother, and Prince Peter, his cousin, who is a son of Prince George, his Majesty's uncle. . He was greeted by M. Simopoulos, the Greek Minister. Describing the ceremony, M. Mavromichalis said: "'Memories and thanksgiving deeply affected every man in the room. His Majesty was overcome by emotion. King George spoke to us in simple, unaffected language, so typical of ; the democrat he is. His Majesty, whose every word came from his heart, thanked us for coming to England as couriers of Greece. He trusted, he said, that his return to the throne would enable him to let the nation realise the fervent hope that peace and prosperity would be restored." DEPARTURE FROM LONDON. Before leaving London this week, the King made the following statement:— "On leaving England to return to my beloved country I take the opportunity of thanking the British people for their hospitality during my exile. I shall ever cherish the most pleasant memories of Great Britain, and of the unfailing kindness and courtesy which I have met there. The ties which unite Great Britain and Greece are historic. It is my earnest hope that they will continue to be as strong in the future as they have been in the past." On the platform at.Victoria Station a hundred Greeks were assembled to see the King set out on the first part of his journey. There were prominent business men and the staffs of the Greek Legation and Consulate, including the Greek Ambassador, M. Simopoulos, and the Consul, M. Romanos. Two archimandrites of the Greek Church, tall, bearded men in black robes with square black hats, brought the blessing of the Church. The Royal Family .of England were well represented. There were the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York, and the Duke and Duchess of Kent (cousin). A TRIUMPHAL RETURN. The light. cruiser Helli and the destroyers, Hydra and Psara, are to meet the King atßrindisi. On the return voyage the cruiser and destroyers will be met in the Corinth Canal by the entire fleet, with the Minister of Marine on board the flagship. The fleet will escort the Royal cruiser to the Bay of Phaleron. On Corfu, a squaddron of aeroplanes will be waiting the arrival of the King in Greek waters and will go to meet and escort him to Phaleron, being joined at Patras by two more squadrons of aeroplanes. When King George lands in Greece he will drive around the Bay of Phaleron to the beginning of the finest road in Greece, the new Boulevard Leophoros Syngrou. This four-track highway (says the "Daily Telegraph" correspondent) leads straight to the heart of the capital. On the shores of the bay it runs past the airport station and the British Blackburn aeroplane factory. It will be a strange sight for the King, for when lie went into exile this new adacialined boulevard was a track across waste land. Now it runs by the side of smart villas, country houses in ultramodern architecture, motor dealers' shops, and the smaller houses of refugees from Smyrna now living in the area known as New Smyrna. Two thousands pounds, a large sum for an impoverished capital, have been allotted by the Government for the decoration of the streets. The first triumphal arch will be erected near the Pillars of Zeus. Throughout the drive the King will slowly approach the Acropolis until he turns uphill past the Chamber, where he will probably halt for a ceremony at the Tomb .of the Unknown Soldier immediately below the TVirliament building. He will then pass behind the building to the Palace.