GREEK THRONE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22712, 26 October 1935, Page 17

GREEK THRONE

ITS RECENT HISTORY CONTINUED INSECURITY As a result of the political troubles in Greece, where a revolution instigated by M. Venizelos, a former Premier, was suppressed in March last, the National Assembly recently authorised a plebiscite of the electors to decide whether the Monarchy shall be restored and the exiled King George II invited to return to Greece (says a writer in the Melbourne Age) has experienced a great deal of political interest since she gained her independence from the Turks by force of arras in 1829, her independence being guaranteed at the time by Great Britain, France, and Russia. In 1831 an invitation was given to Prince Otto of Bavaria to occupy the throne of Greece, and he was crowned in the followin'? year. He was then 16 years of age. His troubled reign lasted 30 years, and he was finally forced to abdicate. He had made himself unpopular by filling the chief posts of government with Bavarians, and this naturally angered the Greeks, particularly the politicians In 1843 he was compelled to dismiss his Bavarian advisers, and to summon a National Assembly to draw up a Constitution. But this was only a prelude to more trouble in the form of military plots aganist the monarchy, and eventtually the three Great Powers who had guaranteed the independence of Greece, and had been responsible for the invitation to Prince Otto to become King of the Hellenes, compelled him to surrender his rights to _ the throne. It was then offered to Prince William, son of King Christian of Denmark, and brother of Princess Alexandra, who was destined to become Queen of England as the wife of King Edward VII. Prince William, who adopted the title of King George, reigned for 50 years. He was assassinated at Salonika on March 18, 1913, by a drunken Greek, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Constantine. GERMAN SYMPATHIES. The latter, who married Princess Sophia of Prussia, the sister of Kaiser Wilhelm 11, was in sympathy with Germany during the Great War, and, despite the eftorts of the Allies and that section of the Greek people represented by M, Venizelos to induce Greece to eater the war on the side of the Allies, he kept Greece neutral. In June, 1917, he was deposed as the result of pressure applied by the Allies, apd his eldest son, Prince George, who was known to be in sympathy with the Central Empires, was excluded from succession to the throne. Prince George and his father were exiled and went to Switzerland. Constantine’s second son, Prince Alexander, a young man of 24 years, wa* proclaimed King, and, yielding to pressure, he at once declared war on the Central Empires. But the unexpected death of King Alexander three years later caused trouble in political circles in Greece. While strolling in the grounds of his castle at Tatoi the King was bitten by a monkey, which sprang from a branch of a tree and attacked the King’s dog. The King went; to the assistance of his dog, and the monkey bit him, and blood poisoning set in. The Council of Ministers, of which M. Venizelos was the head, issued u proclamation declaring that Prince Paul, the younger brother of King Alexander, was next in succession to the throne. But Paul, a youth of 19 years, who was living with his exiled father in (Switzerland, declined to become King, on the ground that his father and his elder brother. Prince George, had never renounced their rights to the throne. In this attitude Prince Paul was influenced by hia father, and in order to check any attempt on the part of M. Venizelos to offer the throne to a member of some other royal house, Prince Paul said he would accept the throne if the Greek nation definitely decided by plebiscite against the claims of his father and his eider brother, TWICE EXILED, At the next general elections in Greece the Government of M. Venizelos was defeated, and to escape revenge at the hands of the victorious Royalists, that statesman fled from the country. On December 5, 1920, a plebiscite was held to decide the occupancy of the throne, and 999,954 votes were cast for the return of King Constantine and only 10,383 against. A fortnight later King Constantine and Prince George returned to Greece, and were enthusiastically welcomed. It might reasonably have been expected that Constantine would continue to reign to the end of his life, but less than two years after his return he was forced to abdicate in order to avert civil war. The cause of his rapid decline in popularity was the disastrous result of hia ambitious military campaign against Turkey. With the idea of consolidating hig position on the throne by military glory and-wresting from Turkey substantial additions to Greek territory he declared war on Turkey in the belief that the Turks were exhausted by their efforts in the Great War, and too disspirited to begin another struggle. But the Turks, under the able leadership of Kemal Pasha, inflicted a series of disastrous defeats on the Greeks. Constantine abdicated in favour of his eldest son. Prince George, who ascended the throne the day his father surrendered it. The latter went into exile at Palermo, Italy, and died there four months later. The position of his son George, as King of the Hellenes, was so precarious that he was unable to exert sufficient authority to have his father’s corpse brought to Greece for burial. George began his reign by consenting to the execution of several Ministers and generals, as scapegoats for the disastrous military campaign against the Turks. These executions shocked public opinion abroad, and Great Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Greece. HIS FALL. In order to propitiate foreign opinion. King George dismissed the Government which had authorised the executions, and a new Cabinet was formed. When the King’s uncle, Prince Andreas, was degraded and banished by a court-martial for his conduct as commander of the Greek second army, which had been defeated by the Turks, the Kinv wanted to abdicate; but he was not allowed to do so, and was kept a prisoner in the Royal palace, by M. Fangios, the Prime Minister, who was a follower of M. Venizelos. Next year the King took part in a plot to overthrow the Government of M. Panglos, but it was unsuccessful, and the Prime Minister requested the King to, leave the country for the duration of the parliamentary session, while the question of the future political Constitution of Greece wag discussed. The King complied with the request on December 18. 1923. and went to Bucharest, the capital of Rumania, as the guest of his father-in-law, Prince Ferdinand. On March 25, 1924, the Greek Parliament proclaimed a republic, and the decision was ratified by a plebiscite in the following month by 758,742 votes to 325.322. The former ruling dynasty was declared to have forfeited the throne, and all its members were banished from the country. King George immediately issued a public protest against his deposition, and asserted that he would never renounce his rights and claims to ththrone. He is now in his fifty-third year, and has been living in exile 11 years. It is considered very unlikely that the forthcoming plebiscite will be in favour of his return to Greece to occupy the throne. The fact that he has no children wonG probably influence votes against him, fixif he went back the succession to ththrone after his death would probably revive political unrest.