The death of Constantine II, last King of Greece, brings to an end a chapter in his country’s history. But for supporters of the Greek monarchy, the question of who now carries the claim of the crown remains. Constantine’s heir was his eldest son, Pavlos.
Back on May 20 1967, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, also a prince of Denmark, was born. The Greek Crown Prince is the eldest son and second child of Constantine II, the last King of Greece from 1964 to 1973 and his wife, Anne-Marie of Denmark. Both Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Sofia of Spain are his aunts.
When he was born, Crown Prince Pavlos, displaced his older sister, Alexia, as heir to the throne following the rules of Greece’s order of succession. The Prince grew up at the Tatoi Palace in Athens. Pavlos was born into a turbulent era in Greek politics. Greece was at this time characterized by military coups and instability.
Crown Prince Pavlos’ father, King Constantine II, had taken over power in Greece following the death of his father, King Pavlos, in 1964. In 1967, the same year that Pavlos was born, the Greek Royal Family was overthrown in a military coup. In December 1967 King Constantine attempted a counter-coup, but could not rally sufficient military support.
Therefore, in 1967 the Royal Family had to leave Greece. They first went to Rome. From Rome they went to Copenhagen, and lived with Queen Anne-Marie’s mother, Queen Ingrid, for some time.
Crown Prince Pavlos was educated in London at the Hellenic College of London, founded by his parents as well as the Armand Hammer United World College in USA. The Crown Prince has also completed training at the British Army’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
As an adult, he has lived in New York City and London, working as an investment consultant. Pavlos married the British-born heiress Marie-Chantal Miller, on 1 July 1995. The couple have five children Princess Maria-Olympia, Prince Constantine-Alexios, Prince Achileas-Andreas, Prince Odysseas-Kimon and Prince Aristidis-Stavros.
The Greek Crown Prince and his family are often seen at official royal celebrations in Europe. After all many of the Crown Prince’s close relatives are important European royals. The Crown Prince is otherwise little involved in Greek politics.
