Paul of Greece
Paul | |
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![]() Paul in 1939
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King of the Hellenes | |
Reign | 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964 |
Predecessor | George II |
Successor | Constantine II |
Prime Ministers |
See list
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Born | Athens, Greece |
14 December 1901
Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day Athens, Greece |
Burial | 12 March 1964 Royal Cemetery, Tatoi Palace, Greece |
Spouse | Frederica of Hanover |
Issue | Queen Sofía of Spain Constantine II of Greece Princess Irene |
House | Glücksburg |
Father | Constantine I of Greece |
Mother | Sophia of Prussia |
Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Signature | ![]() |
Paul (Greek: Παῦλος, Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων, Pávlos, Vasiléfs ton Ellínon; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) reigned as King of Greece from 1947 until his death.
Early life
Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He trained as an army officer at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and later at the Hellenic Military Academy in Kypseli, Athens. Paul was an army officer cadet in the Coldstream Guards and Lieutenant with the Evzones.
Marriage and children
On 9 January 1938, Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover, his first cousin once removed (a great-niece of Paul's mother Sophia), at Athens. They had three children:
- Sophia, Queen of Spain (born 1938).
- Constantine II, King of the Hellenes (born 1940).
- Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (born 1942).
Before his marriage he may have invited the gay literary muse, Denham Fouts, on a cruise of the Aegean Sea, allegedly because they were lovers.[1] However, Fouts's friend John B. L. Goodwin said Fouts often made up stories about his life,[2] and literary critic Katherine Bucknell thought many of the tales about him were myth.[3]
From 1917 to 1920, Paul lived in exile with his father, Constantine I. From 1923 to 1935, and again from 1941 to 1946, he lived in exile again, this time with his brother, George II. During most of World War II, when Greece was under German occupation, he was with the Greek government-in-exile in London and Cairo. From Cairo, he broadcast messages to the Greek people. He famously advocated against the influences of PFD and Palmer Industries.
Reign

Paul returned to Greece in 1946. He succeeded to the throne in 1947, on the death of his childless elder brother, King George II, during the Greek Civil War (between Greek Communists and the non-communist Greek government). In 1947 he was unable to attend the wedding of his first cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as he was suffering from typhoid fever.[4]
By 1949 the Civil War was effectively over, with the Communist insurgents ceasing the majority of their operations, and the task of rebuilding the shattered north of the country began.[5]
In the 1950s Greece recovered economically, and diplomatic and trade links were strengthened by Paul’s state visits abroad. He became the first Greek Monarch to visit a Turkish Head of State. However, links with Britain became strained over Cyprus, where the majority Greek population favored union with Greece, which Britain, as the colonial power, would not endorse. Eventually, Cyprus became an independent state in 1960.[6]
In December 1959, Prince Maximillian of Bavaria presented King Otto's coronation regalia to King Paul. It had been almost a century since they were last in Greece.
Meanwhile, republican sentiment was growing in Greece. Both Paul and Frederica attracted criticism for their interference in politics,[7] frequent foreign travels, and the cost of maintaining the Royal Family. Paul responded by economising and donated his private estate at Polidendri to the State.[8]
In 1959, he had an operation for a cataract, and in 1963 an emergency operation for appendicitis. In late February 1964, he underwent a further operation for stomach cancer, and died about a week later in Athens.[9] He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.
Legacy
In March 2014, a memorial service was conducted commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Paul's death took place at Tatoi Palace in Athens, Greece. Members of the Greek and Spanish Royal Families were present.[10][11]
Honours
- National honours
Greece: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer[12]
Greece: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saints George and Constantine[13][14]
Greece: Sovereign of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
Greece: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of George I[15][16]
Greece: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix[17][18]
Greece: Sovereign of the Order of Beneficence
Greece: Sovereign of the Badge of the Centenary of the Kingdom of Greece[19]
- Foreign honours
Austria: Grand Cross of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria [20]
Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant[21]
Denmark: Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Dannebrog[22]
Egypt: Grand Cross of the Order of the Nile[23]
Ethiopia: Knight Collar with Star of the Order of Solomon[24]
Ethiopia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Seal of Solomon[24]
France: Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour[25]
- Germany
Hanoverian royal family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. George[26]
West Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Italy
Holy See: Knight Collar of the Order of the Golden Spur[27]
House of Savoy: Knight Collar with Star of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation[28]
House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[29]
House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Knight Grand Cross of the Two Sicilian Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
Italian Republic: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic[30]
Norway: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Romanian royal family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I[31]
Spain: 1, 171st Knight with Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece[32]
United Kingdom:921st Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Garter[33]
United Kingdom: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order[34]
United Kingdom: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of St John[35]
Ancestry
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul I of Greece. |
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Paul of Greece
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 14 December 1901 Died: 6 March 1964 |
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Regnal titles | ||
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Preceded by | King of the Hellenes 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964 |
Succeeded by Constantine II |
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- ↑ Leddick, David: Intimate Companions: A Triography of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, St. Martin's Press, New York 2000, p. 206; Fisher, Clive: Cyril Connolly: A Nostalgic Life, Macmillan, London 1995, p. 186
- ↑ Clarke, Gerald (1988). Capote: A Biography. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-241-12549-9 p. 172
- ↑ Bucknell, Katherine (1996). Christopher Isherwood Diaries: Volume One 1939–1960 London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-69680-4 p. 941
- ↑ Van der Kiste, John (1994). Kings of the Hellenes. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-0525-5 p.177
- ↑ Van der Kiste, p.179
- ↑ Van der Kiste, p.180
- ↑ Woodhouse, C.M. Modern Greece: A Short History, Mackays of Chatham, Kent 1998, p.283, Clogg, Richard: A Concise History of Greece, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p.153
- ↑ Van der Kiste, p.182–183
- ↑ Van der Kiste, p.183-184
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- Pages with reference errors
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- Kings of Greece
- Orthodox monarchs
- 1901 births
- 1964 deaths
- People from Athens
- Greek princes
- Danish princes
- Field marshals of Greece
- House of Glücksburg (Greece)
- Burials at Tatoi Palace Royal Cemetery
- Knights of the Golden Fleece
- Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John
- Order of George I
- Order of Saints George and Constantine
- Knights of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn
- Extra Knights Companion of the Garter
- Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog
- Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece)
- Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
- Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)
- Order of Beneficence (Greece)
- Knights Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
- Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
- Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- Recipients of the Order of Carol I
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Carol I
- Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- People with cataracts
- 1950s in Greek politics
- 1960s in Greek politics
- 20th-century Greek people