List of kings of Greece

For the concept of kingship in Greek, seeAnaxandBasileus.For the kings of various polities in ancient Greece, see their respective articles. For the emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, seeList of Byzantine emperors.

King ofthe Hellenes
Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων
Greater Coat of arms of Kingdom of Greece
Last to reign Constantine II 6 March 1964 – 1 June 1973
Details
Style	His Majesty
First monarch	Otto
Last monarch	Constantine II
Formation	30 August 1832
Abolition	1 June 1973
Residence	New Royal Palace(main residence) Tatoi Palace(summer residence)
Appointer	Hereditary
Pretender(s)	Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece

Theroyal coat of arms of Greeceunder the Glücksburg dynasty, created after the restoration of King George II to the throne in 1935

TheKingdom of Greecewas ruled by theHouse of Wittelsbachfrom 1832 to 1862 and by theHouse of Glücksburgfrom 1863 to 1924 and, after being temporarily abolished in favor of theSecond Hellenic Republic,again from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolished and replaced by theThird Hellenic Republic.

Only the first king,Otto,was actually styledKingof Greece(Greek:Βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἑλλάδος). His successor,George I,was styledKing of the Hellenes(Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων), as were all other modern Greek monarchs.

The Greek monarchy was definitively abolished weeks before thereferendum in 1973conducted under the auspices of the then-rulingmilitary regime,which confirmed the abolishment. It was re-confirmed bya second referendum in 1974,after therestoration of democratic rule.

House of Wittelsbach

Main article:House of Wittelsbach

TheLondon Conference of 1832was an international conference convened to establish a stable government in Greece. Negotiations between the threeGreat Powers(United Kingdom,FranceandRussia) resulted in the establishment of theKingdom of Greeceunder aBavarian Prince.The decisions were ratified in theTreaty of Constantinoplelater that year.

The convention offered the throne to the Bavarian Prince, Otto. They also established the line of succession which would pass the crown to Otto's descendants, or his younger brothers should he have no issue. It was also decided that in no case would there be apersonal unionof the crowns of Greece andBavaria.

Name Reign	Duration of reign	Portrait	Arms	Birth Date, location, parents	Marriage(s) Issue	Death	Title Succession right
Otto (Ὄθων) 27 May 1832 – 23 October 1862	30 years, 149 days			1 June 1815 Salzburg,Austria Son ofLudwig I of BavariaandTherese of Saxe-Hildburghausen	Amalia of Oldenburg 22 December 1836 No children	26 July 1867 Bamberg,Bavaria Aged 52	King of Greece Chosen by theGreat Powers

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Main article:House of Glücksburg

In October 1862, King Otto was deposed in a popular revolt, but while the Greek people rejected Otto, they did not seem averse to the concept of monarchyper se.Many Greeks, seeking closer ties to the pre-eminent world power, theUnited Kingdom,rallied around the idea thatPrince Alfred,the second son ofQueen VictoriaandPrince Albert,could become the next king.British Foreign SecretaryLord Palmerstonbelieved that the Greeks were "panting for increase in territory", hoping that the election of Alfred as king would also result in the incorporation of theIonian Islands,which were then aBritish protectorate,into an enlarged Greek state.

TheLondon Conference of 1832,however, had prohibited any of the Great Powers' ruling families from accepting the crown of Greece, and in any event, Queen Victoria was adamantly opposed to the idea. Nevertheless, the Greeks insisted on holding areferendumon the issue of the head of state in November 1862. It was the first referendum ever held in Greece.

Prince Alfred turned down the kingship andPrince William of Denmark,the second son ofPrince Christian of Denmark(the Danish heir-presumptive), was elected by theNational Assemblyto become King George I of the Hellenes.

Name Reign	Duration of reign	Portrait	Arms	Birth Date, location, parents	Marriage(s) Issue	Death	Title Succession right
George I (Γεώργιος Αʹ) 30 March 1863 – 18 March 1913	49 years, 353 days			24 December 1845 Copenhagen,Denmark Son ofChristian IX of DenmarkandLouise of Hesse	Olga Constantinovna of Russia 27 October 1867 8 children	18 March 1913 Thessaloniki,Ottoman Empire Aged 67	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Third cousin once removed throughChristian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburgand thenelectedKing of the Greeks.
Constantine I (Κωνσταντῖνος Αʹ) 18 March 1913 – 11 June 1917	4 years, 85 days			2 August 1868 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofGeorge I of GreeceandOlga Constantinovna of Russia	Sophia of Prussia 27 October 1889 6 children	11 January 1923 Palermo,Kingdom of Italy Aged 54	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of George I
Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος) 11 June 1917 – 25 October 1920	3 years, 136 days			1 August 1893 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofConstantine I of GreeceandSophia of Prussia	Aspasia Manos 17 November 1919 1 child	25 October 1920 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Aged 27	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of Constantine I
Constantine I (Κωνσταντῖνος Αʹ) 19 December 1920 – 27 September 1922	1 year, 282 days			2 August 1868 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofGeorge I of GreeceandOlga Constantinovna of Russia	Sophia of Prussia 27 October 1889 6 children	11 January 1923 Palermo,Kingdom of Italy Aged 54	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of George I
George II (Γεώργιος Βʹ) 27 September 1922 – 25 March 1924	1 year, 160 days			19 July 1890 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofConstantine I of GreeceandSophia of Prussia	Elisabeth of Romania 27 February 1921 Divorced 6 July 1935(after this reign) No children	1 April 1947 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Aged 56	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of Constantine I

The monarchy was abolished in 1924 and replaced by theSecond Hellenic Republic.

Second Hellenic Republic

Main article:Second Hellenic Republic

TheHellenic Republicwas proclaimed on 25 March 1924, in the aftermath of Greece's defeat byTurkeyin theAsia Minor Campaign,which was widely blamed on the royalist government. During its brief existence, the Second Republic proved unstable. Greek society continued to be divided, as it was since theNational Schism,between the pro-RepublicanVenizelistsand the monarchists represented by thePeople's Party,who refused to acknowledge even the legitimacy of the Republic.

The cleavage in society extended to cultural and social issues such as differences over the use ofGreek languageto architectural styles. To this polarization was added the destabilizing involvement of the military in politics which resulted in several coups and attempted coups. The economy was in ruins following a decade of warfare and was unable to support the 1.5 million refugees from thepopulation exchange with Turkey.

Despite the efforts of the reformist government ofEleftherios Venizelosin 1928–1932, theGreat Depressionhad a disastrous impact on Greece's economy. The electoral victory of the People's Party in 1933, and two failed Venizelist coups, paved the way to the restoration of the reign of KingGeorge II.

House of Glücksburg (restored)

Main article:House of Glücksburg

In 1935,Prime MinisterGeorgios Kondylis,a former pro-Venizelosmilitary officer, became the most powerful political figure in Greece. He compelledPanagis Tsaldaristo resign as Prime Minister and took over the government, suspending many constitutional provisions in the process. Kondylis, who had now joined the Conservatives, decided to hold a referendum in order to re-establish the monarchy, despite the fact that he used to be a supporter of the anti-monarchist wing of Greek politics.

Name Reign	Duration of reign	Portrait	Arms	Birth Date, location, parents	Marriage(s) Issue	Death	Title Succession right
George II (Γεώργιος Βʹ) 25 November 1935 – 1 April 1947	11 years, 149 days			19 July 1890 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofConstantine I of GreeceandSophia of Prussia	Elisabeth of Romania 27 February 1921 Divorced 6 July 1935(before this reign) No children	1 April 1947 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Aged 56	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of Constantine I
Paul (Παῦλος) 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964	16 years, 340 days			14 December 1901 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofConstantine I of GreeceandSophia of Prussia	Frederica of Hanover 9 January 1938 3 children	6 March 1964 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Aged 62	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of Constantine I
Constantine II (Κωνσταντῖνος Βʹ) 6 March 1964 – 1 June 1973	9 years, 87 days			2 June 1940 Athens,Kingdom of Greece Son ofPaul of GreeceandFrederica of Hanover	Anne-Marie of Denmark 18 September 1964 5 children	10 January 2023 Athens,Greece Aged 82	King of the Hellenes (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων) Son of Paul

The monarchy was again abolished in 1973 and replaced by a republic. After the fall of the Greek junta in July 1974, the government held another referendum in December 1974 with the result being (again) to confirm the abolition of the monarchy and to establish theThird Hellenic Republic.

Timeline of kings of Greece

See also

• Greek crown jewels
• Greek royal family
• List of Greek regents
• List of Greek royal consorts
• List of heads of state of Greece
• Monarchy of Greece