Fifty years after the abolition of the Greek monarchy, members of the former royal family have successfully regained Greek citizenship, formally recognizing the country’s republican system of government. The late King Constantine II, along with his family, lost their Greek citizenship in 1994 due to a contentious dispute regarding royal property and the refusal to renounce claims to the Greek throne for future generations.
According to Athanasios Balerpas, an official from the Interior Ministry, the relatives of Constantine II, who passed away at 82 last year, signed an acknowledgment of the republican government on Thursday, adopting the surname “De Grece,” which translates to “of Greece” in French. Balerpas remarked, “A historically pending matter is being resolved,” suggesting this move helps to clear past disputes and allows the country to move forward collectively.
The citizenship reinstatement was officially documented in the government gazette on Friday (Β 7035/2024), enabling the De Greces to obtain Greek identity cards and passports. This includes all five children of Constantine II and former Queen Anne-Marie — Alexia, Pavlos, Nikolaos, Theodora, and Philippos — as well as five of their grandchildren.The monarchy in Greece ended in December 1974 after a referendum which resulted in a strong vote for a republican constitution, marking the end of a seven-year military dictatorship.
The royal family had lived in exile for many years, with Constantine returning to Greece as a private citizen in his later years. Their citizenship was revoked in 1994 amid a legal dispute over what was once royal property, now state-owned.The family had previously resisted adopting a surname, particularly “Glücksburg,” which they felt tied them too closely to their German lineage and diminished their Greek identity. Despite some opposition from center-left and left-wing parties who criticized the choice of “De Grece” as seeming more like a title than a surname, there was no objection to their citizenship being restored.
