| Pavlos | |
|---|---|
| Crown Prince of Greece | |
 Pavlos athis father's funeral in 2023 | |
| Head of the Royal House of Greece | |
| Tenure | 10 January 2023 – present |
| Predecessor | Constantine II |
| Heir apparent | Constantine-Alexios |
| Born | (1967-05-20)20 May 1967 (age 58) Tatoi Palace, Athens, Kingdom of Greece |
| Spouse | |
| Issue |
|
| House | Glücksburg |
| Father | Constantine II of Greece |
| Mother | Anne-Marie of Denmark |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Greek royal family |
|---|
.svg) |
Queen Sofía of Spain |
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, Prince of Denmark[a] (Greek:Παύλος Ντε Γκρες,romanized: Pavlos de Grèce; born 20 May 1967), is a Greek financier who is the former heir apparent to thedefunct throne of Greece, becoming the Head of theRoyal House of Greece uponhis father's death on 10 January 2023.[8] Pavlos wasCrown Prince of Greece andheir apparent to the Greek throne from birth until the monarchy's abolition.
Pavlos was born inAthens as the second child and eldest son of the lastKing of Greece,Constantine II, and his wifeQueen Anne-Marie. Pavlos was born into an unstable era for Greek politics, just shy of turning eight months old when he and his family were sent into exile, after Constantine II staged a failed counter-coup against themilitary junta. They first lived inRome, before eventually settling inCopenhagen, where his family lived with Pavlos's maternal grandparents,King Frederik IX andQueen Ingrid of Denmark. Although they were in exile since December 1967, his parents continued to officially reign asKing and Queen of the Hellenes from 1967 until 1973, when the military juntaabolished the Greek monarchy and established theThird Hellenic Republic as its successor state. Following the abolition of the monarchy, Pavlos and his siblings grew up inLondon.
On 1 July 1995, Pavlos marriedMarie-Chantal Miller. They have five children:Maria-Olympia,Constantine-Alexios,Achileas-Andreas, Odysseas-Kimon, and Aristides-Stavros. Pavlos is closely related to many European royals. QueensMargrethe II of Denmark andSofía of Spain are his aunts, and KingsFelipe VI of Spain andFrederik X of Denmark are his first cousins.
Pavlos was born on 20 May 1967 at theTatoi Palace north ofAthens, used at the time as the secondary residence of theGreek royal family. He was the second child and first son ofKing Constantine II andQueen Anne-Marie of Greece.[9] Constantine II had ascended the throne on 6 March 1964, aged 23, following the death of his father and predecessor,Paul, so Pavlos wascrown prince from birth.[10] In traditionalGreek naming practices, first sons are often named after their paternal grandfathers.[11] His mother is the youngest sister of the Danish queenMargrethe II, and his father was the brother ofSofía, the formerqueen consort of Spain. His maternal grandparents wereFrederik IX of Denmark and hisqueen consort,Ingrid of Sweden.
Pavlos displaced his older sister,Alexia, as heir to the throne due to Greece's order of succession adhering tomale-preference primogeniture.[10]
Pavlos was born into a turbulent era in Greek politics, barely a month after a coup d'état which ended democratic rule in Greece over the king's objections on 21 April 1967,[10] ushering ina military junta, led byGeorgios Papadopoulos. In December of that year, Constantine attempted a counter-coup that failed due to planning mistakes, leaks, and insufficient military support.[10] Pursued by the junta, Constantine fled with his wife, children, mother and sister toRome. They then went toCopenhagen and lived with Anne-Marie's mother,Queen Ingrid.[12] From 1967 to 1973, Greece officially remained a monarchy, with aregency appointed while the king lived in exile.[10]
Following the discovery and suppression of a "wide-ranging" anti-junta movement, just before its outbreak, among the ranks of the mostly royalist Navy,Papadopoulos, on 1 June 1973, declared Greece apresidential republic with himself as president and proclaimed areferendum for 29 July 1973 on the issue of the monarchy. The referendum was held without opposition and its result confirmed the regime change, with Constantine becoming "officially" deposed. On 17 November 1974, after the fall of the dictatorship, the1974 Greek legislative election was held, resulting in a victory forConstantine Karamanlis and hisNew Democracy party. Less than a month later, on 8 December, theGreek plebiscite of 1974 confirmed the referendum of the previous year: the majority voted for a republic (69%) with a minority voting for the restoration of the monarchy (31%).
Constantine announced that he "respects" the "decision of the Greek people."[citation needed] Yet, from 1975 until early 1978 he was involved in conspiracies to overthrow the government and the republican constitution via a military coup, which eventually did not materialize.[13] He and Anne-Marie had been living with their family in London for several years. Pavlos's youngest siblings were born in London:Theodora in 1983 andPhilippos in 1986. Pavlos was educated at theHellenic College of London, founded by his parents in 1980.[b][14] He attended theArmand Hammer United World College of the American West,Montezuma, New Mexico, in the U.S., from 1984 to 1986. After training at theBritish Army'sRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was commissioned asecond lieutenant in theRoyal Scots Dragoon Guards in 1987 on a three-year short-service commission.[15][16] He was promoted to lieutenant in April 1989,[17] and relinquished his commission in April 1990.[18] In 1993, he completed a bachelor's degree at theGeorgetown University School of Foreign Service.
On 11 May 1994, the Greek Government under prime-ministerAndreas Papandreou renounced the Greek-citizenship status of Pavlos, alongside Constantine, and the rest of the former royal family through law 2215/1994.[19] The law stated that Constantine's Greek-citizenship status, and accordingly his family's, could only be restored under specific conditions, including the selection of an explicit surname. The following year, while sharing a house in Washington, DC, he and his cousin,Felipe VI of Spain, thenPrince of Asturias, attended Georgetown University, where both obtained aMaster of Science in Foreign Service.[15] After, Pavlos lived between New York City and London, working as aninvestment consultant.[14] He is co-founder[c] of Ortelius Advisors, an activisthedge fund.[20]
Following thedeath of his father on 10 January 2023, Pavlos delivered Constantine's eulogy during the funeral ceremony and carried his coffin with his brothers, sons and nephews at the burial.[21] A rumour circulated that Pavlos intended to permanently relocate toGreece,[22] but this was later denied by the spokesperson of the former Greek royal family, Ivi Macris, as "completely false".[23] On 22 January, Pavlos spoke to French magazinePoint de Vue regarding his new role.[24] In the interview, Pavlos thanked the public for their respect towards the Greek royal family and said that those who crowded the funeral, whether they were "monarchists or not", "paid tribute to a historical personality, a part of Greek history."[25] When asked about the role he sees himself upholding in Greek society, Pavlos explained that he would "not take on an official role", but will "uphold the family's exemplary." He added that his eldest sonConstantine-Alexios would not take on any official role either, but would "follow his grandfather's example and be a good man."[25]
Pavlos issued a statement about theTempi train collision in February 2023, which caused the death of almost 60 people, styling himself Head of the former Royal House of Greece following Constantine's death. The statement read: "Today all of Greece is mourning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones to this unimaginable tragedy and with the injured who we sincerely hope to be released from the hospital soon." Pavlos also thanked the rescue and medical teams involved for their "superhuman efforts", before giving his "heartbroken" condolences to the families who lost their children in the accident and asking God to bless them all.[26] Soon after, as Pavlos was leaving Athens that month, it was revealed that he and his family had been searching for a home in Greece, with Pavlos telling journalists that he had not "found a house yet".[26]
.jpg)
In April 2023, Pavlos attended aGreek OrthodoxEaster service inthe Hamptons, where his sons Constantine-Alexios and Odysseas-Kimon were holding theEpitaphios.[27] Pavlos attended thecoronation of Charles III and Camilla in May with his mother and wife.[28]
On 3 July 2023 at 11:45pm, Pavlos and his brother, Nikolaos, appeared in a special edition of365 Moments, a Greek television series hosted bySofia Papaioannou. The episode marked the first interview with Pavlos and Nikolaos since their father's death, and it discussed the passing of their father, their stripped Greek citizenship and their surname.[29] Pavlos described his father as "strict but very loving" and said that despite being forced into exile, he still wanted to help his family. Pavlos also announced that he was now living in Greece again, which is what he "always wanted to". He explained that the opportunity to live in Greece occurred as his job allowed for overseas work. When asked whether he accepted the last name "Glücksburg", Pavlos said that he would never see it as his name. He called it, "a family lineage. Denmark's family name is not that. It is one of thecastles of the family's origin."[29] He explained that throughout his life, he never introduced himself with a last name, but rather called himself "Pavlos of Greece". Pavlos also added that he was "very interested in [Greek] politics", but would never become involved, has no political association and would always long for his Greek passport to be returned.[29]
Pavlos and Marie-Chantal attended the2023 British Fashion Awards. There, Pavlos was spotted with a black eye patch covering his left eye. The day prior, Marie-Chantal posted toInstagram a close-up photo of his eye patch, saying, "Hopefully a temporary new look, but he’s kind of cute".[30] Following worry online, Pavlos announced on Instagram that he had undergone aretinal detachment surgery. After thanking people for their support and wishes, Pavlos explained that the surgery was "successful", however he would be unable to travel and therefore have to spend Christmas in London.[31] Between January and February 2024, Pavlos and his family attended three memorial services to mark the one year anniversary of Constantine's death — one in Athens and two in London, includinga thanksgiving service. After a memorial service the following day, Pavlos and Nikolaos were interviewed byANT1 reporter Isaac Karipidis. They both thanked the public for their support.[32] On 28 September 2024, Pavlos served as a groomsman at the wedding of Princess Theodora and Matthew Kumar at theMetropolitan Cathedral.[33]
On 19 December 2024, Pavlos, his five children and his four siblings submitted an application for Greek citizenship, which had been stripped from the family in 1994. Pavlos's mother, Anne-Marie, did not apply, as she was reportedly "not interested".[34] Under law, Pavlos and his family, in order to receive citizenship, must pledge allegiance to the republican constitution and adopt a surname. Ultimately, the surname of "Ντε Γκρες" (transliteration ofDe Grèce, meaning "of Greece") was chosen.[35] It was reported by the royal family that this surname was chosen as it was the one used by the latePrince Michael of Greece and Denmark, and so was the "only familiar one" to them.[36] The following day, Pavlos's citizenship, alongside that of his children and siblings, was reinstated according to the provisions of the 1994 law by order of theMinister of the Interior,Theodoros Livanios.[37][38] The reinstatement of their citizenship meant that those eligible must complete mandatory military conscription.[34] Deputy Minister Pavlos Marinakis said toAction 24 that the ex-royal family's "request was made in accordance with the law", while the left-wingSYRIZA party stated "the choice of family name is problematic".[35] TheCommunist Party of Greece andPASOK also criticized the government's decision.[39] Athens University Constitutional Law Emeritus ProfessorNikos Alivizatos also criticized the decision of the Minister of the Interior arguing that it did not fulfill the requirements of the 1994 law, because "Ντε Γκρες" was not a "regular surname", but "a declaration of place of origin" and a title of distinction, such as those used by royalty and aristocrats, something that goes against the Greek Constitution.[40] In February 2025, Athens University Administrative Law Professor Panos Lazaratos lodged an objection against the recognition of the surname filed by the members of the former royal family, arguing that it constitutes a form of indirect discrimination against all other citizens, and that it was unlawful to give them Greek citizenship.[41]
Pavlos married American heiressMarie-Chantal Miller, whom he had met at a party three years earlier inNew Orleans, on 1 July 1995.[15] TheGreek Orthodox wedding atSaint Sophia Cathedral, London drew a rare modern panoply of royalty, but the ceremony proved to be legally invalid and had eventually to be repeated civilly (not normally required in the UK) inChelsea because of a law requiring that marriages in England be conducted in English.[15]
After their marriage, the couple took up residence inGreenwich, Connecticut, the job that Pavlos obtained with the Charles R. Weber ship-broking company being headquartered there.[15] Later, he went to work at a New York City firm as an investment portfolio manager, before relocation to London for their children's education in 2004.[14]
The couple has five children:Maria-Olympia (b. 1996),Constantine-Alexios (b. 1998),Achileas-Andreas (b. 2000), Odysseas-Kimon (b. 2004), and Aristidis-Stavros (b. 2008).
Pavlos is abluewateryachtsman and crews on the multi-record-breakingmonohullMari-Cha IV, owned by his father-in-law; businessmanRobert W. Miller.
From birth, Pavlos was the heir apparent to the throne of Greece and as such he was referred to as theCrown Prince of Greece with the style ofRoyal Highness.[14] Following the deposition of the Greek monarchy in 1973, these titles and styles are no longer legally recognised by the government of theHellenic Republic. Through his male-line descent fromChristian IX of Denmark,[42] he is also aPrince of Denmark with the style ofHighness.[43]
Greek royal family:
Grand Master of theOrder of the Redeemer
Grand Master of the Order of theOrder of Saints George and Constantine
Grand Master of theOrder of George I
Grand Master of theOrder of the Phoenix
Denmark:
Knight of theOrder of the Elephant (14 January 1997)
Recipient of theCommemorative Medal of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Margrethe II| Ancestors of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece[44] |
|---|
Pavlos is a direct descendant of three reigning sovereign monarchs at birth. He is the eldest son of the King of Greece, grandson of the King of Denmark and great-grandson of the King of Sweden, all living and enthroned when he was born.[10] His paternal aunt,Sofía, was Queen consort of Spain and his paternal first cousin,Felipe VI, is the current King of Spain. His maternal aunt,Margrethe II, was the reigning Queen of Denmark and his maternal first cousin,Frederik X, is the current King of Denmark. Pavlos's parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were all reigning monarchs and consorts. Bymale-line descent, he is a member of theSchleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg branch of theHouse of Oldenburg.[10]
Pavlos is a scion multiple times ofQueen Victoria and King Christian IX, who were dubbed the "grandmother of Europe" and "father-in-law of Europe" respectively, due toroyal intermarriage. As a result, he descends fromChristian IX of Denmark through three of his children; in the male line through his second son,George I of Greece, in the female line through his eldest son,Frederik VIII of Denmark, and through King Christian's youngest daughter,Princess Thyra.[15] He also descends thrice fromQueen Victoria; once through her third son,Prince Arthur, and twice through her eldest daughter,Victoria, Princess Royal.[15]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece Cadet branch of theHouse of Oldenburg Born: 20 May 1967 | ||
| Greek royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Crown Prince of Greece 20 May 1967 – 1 June 1973 | Monarchy abolished |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Head of theGreek royal family 10 January 2023 – present Reason for succession failure: Abolition of the monarchy in 1973/74 | Incumbent Heir: Constantine Alexios |
Generations are numbered by descent fromGeorge I. All princes were also Princes of Denmark. | ||
| 1st generation | | |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
See alsoHouse of Glücksburg andGreek royal family | ||
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
| 1st generation | .svg) | |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation | ||
| 7th generation | ||
| 8th generation | ||
| 9th generation | ||
| 10th generation | ||
| 11th generation | ||
| 12th generation | ||
| 13th generation | ||
1 Also prince of Norway 2 Also prince of Greece 3 Also prince of Iceland 4 Also prince of the United Kingdom 5 Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark Princes that lost their title are shown in italics | ||