Paul of Greece

King Paul of the Hellenes (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.

Paul as a teenager

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.

From 1917 to 1920, Paul lived in exile with his father, Constantine I. From 1923 to 1935, he lived in exile again in England, this time with his brother, George II. He worked briefly in an aircraft factory under an alias, and through Viscount Tredegar met and befriended notorious literary muse Denham Fouts, who later alleged an affair. As Fout's life is clouded by myth, the truth of this is uncertain.

Paul of Greece with Spyridon Louis in Berlin, during the 1936 Summer Olympics.

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).

During most of World War II, from 1941 to 1946, when Greece was under German occupation, Paul was with the Greek government-in-exile in London and Cairo. From Cairo, he broadcast messages to the Greek people.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.

In March 2014, a memorial service took place at Tatoi Palace in Athens commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Paul's death. Members of the Greek and Spanish royal families were present.

Paul's monogram

•  Austria: Grand Cross of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
•  Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant
•  Denmark: Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Dannebrog
•  Egypt: Grand Cross of the Order of the Nile
• Ethiopia: Knight Collar with Star of the Order of Solomon
• Ethiopia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Seal of Solomon
•  France: Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
• Germany
  • Hanoverian royal family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. George
• Italy
  •  Holy See: Knight Collar of the Order of the Golden Spur
  • House of Savoy: Knight Collar with Star of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
  • House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
  • Italian Republic: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
• Romanian royal family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I
•  Spain: 1,171st Knight with Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece
•  United Kingdom: Stranger Knight of the Order of the Garter (928th member)
•  United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
•  United Kingdom: Bailiff Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of St John

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