Everything We Know About the Greek Royal Family

1. Why Was the Greek Monarchy Abolished?

During his short reign, Constantine II was ousted by a military coup in 1967. Although he attempted a royal countercoup, the late king’s plans didn’t quite pan out, and he and his family were forced into exile. By 1973, the military junta called a referendum that officially abolished the Greek monarchy and the reign of Constantine II. 

2. Who Is Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece?

Prince Pavlos is the eldest son of Constantine II (the last king of Greece) and Princess Anne-Marie. When he was born, he was the heir apparent to the throne of Greece—that is, until the monarchy was abolished in July 1973.

Following the passing of his father in January 2023, Pavlos became the new head of the former royal family. And a few weeks after his father’s passing, Pavlos told Point de Vue magazine, “I inherited this role from my father, not associated with any responsibility at the state level, just at a family level. My role will be … to be a good example to the family. We will continue to be united and keep strong ties with our country."

The prince also expressed his gratitude to the people of Greece for their support. He said, “I would thank the Greek people for the respect they have shown to my father and to us. Whether people are royalists or not does not matter. They paid tribute to a historical figure, a part of Greek history. On behalf of my family, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

3. Who Is Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece?

Marie-Chantal is the wife of Prince Pavlos and the daughter of British businessman Robert Warren Miller. She was born in London and raised in Hong Kong, and in 1993, she enrolled at New York University to study art history. However, she dropped out after her first year, when Pavlos proposed to her on a ski trip in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Now, the crown princess is running her own children’s wear brand. She told Paper magazine,

“Someone from my father-in-law’s kind of family wasn’t too comfortable [with royals] working. I think going into the children’s business was so sweet and they saw there was nothing wrong with it.”

She continued, “They saw that it was just me being healthy, doing something I like. I was never exploiting the family or taking advantage. I was doing something that was complementary. We've built this wonderful relationship with my in-laws.”

4. How Many Children Do the Prince and Princess Have?

The couple has five children, including Princess Maria-Olympia (26), Prince Constantine-Alexios (24), Prince Achileas-Andreas (22), Prince Odysseus-Kimon (18) and Prince Aristidis-Stavros (14).
Marie-Chantal told Paste, “I think, as parents, that Pavlos and I have always aspired to make the right choices given our circumstances. We carry this big last name. He has all this heritage. I think it means just being good upstanding citizens and doing the right thing. Making the right choices. Keeping family united. Being good with your siblings. Being good with your friends. I hope that I'm raising my children with those values.”

5. Where Does the Greek Royal Family Live?

The Greek royal family currently lives live in a gorgeous New York townhouse on the Upper East Side, complete with a grand entrance hall, a cozy library and a spacious drawing room. While chatting with Hello magazine during a tour of her home, Princess Marie-Chantal told the outlet, “It is a very impressive building from 1913, but I felt it should be very much stripped back to show off the real beauty of the house's bones, nothing too fussy." 

Good to see that the Greek royals are thriving.