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| @ Nikolas Kominis / Studio Kominis |
Ten descendants of the late King Constantine II of the Hellenes applied for Greek citizenship on December 18.
The Greek Herald reports that the ten former royal family members are King Constantine's five children and five grandchildren, including three of Crown Pavlos' children. Two of Princess Alexia's children have also applied for Greek nationality.
The Greek royal family lost their citizenship after the monarchy was abolished on June 1, 1973.
The names of five grandchildren were not identified. The five children of King Constantine are Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos. Prince Nikolaos lives in Greece.
Constantine's widow, Queen Anne Marie, has chosen not to file a citizenship application as she has "no interest in doing so," according to the Greek Herald.
The process includes submitting a declaration recognizing Greece's democracy and renouncing all claims to the former monarchy. They will also choose a surname for "their registration in the municipal records."
They chose de Grece as their surname, the same surname listed in their Danish diplomatic passports.
In 2004, King Constantine's cousin, Prince Michael regained his Greek citizenship and the request for the de Grece as his surname was approved.
Several of the applications are "of conscription age" and will be "required to serve in the Armed Forces and complete military duty like all Greek citizens."
The Greek government and press have used Glücksberg as a surname for the former royal family.
2 comments:
It's interesting to note the contrast between the five children and Queen Anne-Marie. Could her lack of interest in obtaining citizenship suggest a reluctance to acknowledge the regime that overthrew the monarchy during her late husband's early reign? Beyond the obvious benefit of voting privileges, what advantages might these 10 descendants gain from this application? And what might have motivated them—especially those who don't even reside in Greece—to pursue it collectively? If their matriarch is against the idea, it seems somewhat disrespectful for them to proceed, but I don't know enough about the situation to form a strong opinion either way.
Pure speculation on my part. It is possible the 5 kids will lose their diplomatic passports. Margrethe is no longer the Sovereign. Anne Marie would not lose that status as she is a Danish princess by birth. I would be surprised if Pavlos' kids have diplomatic passports. All are US citizens so they have US passports. If they want to be based in Europe, having an EU passport will be easier although Alexia's kids are Spanish citizens and have EU passports. Marie Chantal was born a dual citizen (UK/US). She renounced her US citizen some years ago. Greece is their homeland.
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