Greece’s former royal family applies for citizenship 50 years after being dethroned – Firstpost

Members of the former royal family of Greece applied for the country’s citizenship, 50 years after the abolition of monarchy. The application marks the family’s former recognition of Geece’s republican system of government. The late King Constantine II and his family members were stripped of Greek citizenship back in 1994.

The family had a dispute with the government after the king refused to renounce any right to the Greek throne for his descendants. On Saturday, Interior Ministry official Athanasios Balerpas confirmed that the relatives of the late king signed a declaration on Thursday acknowledging the republican government and adopting a new surname, “De Grece” – French for “of Greece”. The move came after the erstwhile king passed away at age 82.

However,  the decision by the family to use “De Grece” as a surname garnered criticism from left-wing politicians, who claimed that the name would create confusion. “When they say that they are giving up their titles and any future claims [to the throne], by opting for this family name they create confusion,” the Socialist party said. Meanwhile, the leftwing Syriza Party said that “the choice of family name is problematic … because the Greek legal order does not recognise titles and nobilities.”

10 family members have sought citizenship

While the officials have not officially named the applicants who applied for citizenship, Greek news outlets are reporting that 10 royal family members have sought citizenship, including all five children of Constantine II and former Queen Anne-Marie – Alexia, Pavlos, Nikolaos, Theodora and Philippos – as well as five of the late king’s grandchildren.

“A historically pending matter is being resolved,” interior ministry official Balerpas told state-run radio. “Let’s look to the future now. I think it’s a good moment because it closes an account from the past and we can now look forward as a people,” he added. It is pertinent to note that the Greek monarchy was abolished by referendum in December 1974, when voters overwhelmingly backed a Republican constitution.

Following this, members of the royal family lived in exile for decades before Constantine returned as a private citizen in his seventies. In 1994, the royal family was stripped of their citizenship during a legal battle over the former royal estate, which is now state-owned. In the past, the family has previously refused to adopt a surname, distancing themselves from the name Glucksburg, assigned in a 1994 law.

The family believed that the surname given at that time was too close to their German ancestry and made them seem less legitimately Greek. The decision on citizenship must now be published in the official government gazette before they can apply for state identity cards and Greek passports.

Legislators from centre-left and leftwing opposition parties said the former royal family members should not have been permitted to choose their own surname. Some argued that the surname sounds more like a royal title than a standard surname. However, they did not oppose their right to citizenship.

With inputs from Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.