Former Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece was given the title “His Royal Highness” by the BBC, angering many Greek social media users.
They took to Twitter to remind the BBC that the institution of the monarch was abolished in Greece at the constitutional referendum on December 8, 1974. Voters confirmed the abolition of the monarchy by a vote of sixty-nine percent to thirty-one percent and through the establishment of parliamentary democracy in Greece.
Come on, BBC. Greece long abolished it's monarchy, so please respect that.
My Greeks sons just asked "who is that guy? Greece doesn't have kings and princes." pic.twitter.com/GXnekaAbnh
— Damian Mac Con Uladh (@damomac) September 18, 2022
This is ridiculous. Greece is a presidential parliamentary democracy. The Head of State is the President of the Republic. There are no kings, crowns & princes. The Greek Constitution prohibits all kind of nobility titles. He is not a crown prince, he is a clown prince
— Nabucco (va pensiero) 🏴☠️☘️ (@ConteGione) September 18, 2022
Pavlos, the former Crown Prince of Greece is the eldest son and second child of Constantine II, the last King of Greece from 1964 to 1973 and his wife, Anne-Marie of Denmark.
He was heir apparent to the throne of Greece and was its crown prince from birth, remaining so during his father’s reign until the monarchy’s abolition.
As a male-line descendant of Christian IX of Denmark, he is also a titular Danish prince although not in succession to the Danish throne, his mother having renounced her rights to the Danish throne upon her marriage to his father.
Pavlos spoke to the BBC on Sunday about his third cousin Queen Elizabeth II and said she was “one of the most wonderful people ever” as he prepared to attend her funeral on Monday.
He said: “The Queen has always been a very kind person to my family. Always received with a smile. My parents were very well taken care of by her when we left Greece and lived in England for years after.”
Pavlos added his father was a “confidant” for the Queen throughout their years in the UK, after he was forced to flee the country with his family following a coup.
Ex-Crown Prince suggests King Charles would want to return the Parthenon Marbles
In a separate interview with Channel 4, Pavlos suggested that Charles III would want the Parthenon Marbles to be returned to Greece.
“I think that is a subject that a lot of the people in the country can talk about,” the former Crown Prince told Channel 4 News. “If the people feel that the Elgin Marbles can come back to where they came from in Greece, then we will be very blessed that that will happen.”
“I do think that His Majesty will keep quiet because it is not for him to make these decisions,” he added. “However, I do know that being a person that likes culture and architecture and so forth,…he will feel that these could be in their rightful place.”
He added that he would be open to a “very nice conversation” with Liz Truss on the topic.
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