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Paul King of the Hellenes Reign 1 April 1947 - 6 March 1964 Born December 14, 1901(1901-12-14) Athens, Greece Died March 6, 1964 (aged 62) Athens, Greece Predecessor George II Successor Constantine II Consort Frederika of Hanover Issue Sophia, Constantine II, Irene Royal House House of Oldenburg Father Constantine I of Greece Mother Sophia of Prussia

House of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch) George I Children    Constantine I    Prince George    Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia    Prince Nicholas    Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia    Princess Olga    Prince Andrew    Prince Christopher Grandchildren    Prince Peter    Princess Eugénie, Duchess of Castel Duino    Olga, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia    Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach    Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent    Margarita, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg    Princess Theodora, Margravine of Baden    Princess Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine    Sophie, Princess George of Hanover    Philip, Duke of Edinburgh    Prince Michael Great Grandchildren    Princess Alexandra    Princess Olga Constantine I Children    George II    Alexander I    Elena, Queen of Romania    Paul I    Irene, Duchess of Aosta    Princess Katherine Alexander I Children    Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia George II Paul I Children    Sofia, Queen of Spain    Constantine II    Princess Irene Constantine II Children    Princess Alexia    Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece    Prince Nikolaos    Princess Theodora    Prince Philippos Grandchildren    Princess Maria-Olympia    Prince Constantine Alexios    Prince Achileas-Andreas    Prince Odysseas-Kimon

Paul, King of The Hellenes (Greek Παύλος, Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων, December 14, 1901–March 6, 1964) was King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.

Paul was born in Athens, the third son of Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923) and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia (14 June 1870 - 13 January 1932). He was trained as a naval officer.

On January 9, 1938, he married Frederika of Hanover at Athens. They had three children:

• Queen Sofia of Spain
• King Constantine II of the Hellenes
• Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

From 1917 to 1920, Paul lived in exile with his father, Constantine I. From 1923 to 1935, and again from 1941 to 1946, he lived in exile again, this time with his brother, George II. During most of World War II, when Greece was under German occupation, he was with the Greek government-in-exile in London and Cairo. From Cairo, he broadcast messages to the Greek people.

He returned to Greece in 1946. He succeeded to the throne in 1947, on the death of his brother, 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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 the homeland, which Britain, as the colonial power, would not endorse. Eventually, Cyprus became an independent state in 1960.^[3]

In December 1959 Prince Maximillian of Bavaria presented the coronation regalia of King Otto of Greece to the King. It had been almost 100 years since they were last in Greece.

Meanwhile, republican sentiment was growing in Greece. The King attracted criticism for his frequent foreign travels, and the cost of maintaining the royal family. He responded by economising and donated his private estate at Polidendri to the state.^[4]

In 1959 he had an operation for 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.^[5]

The Greek monarchy would only outlive him by nine years.

Styles of King Paul I of The Hellenes
Reference style	His Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

v • d • e Heads of State of Greece

First Hellenic Republic (1827–1832): Ioannis Kapodistrias | Augustinos Kapodistrias | Governing Council First Period of Monarchy (1832–1924): Otto | George I | Constantine I | Alexander | Constantine I | George II Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935): Pavlos Kountouriotis | Theodoros Pangalos† | Pavlos Kountouriotis | Alexandros Zaimis Second Period of Monarchy (1935–1974): George II | Paul | Constantine II 1967-1974 military dictatorship: Georgios Zoitakis† | Georgios Papadopoulos† | Phaedon Gizikis† Third Hellenic Republic (1974–): Phaedon Gizikis | Michail Stasinopoulos | Konstantinos Tsatsos | Constantine Karamanlis | Ioannis Alevras | Christos Sartzetakis | Constantine Karamanlis | Costis Stephanopoulos | Karolos Papoulias †denotes military dictator