1920 in Greece - Declaration By Prince Paul

Declaration By Prince Paul

The reply of Prince Paul to the message of the Greek government caused considerable perturbation in Greece and to some extent even in Europe generally. The reply was as follows:

"I declare that I do not share the point of view of the Hellenic government that, according to the constitution, I am today called upon to ascend the throne. The throne does not belong to me; it belongs to my august father King Constantine, and, constitutionally, my eldest brother is his successor. Neither of them has ever renounced his rights, but both have been obliged to leave Greece in obedience to the dictates of their patriotic duty."

Prince Paul then went on to say that he could not ascend the throne in the existing circumstances. "I would only ascend the throne if the Hellenic people were to decide that it did not want the return of my august father, and were to exclude the Crown Prince George from his right of succession."

This declaration by Prince Paul placed the government in a difficult position, and it soon became evident that there was a strong movement aiming at the restoration of King Constantine. Venizelos was quite prepared to face the issue, and the question of the return of King Constantine immediately became the real issue of the general election. Venizelos declared openly that if he and the Liberal Party were returned to power the result would be a condemnation of the claims of King Constantine. If, on the other hand, the opposition obtained a majority, he (Venizelos) would retire altogether from political life. The opposition leader came out openly in support of King Constantine.