Pavlos was born into a turbulent era in Greek politics. Pavlos was born barely a month after a coup d'état which ended democratic rule in Greece over the king's objections on 21 April 1967,[3] ushering in a military junta, led by Georgios Papadopoulos. In December of that year, Constantine attempted a counter-coup that failed due to planning mistakes, leaks, and insufficient military support.[3] Pursued by the junta, Constantine fled with his wife, children, mother and sister to Rome. They then went to Copenhagen and lived with Anne-Marie's mother, Queen Ingrid.[5] From 1967 to 1973, Greece officially remained a monarchy, with a regency appointed while the king lived in exile.[3]
Following the discovery and suppression of a "wide-ranging" anti-junta movement, just before its outbreak, among the ranks of the mostly royalist Navy, Papadopoulos, on 1 June 1973, declared Greece a presidential republic with himself as president and proclaimed a referendum for 29 July 1973 on the issue of the monarchy. The referendum was held without opposition and its result confirmed the regime change, with Constantine becoming "officially" deposed. On 17 November 1974, after the fall of the dictatorship, the 1974 Greek legislative election was held, resulting in a victory for Constantine Karamanlis and his New Democracy party. Less than a month later, on 8 December, the Greek plebiscite of 1974 confirmed the referendum of the previous year: the majority voted for a republic (69%) with a minority voting for the restoration of the monarchy (31%).
On 11 May 1994, the Greek Government under prime-minister Andreas Papandreou renounced the Greek-citizenship status of Pavlos, alongside Constantine, and the rest of the former royal family through law 2215/1994.[11] The law stated that Constantine's Greek-citizenship status, and accordingly his family's, could only be restored under specific conditions, including the selection of an explicit surname. The following year, while sharing a house in Washington, DC, he and his cousin, Felipe VI of Spain, then Prince of Asturias, attended Georgetown University, where both obtained a Master of Science in Foreign Service.[7] After, Pavlos lived between New York City and London, working as an investment consultant.[6] He is co-founder[b] of Ortelius Advisors, an activist hedge fund.[12]
Head of the Greek royal family
Following the death of his father on 10 January 2023, Pavlos ascended to the position of Head of the former Royal House of Greece. He delivered Constantine's eulogy during the funeral ceremony and carried his coffin with his brothers, sons and nephews at the burial.[13] A rumour circulated that Pavlos intended to permanently relocate to Greece,[14] but this was later denied by the spokesperson of the former Greek royal family, Ivi Macris, as "completely false".[15] On 22 January, 40 days following his father's death, Pavlos spoke to French magazine Point de Vue regarding his new role.[16] In the interview, Pavlos thanked the public for their respect towards the Greek royal family and said that those who crowded the funeral, whether they were "monarchists or not", "paid tribute to a historical personality, a part of Greek history."[17] When asked about the role he sees himself upholding in Greek society, Pavlos explained that he would "not take on an official role", but will "uphold the family's exemplary." He added that his eldest son Constantine-Alexios would not take on any official role either, but would "follow his grandfather's example and be a good man."[17]
Pavlos's first public statement as Head of the former Royal House of Greece following Constantine's death occurred upon the Tempi train collision in February 2023, which caused the death of almost 60 people. Pavlos issued a statement saying, "Today all of Greece is mourning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones to this unimaginable tragedy and with the injured who we sincerely hope to be released from the hospital soon." Pavlos also thanked the rescue and medical teams involved for their "superhuman efforts", before giving his "heartbroken" condolences to the families who lost their children in the accident and asking God to bless them all.[18] Soon after, as Pavlos was leaving Athens that month, it was revealed that he and his family had been searching for a home in Greece, with Pavlos telling journalists that he had not "found a house yet".[18]
Pavlos (left) and his mother, Anne-Marie (middle), at the coronation reception of Charles III (right).[c]
On 3 July 2023 at 11:45pm, Pavlos and his brother, Nikolaos, appeared in a special edition of 365 Moments, a Greek television series hosted by Sofia Papaioannou. The episode marked the first interview with Pavlos and Nikolaos since their father's death, and it discussed the passing of their father, their stripped Greek citizenship and their surname.[21] Pavlos described his father as "strict but very loving" and said that despite being forced into exile, he still wanted to help his family. Pavlos also announced that he was now living in Greece again, which is what he "always wanted to". He explained that the opportunity to live in Greece occurred as his job allowed for overseas work. When asked whether he accepted the last name "Glücksburg", Pavlos said that he would never see it as his name. He called it, "a family lineage. Denmark's family name is not that. It is one of the castles of the family's origin."[21] He explained that throughout his life, he never introduced himself with a last name, but rather called himself "Pavlos of Greece". Pavlos also added that he was "very interested in [Greek] politics", but would never become involved, has no political association and would always long for his Greek passport to be returned.[21]
Pavlos and Marie-Chantal attended the 2023 British Fashion Awards. There, Pavlos was spotted with a black eye patch covering his left eye. The day prior, Marie-Chantal posted to Instagram a close-up photo of his eye patch, saying, "Hopefully a temporary new look, but he’s kind of cute".[22] Following worry online, Pavlos announced on Instagram that he had undergone a retinal detachment surgery. After thanking people for their support and wishes, Pavlos explained that the surgery was "successful", however he would be unable to travel and therefore have to spend Christmas in London.[23] Between January and February 2024, Pavlos and his family attended three memorial services to mark the one year anniversary of Constantine's death — one in Athens and two in London, including a thanksgiving service. After a memorial service the following day, Pavlos and Nikolaos were interviewed by ANT1 reporter Isaac Karipidis. They both thanked the public for their support.[24] On 28 September 2024, Pavlos served as a groomsman at the wedding of Princess Theodora and Matthew Kumar at the Metropolitan Cathedral.[25]
On 19 December 2024, Pavlos, his five children and his four siblings submitted an application for Greek citizenship, which had been stripped from the family in 1994. Pavlos's mother, Anne-Marie, did not apply, with it being reported that she was "not interested".[26] Under law, Pavlos and his family, in order to receive citizenship, must pledge allegiance to the republican constitution and have a surname. Ultimately, the surname of "Ντε Γκρες" (De Grèce; "of Greece") was chosen. Of this, the Deputy Minister to the Greek Prime Minister, Pavlos Marinakis, said to Action 24 that their "request was made in accordance with the law", while the left-wing SYRIZA party stated "the choice of family name is problematic".[27] It was reported by the royal family that this surname was chosen as it was the one used by the late Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, so was the "only familiar one" to them.[28] The following day, Pavlos's citizenship, alongside that of his children and siblings, was reinstated according to the provisions of the 1994 law.[29] Their citizenships were granted to them by Minister of the Interior, Theodoros Livanios,[30] and means that those eligible must complete mandatory military conscription.[26]
Pavlos married American heiress Marie-Chantal Miller, whom he had met at a party three years earlier in New Orleans, on 1 July 1995.[7] The Greek Orthodox wedding at Saint Sophia Cathedral, London drew a rare modern panoply of royalty, but the ceremony proved to be legally invalid and had eventually to be repeated civilly (not normally required in the UK) in Chelsea because of a law requiring that marriages in England be conducted in English.[7]
After their marriage, the couple took up residence in Greenwich, Connecticut, the job that Pavlos obtained with the Charles R. Weber ship-broking company being headquartered there.[7] Later, he went to work at a New York City firm as an investment portfolio manager, before relocation to London for their children's education in 2004.[6]
From birth, Pavlos was the heir apparent to the throne of Greece and as such he was referred to as the Crown Prince of Greece with the style of Royal Highness.[6] Following the deposition of the Greek monarchy in 1973, these titles and styles are no longer legally recognised by the government of the Hellenic Republic. Through his male-line descent from Christian IX of Denmark,[31] he is also a Prince of Denmark with the style of Highness.[32]
Pavlos is a direct descendant of three reigning sovereign monarchs at birth. He is the eldest son of the King of Greece, grandson of the King of Denmark and great-grandson of the King of Sweden, all living and enthroned when he was born.[3] His paternal aunt, Sofía, was Queen consort of Spain and his paternal first cousin, Felipe VI, is the current King of Spain. His maternal aunt, Margrethe II, was the reigning Queen of Denmark and his maternal first cousin, Frederik X, is the current King of Denmark. All of Pavlos's parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were reigning monarchs. By male-line descent, he is a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg.[3]
^The Hellenic College of London, due to declining attendance of British Greek students, was succeeded by the Knightsbridge School, which, in turn was succeeded, in 2008, by Knightsbridge Schools International.
1 Also prince of Norway 2 Also prince of Greece 3 Also prince of Iceland 4 Also prince of the United Kingdom 5 Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark Princes that lost their title are shown in italics
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