GREECE: By the Grace of God

In drably respectable Brown’s Hotel on Dover Street, London, sat dapper, bemonocled George II, by the Grace of God King of the Hellenes last week. The Hellenes had voted him back onto the Greek Throne from which they drove him twelve years ago. All Greek elections are conducted with terrorist methods and the latest plebiscite was no exception. As a voter one could drop into the ballot box a blue vote for George II and please General George Kondylis, the Dictator who is bringing him back to Athens, or one could cast a red ballot for the Republic and get roughed up. Some 98% of the ballots were royal blue and members of the Athens rabble were easily induced to pose enthusiastically with magazines open at George II’s picture (see cut). Wired Foreign Minister Theotokis to His Majesty at Brown’s: “There were absolutely no abstentions from the voting.”

George II wired back, “This event by God’s grace and the will of the Hellenic people will lead Greece to general prosperity and glory. The separation was hard for me and all of us have suffered deeply. But I harbor no resentment against any one.

“Greeks! Remember what the nation accomplished under my father [King Constantine], how we progressed toward the fulfillment of our dreams. Greeks! My ancestors’ motto will also be mine: ‘My strength lies in my people’s love!’ ”

George II is the usual sort of king.

With the dazzling candor of exalted birth he has said, “I prefer brawn to brains.” He honestly thinks brainy people queer, commands ten languages, likes dancing, tennis, shooting, prizefights, the circus, slapstick at the Palladium and ginger ale with his meals. Untroubled by minor inconsistencies, he is a Mason, Greek Orthodox and divorced—all in good standing. Until last week he has been rather careful with his fortune of $100,000. Then at one clip Kingmaker Kondylis sent him $200,000 in advance expense money for his triumphal return to Athens, and at once there was trouble. Seemingly the Greek Dictator did not realize how English George II has become in all these years, making himself at home to the point of picking his teeth while standing around with Queen Mary and Scottish aristocrats (see cut p. 21). Tough, dynamic General Kondylis is a great admirer of Benito Mussolini and has thought of himself as ruling Greece with a mere fop on the Throne. George II is, however, a first cousin once removed from George V and no fool, though perfectly willing to take a dignified back seat as the flesh & blood emblem of a Constitutional Monarchy. Last week Greece’s Dictator had made all arrangements for His Majesty to come home by way of Italy, visiting the tomb of his parents at Florence. However, as soon as George II felt himself to be really King and had $200,000 in his pocket, he emphatically challenged General Kondylis’ plans, proposed instead that he sail around Italy, land at the Yugoslav port of Split and visit, en route to Athens, his cousin, the Regent of Yugoslavia, Prince Paul. Nervously the British Foreign Office hinted to George II that there was no need to heighten the British-Italian tension by making an issue of visiting a country where his parents’ bodies lie. Dictator Kondylis had naturally assumed that his King would communicate with Greece only through the Greek Minister to Great Britain. He discovered to his chagrin that George II was exchanging cables privately with the head of another group of Greek Royalists who want parliamentary government instead of Kondylis’ Dictatorship. They are headed by onetime Premier Panayoti Tsaldaris. Last week in Athens a frequent caller at Tsaldaris’ house was Britain’s Minister to Greece, Sydney Philip Waterlow. Slowly it dawned on General Kondylis that he, pro-Italian, Dictator and Kingmaker, had made the worst possible choice of King for his purposes. Of mixed Danish-German-Russian royal blood, George II may not be brainy but he has a great deal of what it takes to be King. For the difficult maneuvering ahead he can count on much quiet British help and the Greeks are used to being over-awed by the warships of George V, the “Sailor King.” To George II furious Greek Republicans issued a manifesto addressed to “George Glucksburg” and stating “you are only the leader and tool of a gang of terrorists.”