Greece’s top administrative court has upheld the citizenship status of 10 members of the former royal family. Credit: Giorgos Vitsaras / AMNA
Greece’s highest administrative court has brought a legal battle over the status of 10 members of the country’s former royal family to a close, ruling that both their Greek citizenship and their use of the De Grèce surname are lawful.
The Council of State, the country’s top administrative court, reached the decision after closed-door deliberations. The ruling is expected to be published in the coming weeks and, once released, will effectively end the dispute over the family’s citizenship status and registered surname.
The 10 De Grèce family members covered by Greece’s court ruling on citizenship
The decision covers the five children of former king Constantine II and Anne-Marie: Pavlos De Grèce, Nikolaos De Grèce, Philippos De Grèce, Theodora De Grèce and Alexia De Grèce.
It also applies to the five children of Pavlos, the late king’s eldest son: Achileas-Andreas De Grèce, Odysseas-Kimon De Grèce, Constantine-Alexios De Grèce, Aristidis-Stavros De Grèce and Maria-Olympia De Grèce.
The ruling confirms that the family members enjoy the same rights as all other Greek citizens under the Hellenic Republic, including the right to vote and the right to stand for public office. Those rights are grounded in Article 51 of the Greek Constitution, which enshrines core political rights and the principle of popular sovereignty.
How the citizenship process began
The process began in 2024 with a declaratory act signed by Interior Minister Theodoros Livanios under Law 2215/1994.
That law set specific conditions for members of the former royal family. They had to state explicitly that they accepted the constitutional order established after the 1974 referendum that abolished the monarchy in Greece, and affirm their respect for the Constitution and parliamentary democracy.
They also had to waive any claims linked to the former political system and any status derived from it, including titles of nobility, and complete their registration in the citizens’ registry.
According to the case record, the family members met those requirements and declared that they had no claims against Greece.
The challenge filed by Panagiotis Lazaratos
Panagiotis Lazaratos, a professor at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, brought the legal challenge before the Council of State. He asked the court to annul the interior minister’s decisions granting Greek citizenship to members of the former royal family.
He also challenged their registration in the municipal records of the City of Athens. Lazaratos argued that Article 4 paragraph 7 of the Greek Constitution aims to prevent the use of a surname that could revive the prestige and class symbolism of the past, potentially putting social equality, social cohesion and the democratic order at risk.
Greece’s court rejects objections to the De Grèce surname and citizenship
A seven-member panel of the Council of State’s Fourth Section heard the case, chaired by Vice President Spyridoula Chrysikopoulou, with Associate Judge Haido Evangeliou serving as rapporteur.
The court rejected the annulment request and found that members of the former royal family may lawfully use the surname De Grèce. It ruled that the name does not conflict with constitutional provisions or existing legislation, and that the ministerial decision under challenge was lawful.
With that finding, the court removed the last major legal obstacle surrounding both the citizenship status of the 10 family members and their right to use the De Grèce surname.