| Paul | |
|---|---|
 Paul in 1939 | |
| King of the Hellenes | |
| Reign | 1 April 1947 – 6 March 1964 |
| Inauguration | 2 April 1947 |
| Predecessor | George II |
| Successor | Constantine II |
| Prime Ministers | See list
|
| Born | 14 December 1901 Tatoi Palace, Athens, Greece |
| Died | 6 March 1964 (aged 62) Athens, Greece |
| Burial | 12 March 1964 Royal Cemetery, Tatoi Palace, Greece |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| Greek | Παύλος (Pav́los) |
| House | Glücksburg |
| Father | Constantine I of Greece |
| Mother | Sophia of Prussia |
| Signature |  |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Greece[a] |
| Service | |
| Years of service | 1912–1941[b] |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Paul (Greek: Παύλος, romanized: Pav́los; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece, from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964.
Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Crown Prince Constantine and Crown Princess Sophia of Greece. In 1912, the year before his father ascended the throne, Paul joined the Royal Hellenic Navy at eleven years old, becoming the youngest cadet at the time. After the National Schism during World War I, Constantine's abdication was forced and Paul and his family went into exile in Switzerland. Paul's brother, Alexander, became the Greek sovereign in 1917 when Constantine and Paul were exiled, however, Alexander's death in 1920 led to Constantine's restoration. In 1922, Paul's other brother, George, became the monarch. However, a referendum in 1924 two years later saw the abolition of the Greek monarchy. Paul moved to Italy with his family and then to London.
In London, Paul had an affair with his first cousin and his first love, Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia, who would eventually reject his marriage proposal. The monarchy and George's position as king were restored after another referendum in 1935. George was childless, which made Paul the heir presumptive and gave him the responsibility of finding a spouse and having children. At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Paul successfully proposed to Frederica of Hanover, who he had been seeing regularly for the past year. However, Paul's engagement to a German princess received a mixed reaction in Greece, especially since Adolf Hitler attempted to include Nazi swastika flags at their wedding ceremony. Paul was forced out of Greece with his family during World War II when Greece fell to the Axis Powers. Paul moved to Egypt and then South Africa, where he left his wife and three young children and moved to London with his brother for the remainder of the war.
After World War II's conclusion, George returned per another referendum and the Greek Civil War broke out. When George died in 1947, Paul became the King of Greece. Paul soon contracted typhoid fever, which restricted his ability to manage the Greek Civil War. The war nonetheless concluded in 1949 with monarchists defeating communist forces in the country. During his reign, Paul was also increasingly faced with deterioration in Greco-British relations and Greco-Turkish relations as he worked to achieve enosis. For his support of the movement, Paul was labelled a terrorist in the British media. Though Paul successfully secured money from the Marshall Plan to fund recovery and infrastructure projects, he was criticised for limiting democracy when the new 1952 Greek constitution gave extensive powers to the monarch. During his reign, Paul was commended by the media for his numerous state visits to multiple countries. He was later diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in 1964. He was succeeded by his only son, who became Constantine II. Paul had three children: Queen Sofía of Spain, Constantine II of Greece, and Princess Irene. Paul was also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
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