Hellenic Naval Ensign, Kingdom of Greece (1935–74)

War ensign for naval vessels during the Kingdom of Greece. The Kingdom of Greece (Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος, romanized: Vasíleion tis Elládos, pronounced [vaˈsili.on tis eˈlaðos]) was the Greek nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where Greece also secured its full independence from the Ottoman Empire after nearly four centuries. It remained a Kingdom until 1924, when the Second Hellenic Republic was proclaimed, and from the Republic's collapse in 1935 to its dissolution by the Regime of the Colonels in 1973. A referendum following the regime's collapse in 1974 confirmed the effective dissolution of the monarchy and the creation of the Third Hellenic Republic. For much of its existence, the Kingdom's main ideological goal was the Megali Idea (Greek: Μεγάλη Ιδέα, romanized: Megáli Idéa, lit. 'Great Idea'), which sought to annex lands with predominately Greek populations. King Otto of the House of Wittelsbach ruled as an absolute monarch from 1835 until the 3 September 1843 Revolution, which transformed Greece into a constitutional monarchy, with the creation of the Prime Minister as head of government, universal male suffrage and a constitution. A popular insurrection deposed Otto in 1862, precipitating the gradual collapse of the early Greek parties (English, French, Russian), which had dominated Greek politics. The Greek National Assembly's election of George I of the House of Glücksburg in 1863 brought the transfer of the Ionian Islands from British rule in 1864. In his fifty–year reign, George presided over long periods of political instability, and wielded considerable power despite his role as a constitutional monarch. Prime Ministers, such as Alexandros Koumoundouros and Charilaos Trikoupis, shaped the politics and identity of the kingdom (including the annexation of Thessaly in 1881) before an economic depression and a catastrophic defeat in the Thirty Days' War weakened the Greek state. The Goudi coup in 1909 brought Eleftherios Venizelos to power and brought sweeping reforms, culminating in the Hellenic Army's victory in the Balkan Wars, led militarily by Crown Prince Constantine, who became King following George I's assassination during the First Balkan War. The dispute and deep political rift of Monarchist and Venizelist forces regarding Greece's initial neutrality in World War I led to the National Schism, which, with Allied intervention, culminated in Constantine's exile, Venizelos' reinstatement as Prime Minister and Greece's entry into World War I. After victory in the Macedonian Front and success in the Asia Minor Campaign against the Ottomans, King Alexander, Constantine's second son, died in 1920, which triggered a constitutional crisis, culminating in anti-Venizelist candidate Dimitrios Gounaris' victory in the 1920 elections and a plebiscite confirming Constantine's return to the throne. Greece's disastrous defeat in Asia Minor two years later triggered the 11 September 1922 Revolution, which brought the abdication of Constantine in favour of his first son George II and the execution of Monarchist leaders in the Trial of the Six. The Treaty of Lausanne and the population exchange, along with a failed Monarchist coup in 1923, brought the proclamation of the Second Hellenic Republic in 1924. A failed Venizelist coup in 1935 rapidly accelerated the Second Republic's collapse, with the Monarchy restored following a sham referendum in November 1935. Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas initiated a self-coup with the support of King George on 4 August 1936 and established the 4th of August Regime, a Metaxist and ultranationalist dictatorship with Metaxas wielding absolute power. Following Greece's entry into World War II and the Greco-Italian War, the German invasion of Greece toppled the Monarchy and conquered Greece, resulting in a triple occupation by the Axis powers. After the withdrawal of German forces in late 1944, the Monarchy was reaffirmed by victory in the three-year Greek Civil War. Spearheaded by Prime Ministers Alexandros Papagos and Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greece entered an economic miracle, but a successful coup on 21 April 1967 established the Regime of the Colonels, a military dictatorship. A failed counter-coup by King Constantine II on 13 December 1967 forced him into exile, and the Monarchy was dissolved in 1973, a decision that was reaffirmed by a democratic referendum in 1974. In total, the Kingdom of Greece had seven Kings, the last of which, Constantine II, died in 2023.