How Greece got rid of their king
Witness History - Un pódcast de BBC World Service
Categorías:
In 1974, Greece held a referendum to decide the future of the country’s monarchy, and whether Constantine II would remain their king.
Constantine had come to the throne in 1964, but he’d inherited a divided country. Political divisions, between the left and right, ran deep.
In 1967, a group of army officers launched a coup, and Constantine fled into exile in England. When the military regime collapsed seven years later, the new government called a referendum to decide the fate of the country.
Some of the population supported the king, but many thought the monarchy was outdated and irrelevant.
Finally, in December, 1974, four and a half million people went to the polls to cast their vote. The result was two to one in favour of a republic. Constantine had lost his crown.
Jane Wilkinson has been looking through the BBC archives to find out more.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: The wedding of King Constantine and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, Athens, 1964. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)
