1862 Greek head of state referendum
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From 19 November 1862 (1 December
Despite the apparently overwhelming result, the
Prelude
In October 1862, King
The London Conference of 1832, however, had prohibited any of the Great Powers' ruling families from accepting the crown of Greece, and in any event, Queen Victoria was adamantly opposed to the idea. Nevertheless, the Greeks insisted on holding a plebiscite on the issue of the head of state in November 1862. It was the first referendum ever held in Greece.[5]
Results
The results were announced to the
Summary of the November 1862 Greek plebiscite | Votes | Source |
---|---|---|
Prince Alfred | 230,016 | [7][8] |
Prince Leuchtenberg | 2,400 | [7][8] |
An Eastern Orthodox King | 1,917 | [7][8] |
The Emperor of Russia | 1,841 | [7][8] |
Grand Duke Nicholas | 1,821 | [7] |
A King | 1,763 | [7][8] |
Prince Nicholas of Russia | 1,741 | [7] |
Long Live the Three Powers | 482 | [7] |
Grand Duke Constantine | 478 | [7] |
Prince Napoleon
|
345 | [7][8] |
Prince Imperial of France | 246 | [7][8] |
A Republic | 93 | [7][8] |
Prince Amadeo of Italy
|
15 | [8] |
A Russian Prince | 14 | [7] |
An Imperial Prince of Russia | 9 | [7] |
Romanoff | 8 | [7] |
Comte de Flandre | 7 | [7][8] |
Prince William of Denmark | 6 | [7][8] |
Prince Ypsilantis
|
6 | [7][8] |
General Garibaldi | 3 | [7] |
The Duke of Aumale | 3 | [7] |
The Emperor Napoleon
|
2 | [7] |
A Prince of Sweden | 2 | [7] |
Prince Joinville
|
1 | [7] |
General M'Mahon
|
1 | [7] |
Eynard the Philhellene | 1 | [7] |
Otto | 1 | [7] |
Total number of voters | 241,202 | [7][8] |
Aftermath
Despite the apparently overwhelming support for Alfred, and the declaration by the Assembly that Alfred was elected as king, the Great Powers refused to alter their position, and Alfred declined the throne. The runner-up, Prince Leuchtenberg, as well as several of the other candidates, were also unacceptable to the Great Powers since they were members of the French and Russian royal families, also excluded from contention by the London Conference.[1] The Greeks and Great Powers considered alternative candidates, and their choice eventually fell to Prince William of Denmark, who was the second son of Prince Christian of Denmark. William was elected unanimously by the Greek Assembly, becoming "George I, King of the Hellenes", and reigned for the next 50 years.[11] Prince Alfred was created Duke of Edinburgh by his mother in 1866,[12] and became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany in 1893.[13]
At George's enthronement, the British government announced that they would cede the Ionian Islands to Greece as a goodwill gesture.[14]
Notes
- ^ a b Clogg, p. 82
- ^ Van der Kiste, p. 5
- ^ Forster, p. 17
- ^ Lidderdale, p. 212
- ^ a b "Constitutional History". Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ Van der Kiste, p. 4
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab The Greek Revolution, The Times, 16 February 1863, p. 6, col. B
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Finlay, George; Tozer, Henry Fanshawe (editor) (1877), A history of Greece, from its conquest by the Romans to the present time, B.C. 146 to A.D. 1864, vol. VII, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ See, for example, reports of voting in The Times, 8 December 1862, p. 12, col. A
- ^ Woodhouse, p. 170
- ^ "No. 23119". The London Gazette. 25 May 1866. p. 3127.
- ^ e.g. Statesman's Yearbook 1898
- ^ The Times (London), 8 June 1863, p. 12, col. C
References
- Clogg, Richard (1979). A Short History of Modern Greece. Cambridge University Press.
- Forster, Edward S. (1958). A Short History of Modern Greece 1821–1956 3rd edition. London: Methuen and Co.
- Jelavich, Barbara (1961). "Russia, Bavaria and the Greek Revolution of 1862/1863". Balkan Studies. 2 (1): 125–150. ISSN 2241-1674.
- Makrygiannis, Giannis (1966). Lidderdale, H.A. (ed.). The memoirs of General Makriyannis 1797-1864. London: Oxford University Press.
- ISBN 0-7509-2147-1.
- Woodhouse, C. M. (1968). The Story of Modern Greece. London: Faber and Faber.