1862 Greek head of state referendum: Difference between revisions

From 19 November 1862 (1 December [[Old Style and New Style dates|New Style]]), a [[Referendum|plebiscite]] in Greece was held in support of adopting [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom]], later [[Duke of Edinburgh]], as king. The results were announced in February 1863. Of the 240,000 votes reported, over 95% were in favour of the appointment.<ref name=clogg>Clogg, p. 82</ref> The previous king, [[Otto of Greece|Otto]], who had been deposed in [[23 October 1862 Revolution|a popular revolt]], received one vote.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 5</ref> There were six votes for a Greek candidate and 93 for a Republic.<ref>Forster, p. 17</ref>

Despite the apparently overwhelming result, the [[Great Powers]] of [[British Empire|Britain]], [[Second French Empire|France]] and [[Russian Empire|Russia]] refused to permit any member of their respective royal families to accept the Greek throne. Eventually, [[George I of Greece|Prince William of Denmark]], who had received six votes in the referendum, was appointed as the new "King of the Hellenes", assuming the name George I.

|[[Nicholas Maximilianovitch, 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg|Prince Leuchtenberg]]

|[[Grand Duke Nicholas{{Ambiguous Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)|date=JanuaryGrand 2022}}Duke Nicholas]]

|Prince Nicholas of Russia{{Ambiguous|date=January 2022}}

|[[House of Bonaparte|AnPrince Imperial Prince of France]]

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.<ref name=clogg/> The Greeks and Great Powers considered alternative candidates, and their choice eventually fell to Prince William of Denmark, who was the second son of KingPrince [[Christian IX of Denmark|Christian IXof Denmark]]. William was elected unanimously by the Greek Assembly, becoming "George I, King of the Hellenes", and reigned for the next 50 years.<ref>Woodhouse, p. 170</ref> Prince Alfred was created Duke of Edinburgh by his mother in 1866,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23119|page=3127|date=25 May 1866}}</ref> and became the reigning Duke of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] in Germany in 1893.<ref>e.g. ''Statesman's Yearbook 1898''</ref>

At George's enthronement, to the great joy of the Greeks, the British government announced that they would cede the [[United States of the Ionian Islands|Ionian Islands]] to Greece as a goodwill gesture.<ref>''[[The Times|The Times (London)]]'', 8 June 1863, p. 12, col. C</ref>

*{{cite book |last=LidderdaleMakrygiannis |first=H. A. (editor and translator)Giannis |title=[[Yannis Makriyannis|Makriyannis]]: The Memoirsmemoirs of General Makriyannis 1797–18641797-1864 |year=1966 |editor-last=Lidderdale |editor-first=H.A. |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press }}