The Evolution of Constitutional Status of the Greek King: the Analysis of Typical Features of the Absolute Monarchy

The results of studying the issue of the evolution of the constitutional and legal status of the Greek king are presented. The monarchical form of government imposed on Greece by the patron powers of the Old World being accepted as the standard of the European form of state structure reflected the processes of reduction, and sometimes even disappearance, of its characteristic features. The history of Greek law and the state in 1830 – 1974 showed periodic changes in the status of the king, which was preceded by internal political tension (in the form of clashes with the will of the people, inconsistencies with the interests of the army, the immaturity of the party system, economic instability, etc.) and constant pressure from outside. When studying the process of changing the constitutional and legal status of the king of Greece, the cause-and-effect relationships of these transformations were identified and the discrepancy between the features of governing the Greek kingdom and the characteristic features of absolute monarchical government were clarified. The limited nature of the status of the king, the dynastic change, the specific transfer of power, which did not personify either the unity of the nation or the historical continuity of the tradition of the head of state, characterize the development of the Greek monarchy as atypical for this form of government. Therefore, according to the author, the form of government in the Greek kingdom can be considered as “non-conventional monarchy”.