The Greek royal house has received the best of news during its summer holidays, which are also the first to be spent on Hellenic soil since the death of King Constantine II, who had to go into exile from Greece due to the dictatorship of the Colonels; last January 10. Prince Paul, current head of the royal house, received the news of the discovery of the lost jewels of the Greek Crown, missing since 1967.
The treasure, made up of the crown, the scepter and the golden sword belonging to Otto I, the first monarch of the Greeks; It has appeared in the old royal palace of Tatoi, on the outskirts of Athens and where the remains of Constantine II rest, as reported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
The Greek Government announced on July 17 the unexpected discovery, discovered "during the work of documentation of cultural assets" carried out by ministry officials in what was the residence of the royal family in Athens.
Of all of them, the most outstanding is the crown, commissioned by the father of the then Prince Otto, King Ludwig I of Bavaria, from the prestigious French goldsmiths Fossin et Fils, from Chaumet. A crown made of gold destined to be the main element of the coronation of what would be the first monarch of Greece, in 1832. In the end, it was not used for that purpose.
As the Hellenic government explains, Otto I took the treasure from Greece after being forced into exile in 1862. Since then, the jewels have remained in the custody of the house of Wittelsbach, the ruling dynasty in Bavaria. However, in 1959 they were returned to the Greek royal family. Thus, the first time that the jewels could be seen was at the reception ceremony by the then Kings Pablo and Federica of Greece, parents of Queen Emeritus Sofía.
Some pieces made of gold, with gold-plated metals and enamel, of great historical and cultural value. As reported by the Hellenic government, all of them were very well preserved, hidden in boxes and in perfect condition.
Prince Pablo wanted to celebrate the discovery through his Instagram profile, writing a message: "Congratulations to the Ministry of Culture."
The jewels will now belong to the Greek people and will be exposed to the public in the trophy room of Parliament. Lina Mendoni, a spokesperson for the ministry, noted that "their importance is extraordinary for the Greek state, regardless of the political change that has taken place. They are the first official insignia of the new Greek state that offer tangible traces of its continuity over time. It is clear that the royal emblems belong to the Greek people and nation."
