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The three plot leaders visited King Constantine II in his residence in Tatoi, also surrounded by tanks effectively preventing any form of resistance. The King wrangled with the colonels and initially dismissed them, ordering them to return with Spantidakis. Later in the day he took it upon himself to go the Ministry of National Defence, North of Athens city centre, where all plotters were gathered. The King had a discussion with Kanellopoulos, held there, and with leading generals. None could be of much help, since Kanellopoulos was a prisoner whilst the generals had no real power, as was evident from the shouting of lower and middle-ranking officers, refusing to obey orders and clamouring for a new government under Spantidakis. The King finally relented and decided to co-operate, claiming to this day that he was isolated and did not know what else to do. His excuse has been that he was trying to gain time to organise a counter-coup and oust the junta. He did organise such a counter-coup; however, the fact that the new government had a legal origin, in that it had been appointed by the legitimate head of state, played an important role in the coup's success. The King was later to regret bitterly his decision. For many Greeks, it served to identify him indelibly with the coup and certainly played an important role in the final decision to abolish the monarchy, sanctioned by the 1974 referendum. The only concession the King could achieve was to appoint a civilian as Premier rather than Spantidakis. Constantine Kollias a former Attorney General of the Areios Pagos, the highest court in Greece, was chosen. He was a well-known royalist and had even been disciplined under the Papandreou government for meddling in the investigation on the murder of Gregoris Lambrakis. Kollias was little more than a figurehead and real power rested with the army, and especially Papadopoulos, who was emerging as the coup's strong man and became Minister of the Government's Presidency, a key position. Up until then constitutional legitimacy had been prevented, since under the then-Greek Constitution the King could appoint whomever he wanted as Premier, as long as Parliament granted a vote of confidence or a general election was called. It was this government, sworn-in in the early evening hours of April 21st, that formalised the coup, by adopting a "Constituent Act", an amendment tantamount to a revolution, cancelling the elections and effectively abolishing the constitution, to be replaced by one to be drawn up later. In the meantime, the government was to rule by decree. Since traditionally such Constituent Acts did not need to be signed by the Crown, the King never signed it, permitting him to claim, years later, that he had never signed any document instituting the junta. Critics claim that Constantine II did nothing to prevent the government (and especially his chosen Premier Kollias) from legally instituting the authoritarian government to come. This same government formally published and enforced a decree instituting military law already proclaimed by radio during the coup's development. Constantine claimed he never signed that decree either.
Easter in Greece, Christ is Risen, Hellas is Risen The King's Counter-Coup From the outset, the relationship between king Constantine II of Greece and the Colonels was an uneasy one. The colonels were not willing to share power with anyone, whereas the young King, like his father before him, was used to playing an active role in politics and would never consent to being a mere figurehead, especially in a military administration. Although the colonel's strong anti-communist, pro-NATO and pro-Western views appealed to the United States, fearful of domestic and international public opinion, President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson told Constantine, in a visit to Washington, D.C. in early autumn of 1967, that it would be best to replace that government with another one. Constantine took that as an encouragement to organise a counter-coup and it was probably meant as one, although no direct help or involvement of the US was forthcoming. The King finally decided to launch his counter-coup on December 13, 1967. Since Athens was effectively in the hands of the junta militarily, Constantine decided to fly to the small Northern city of References
See also Links
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