Editing Constantine II of Greece (section)

===Royal countercoup of 13 December 1967 and exile===
From the outset, the relationship between Constantine and the regime of the colonels was an uneasy one, especially when he refused to sign the decree imposing [[martial law]] and asked Talbot to flee Greece in an American helicopter with his family.<ref name="b1">{{cite book | author=Hindley, G | title=The Royal Families of Europe| url=https://archive.org/details/royalfamiliesofe00hind | url-access=registration | location=London |publisher=Lyric Books Ltd | year=1979 | isbn=0-07-093530-0|pages= [https://archive.org/details/royalfamiliesofe00hind/page/126 126–127]}}</ref><ref name=huff /> But the administration of US president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] wanted to keep Constantine in Greece to negotiate with the junta for the return of democracy.<ref name=huff /> The presence of the [[United States Sixth Fleet]] in the [[Aegean Sea]] outraged the junta government, which forced Constantine to get rid of his private secretary, {{ill|Michail Arnaoutis|el|Μιχαήλ Αρναούτης}}.<ref name=huff /> Arnaoutis, who had served as the king's military instructor in the 1950s and became his close friend, was generally reviled among the public for his role in the palace intrigues of the previous years. The junta, considering him an able and dangerous plotter, dismissed him from the army.<ref name="Vasileiadis"/> The king and his entourage were beginning to worry that the future of the monarchy was endangered.<ref name=huff /> Constantine visited the United States in the following days and in a meeting with Johnson, Constantine asked for military aid for a countercoup he was planning, but without success.<ref name=huff /> The junta, however, had information about Constantine's conspiracy.<ref name=huff /> Constantine later described himself as having the idea of a countercoup ten minutes after he found out about the junta's rise to power.<ref name="KingStory">{{Cite AV media|people=Constantine II of Greece, Anne-Marie of Greece|date=2004|title=Constantine, A King's Story!|language=en|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U2Lf__kXUs&t|location=London, Athens|access-date=2 March 2023}}</ref>

[[File:President Lyndon B. Johnson, Mike Manatos, and King Constatine of Greece.tif|thumb|left|Constantine (''middle'') with President Johnson (''right'') in the [[Oval Office]], 1967]]
Constantine began negotiations with the officials loyal to him in the summer of 1967. His objective was to mobilise the units of the army loyal to him and to restore parliamentary legitimacy. The action was planned by Lieutenant General [[Konstantinos Dovas]].<ref name=huff /> Several military authorities joined the plan, including lieutenant general Antonakos, chief of the air force, Konstantinos Kollias, lieutenant general Kechagias, Ioannis Manettas, brigadier generals Erselman and Vidalis, major general Zalochoris, and others, so it was expected that the counterattack would be successful.<ref name=huff /> The king communicated with [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]], who was exiled in Paris and aware of the plot, and attempted to persuade him return to assume the post of prime minister if this movement was successful, but he refused.<ref name=huff /> The main objective of the plan drawn up by the movement was that all the units initiated would occupy [[Thessaloniki]] and the king would send a message to the public.<ref name=huff /> It would follow the military operations in [[Tempi (municipality)|Tempi]], Larissa and Lamia by the army and the swearing in of a new government by Archbishop Ieronymos with the participation of the centrist [[Georgios Mavros]].<ref name=huff /> Constantine and the involved officials began to realise that the plan could fail as they didn't count on the active support of American intelligence, who were aware of the details of the plan.<ref name=huff /> They intended to initiate their plan on the day of a military parade scheduled for 28 October, but the junta-installed Chief of the [[Hellenic Army General Staff]], [[Odysseas Angelis]], refused to mobilise the units that [[Georgios Peridis]] requested. The abortive attempt, along with the visit of Constantine together with Peridis to some military divisions, were noted by the junta.<ref name=huff />

On the morning of the day the countercoup had been rescheduled to, 13 December 1967, after eight months of planning the countercoup,<ref name="KingStory"/> the royal family flew to [[Kavala]], east of Thessaloniki, accompanied by Prime Minister Konstantinos Kollias who was informed at that moment of Constantine's plan. They arrived at 11:30 a.m. and were well received by the citizens.<ref name=huff /> But some conspirators were neutralised, such as General Manettas, and Odysseas Angelis informed the public of the plan, asking citizens to obey his orders minutes before telecommunications were cut off.<ref name=huff /> By noon, all the airbases, except one in Athens, had joined the royalist movement, and fleet leader Vice Admiral Dedes, before being arrested, ordered successfully the whole fleet sail towards Kavala in obedience to the king.<ref name=huff /> They did not manage to take Thessaloniki and it soon became apparent that the senior officers were not in control of their units. This, along with the arrest of several officers, including the capture of Peridis that afternoon, and the delay in the execution of some orders, led to the countercoup's failure.<ref name=huff />

The junta, led by Georgios Papadopoulos, on the same day appointed General [[Georgios Zoitakis]] as [[Regent of Greece]]. Archbishop Ieronymos swore Zoitakis into office in Athens.<ref name=huff /> Constantine, the royal family and Konstantinos Kollias took off in torrential rain from Kavala for exile in Rome, where they arrived at 4&nbsp;p.m. on 14 December, with their plane having only five minutes of fuel left.<ref name="KingStory"/> In 2004, Constantine said that he would have done everything the same, but with more caution. Two weeks after his exile, photos of Constantine and his family celebrating Christmas with normality in the [[Greek Ambassador to Italy]]'s home reached Greek media, which didn't do Constantine's reputation "any favour".<ref name="KingStory"/> He remained in exile in Italy through the rest of military rule, although he technically continued as king until 1 June 1973. He was never to return to Greece as a reigning monarch.<ref name=huff />

{{multiple image
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 | footer = Despite his exile, Constantine remained formally head of state of Greece until 1973. He still appeared on coinage (left), but the royal coat of arms was replaced by the junta's symbol, the [[phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] (right).
}}
Constantine stated, "I am sure I shall go back the way my ancestors did."<ref name=b1/> He said to the ''[[Toronto Star]]'':

<blockquote>I consider myself King of the Hellenes and sole expression of legality in my country until the Greek people freely decide otherwise. I fully expected that the (military) regime would depose me eventually. They are frightened of the Crown because it is a unifying force among the people.<ref name="waiting"/></blockquote>

Throughout the dictatorship, Constantine maintained contact with the junta, maintaining direct communication with the colonels and kept the royal subsidy until 1973.<ref name=lifo /> On 21 March 1972, Papadopoulos became Regent.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/22/archives/greek-premier-supplants-the-regent.html|title=Greek Premier Supplants the Regent|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 March 1972}}</ref> At the end of May 1973, senior officers of the Greek navy organised an [[USS Charrette#Mutiny|abortive coup]] to overthrow the junta government, but failed.<ref name=lifo /><ref name=sansi /> The dictators considered Constantine to be involved, so on 1 June, with a constitutional act, Papadopoulos declared the monarchy abolished. He converted the country into a presidential and parliamentary state and assumed the interim presidency of the republic.<ref name=lifo /><ref name=sansi /> In June 1973, Papadopoulos condemned Constantine as "a collaborator with foreign forces and with murderers" and accused him of "pursuing ambitions to become a political leader".<ref name="waiting" /> The [[1973 Greek republic referendum|referendum of 29 July]] confirmed the end of the Greek monarchy and the end of the reign of Constantine.<ref name=lifo /><ref name=sansi /> That year, the junta expropriated the palace of Tatoi and offered the king 120 million drachmas, money that Constantine refused.<ref name="tovima">{{cite news|url=https://www.tovima.gr/2008/11/25/archive/i-perioysia-toy-tews/|title=Η περιουσία του Τέως|work=[[To Vima]]|last=Giannaka|first=Sofia|date=25 November 2008}}</ref>