Editing Constantine II of Greece (section)

====Movable property====
On 8 October 1990, the commissioner of the Royal Estate, Admiral Stavridis, submitted a request for the transfer of the family's "households goods" abroad. After secret talks with then Prime Minister [[Constantine Mitsotakis]], the government accepted the former king's request and on 22 November, the Greek Minister for the Economy, [[Ioannis Palaiokrassas]], and the Minister for Culture, [[Tzannis Tzannetakis]], issued a joint ministerial decision in order to check, register and mark the objects in the collection which were probably prohibited from leaving the country. In February 1991, when the transfer process began, customs officials, an archaeologist and a representative of the National Gallery carried out the registration of the objects. This work was characterized by haste and sloppiness, and did not meet scientific standards.<ref group="note">According to the representative of the National Gallery... ''"It was very cold, it was snowing and we were without heating and without electricity. We were looking at the paintings with a flashlight in our hand. Next to us was constantly a crowd of royalty, led by Admiral Stavridis, who did everything they could to make things difficult for us. They pressed us to finish quickly, when we asked to open a box they started to make a fuss.... The palace was huge and we were not allowed access to all the rooms. The paintings we forbade to leave the country were kept in a separate room. I wonder where they are now."...''</ref> Nevertheless, the list was submitted to the [[National Gallery (Athens)|National Gallery]] in April 1992, although it has not been used for cross-checking since.   On 17 February 1991, nine containers weighing 32 tonnes and containing 1904 boxes were loaded onto a ship leaving [[Piraeus]] for the port of [[Tilbury]] and the former royal residence in London.<ref name="Vima2" >{{cite web |author=Δήμητρα Κρουστάλλη |date=25 November 2008 |title=Ριφιφί στα Θερινά Ανάκτορα |url=https://www.tovima.gr/2008/11/25/archive/rififi-sta-therina-anaktora/ |website=To Vima |language=Greek |publisher= |trans-title=Burglary in the Summer Palace}}</ref>
When a dock worker at the port alerted the newspapers to the transfer, it became public knowledge, and a heated debate ensued. The [[Opposition (politics)|opposition]] claimed that underworld methods had been used, as Parliament had not been informed and all discussions and negotiations had taken place in secret, while public discourse questioned the legality of the transfer and assurances that it would not affect the public interest.<ref>{{cite web |author=Τάκης Κατσιμάρδος |date=31 May 2017 |title=Το μεγάλο ριφιφί Μητσοτάκη – Γλύξμπουργκ στο Τατόι |url=https://info-war.gr/to-megalo-rififi-mitsotaki-glyxbourgk-sto-tatoi/ |website=Info-war. gr|language=Greek |publisher= |trans-title=The great Mitsotakis - Glyxburg burglary in Tatoi}}</ref>
What further discredited the operation of transferring the heirlooms was when it was revealed, 10 years later, that on 13 February 1991, while the place was under guard, a major break-in and robbery of objects of incalculable value took place. The list of stolen goods included jewellery, valuable religious icons, works of art and objects that were classified as unique works of [[cultural heritage]] and could not be legally exported. However, both the [[Hellenic Police]] and Konstantinos' entourage concealed the fact and did not take legal action to solve the theft.<ref>{{cite web |author=Κώστας Χατζίδης|date=7 December 2002 |title=Ντοκουμέντο για τον κλεμμένο θησαυρό του Τατοΐου|url=https://www.tanea.gr/2002/12/07/greece/ntokoymento-gia-ton-klemmeno-thisayro-toy-tatoioy/ |website=Ta Nea |language=Greek |publisher= |trans-title=Document for the stolen treasure of Tatoi}}</ref>

In 2007, 850 valuable objects belonging to the royal estate were auctioned by [[Christie's]] in London. Constantine denied that he was the vendor - he claimed that they had already been sold in 1991  to third parties who auctioned them but journalists disputed the claim.  The Greek government, through then Culture Minister [[Georgios Voulgarakis]], tried to stop the auction, claiming that the items may have been illegally exported from Greece, but the attempt failed.<ref>{{cite web |author=Malcolm Brabant |date=22 January 2007 |title=Greek protest over London auction |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6289097.stm|website=bbc |location= |publisher= }}</ref>