Editing George II of Greece (section)

==First reign==
To avoid more unrest, Constantine officially abdicated on 27 September [<nowiki/>Old Style: 14 September] 1922 and moved to Italy with Sophia and his daughters in exile, while George prepared to become the monarch. George left for Bucharest to retrieve his wife and the pair returned to Greece to be crowned.{{sfn|Vickers|2000|pages=162–63}} George officially ascended to the throne as George II, but did not receive a happy reception and faced harsh criticism. In Greece, there had been greater political instability since the [[1922 Greek coup|1922 Greek coup d'état]], which influenced Constantine's abdication, and a large influx of refugees from Asia Minor as a result of the war.{{sfn|Palmer|Greece|1990|p=65}}{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=137–39}} Supporters of Venizelos still maintained a high degree of influence and power in the country, with Plastiras and Gonatas leading the country. George and Elisabeth were confined to Tatoi and were highly monitored by the government, while George worried about the growing instability in Greece and criticism from the former Allies, who had previously refused to recognise Constantine's second reign.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=138–39}}{{sfn|Vickers|2000|pages=163, 166}}

Between 13 October and 28 November{{Efn|[<nowiki/>Old Style: Between 30 September and 15 November]}} 1922, the [[Trial of the Six]] took place and saw the punishment of numerous monarchist politicians who had opposed the Venizelos administration. The verdict of the trial resulted in former prime ministers [[Dimitrios Gounaris]], [[Petros Protopapadakis]] and [[Nikolaos Stratos]], as well as politicians [[Georgios Baltatzis]], [[Nikolaos Theotokis]] and [[Georgios Hatzanestis]], being shot on 28 November. All six of them had been strong supporters of the monarchy and their executions were to the dismay of George, who had lost his right to [[pardon]] and could not intervene in the trial.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=140–41, 143}}{{sfn|Vickers|2000|pages=165, 167}} Continued opposition to the royal family was occurring, such as the arrest of Prince Andrew on 26 October at the royal residence of [[Mon Repos, Corfu|Mon Repos]] on Corfu. Andrew was later transported to Athens and imprisoned for "disobeying an order" and "acting on his own initiative" during battles in Anatolia. The Greek government was criticised by [[George V of the United Kingdom]], [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]] and [[Pope Pius XI]],{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=140}} before Andrew's sentence was reduced to capital banishment in order to avoid sanctions. On 5 December [<nowiki/>Old Style: 22 November], a British ship was sent to transport Andrew and his family, including the young Prince Philip, out of Greece and to Britain, to the dismay of George.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=140–41}}{{sfn|Vickers|2000|pages=164–71}}{{sfn|Bertin|1982|p=230}}

Constantine died in [[Palermo]] on 11 January 1923 [<nowiki/>Old Style: 29 December 1922] without being granted a state funeral, which left George considering abdication. General [[Ioannis Metaxas]], who was a supporter of the monarchy, encouraged George to stay in the country with the hope that instability would gradually reduce.{{sfn|Palmer|Greece|1990|p=67}}{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=143}} Following a [[Leonardopoulos-Gargalidis coup d'état attempt|failed royalist coup d'état]] in October 1923, the Greek government, led by the republican prime minister, Gonatas, asked George to leave the country while the National Assembly considered the question of the future form of government. Though most likely uninvolved, George was accused of initiating the coup d'état, and Plastiras and [[Theodoros Pangalos]] openly campaigned for the abolition of the monarchy for the first time.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=143–14}}{{sfn|Vickers|2000|p=179}} The [[1923 Greek legislative election]] determined that Venizelos would replace Gonatas, however before the changeover in government, Gonatas demanded that George leave the country.{{sfn|Palmer|Greece|1990|p=67}}{{sfn|Bertin|1982|p=238}}{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=144}} George complied and although he refused to abdicate, George departed on 19 December 1923 for exile in his wife's home nation of Romania.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=144}} Before fleeing, George was described as a cold and aloof man, who rarely inspired love or affection from his subjects.{{sfn|Brewer|2016|p=118}} Many commented that his moody, sullen personality seemed more appropriate for his ancestral homeland of Denmark than Greece. Furthermore, George's long years spent living abroad had caused him to struggle in identifying with the Greek culture.{{sfn|Brewer|2016|p=118}}