Editing Constantine II of Greece (section)

===Apostasia of 1965===
{{main|Apostasia of 1965}}
[[File:Koninklijk huis, prinsen, koningen, koninginnen, huwelijken, vliegvelden, Anne-M, Bestanddeelnr 017-1377.jpg|thumb|Anne-Marie and Constantine with [[Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands]] at [[Schiphol]], 1966]]
Constantine succeeded to the throne at a time when Greek society was experiencing economic and employment growth.<ref name=jason /> Indicating his refusal to concede any power to the elected government, in September 1964, when there was yet no sign of his conflict with Papandreou, Constantine asked US Ambassador [[Henry Labouisse]] whether he "wanted him to get rid" of Papandreou, although he admitted he was not presently able to do so.<ref>{{harvnb|Kallivretakis|2017|pp=211-212}}</ref> The topic was discussed in subsequent conversations and in January 1965, before the emergence of the ASPIDA case, Cosntantine stated he considered inadvisable for the time being to adopt counsel he was receiving to clash with the Papandreou government due to the popular support it enjoyed.<ref>{{harvnb|Kallivretakis|2017|pp=212-213}}</ref> Political instability worsened in 1965. At a meeting with Papandreou that took place on 11 July 1965 in [[Korfu]], Constantine requested that those implicated in the ASPIDA scandal, in which several military officials tried to prevent attempts by the extreme right-wing military to seize power, be referred to a military tribunal.<ref name=kathi /><ref>{{cite book |language=en|first=Keith R. |last=Legg|title=Politics in Modern Greece|publisher=Stanford UP|date=1969|isbn=0-8047-0705-7}}</ref> Papandreou agreed and raised with him his intention to dismiss the then [[Minister for National Defence (Greece)|minister of defence]], [[Petros Garoufalias]], so that he could take charge himself of the ministry.<ref name=kathi /> Constantine refused, as the scandal wrongly implicated the prime minister's son, [[Andreas Papandreou]].<ref name=kathi /> After several clashes by letter between the monarch and the prime minister, Papandreou resigned on 15 July.<ref name="ingr">{{cite news|first=Dimitris N.|last=Maniatis|title=Ο Κωνσταντίνος, τα Ιουλιανά του 1965 και ο δρόμος προς τη χούντα|journal=In.gr|date=14 January 2023|url=https://www.in.gr/2023/01/14/life/stories/o-konstantinos-ta-iouliana-tou-1965-kai-o-dromos-pros-ti-xounta/|language=el}}</ref><ref name="lifo">{{cite news|first=Yannis|last=Pantazopoulos|title=Οι σκοτεινές σελίδες της ιστορίας του τέως βασιλιά Κωνσταντίνου|journal=[[Lifo (magazine)|Lifo]]|date=13 January 2023|url=https://www.lifo.gr/culture/arxaiologia/oi-skoteines-selides-tis-istorias-toy-teos-basilia-konstantinoy|language=el}}</ref> Following the resignation, at least 39 members of Parliament left Center Union.<ref name="jason">{{cite web|title=The July apostasy of 1965 in Greece; a royal coup to the regime of the colonels|url=https://jasoninstitute.com/the-july-apostasy-of-1965-in-greece-a-royal-coup-leading-to-the-regime-of-the-colonels/|first=Panos|last=Kontogiannis|date=18 June 2017|website=Jason Institute for Peace and Security Studies}}</ref>
[[File:Koning Constantijn en Koningin Anne Marie bij aankomst, Bestanddeelnr 919-0425.jpg|thumb|Constantine in 1966]]
Constantine appointed a new government led by [[Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas]], speaker of the parliament, which was formed by defectors disaffected with the Papandreous (the 'Apostates').<ref name=ingr /><ref name=lifo /> Soon, thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest against Constantine's decision, unprecedented protests that led to clashes with the [[Cities Police]].<ref name=jason /><ref name=ingr /> On 21 July 1965, the protests in the centre of Athens came to a head, and in one of these clashes a policeman killed the 25-year-old student [[Sotiris Petroulas]], leader of the student movement and of the "Lambrakis Youth". His death became a symbol of the protests and his funeral was widely attended.<ref name=lifo /><ref name=jason /> Due to Constantine's personal involvement and his clash with Papandreou, the protests -the largest, most persistent and combative since 1944- featured explicitly anti-monarchical slogans and the monarchy turned into a point of contention.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nikolakopoulos|first=Ilias|title=Η καχεκτική δημοκρατία. Κόμματα και εκλογές, 1946-1967|trans-title=Sickly democracy. Parties and elections, 1946-1967|page=352|location=Athens|year=2001|publisher=Πατάκης}} </ref> Athanasiadis-Novas's government did not receive a vote of confidence from parliament and Athanasiadis-Novas resigned on 5 August 1965. The two big parties, National Radical Union and Center Union, asked Constantine to call elections, but he asked [[Stefanos Stefanopoulos]] to form a government. He then ordered [[Ilias Tsirimokos]] to form a government on 18 August but he did not receive the vote of confidence of the parliament on a vote on 28 August either. Constantine finally ordered Stefanopoulos to form a government and obtained the parliamentary confidence on 17 December 1965. An end to the crisis seemed in sight when on 20 December 1966, Papandreou, ERE leader [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]] and the king reached a resolution; elections would be held under a straightforward system of proportional representation where all parties participating agreed to compete, and that, in any outcome, the command structure of the army would not be altered.<ref>Clogg, 1987, pp. 52</ref> The third "apostate" government fell on 22 December 1966, and was succeeded by [[Ioannis Paraskevopoulos]], who was to govern until the [[1967 Greek legislative election|parliamentary elections of 28 May 1967]], which were expected to favour a victory for Georgios Papandreou's Centre Union.<ref>{{cite news|title=Τα «Ιουλιανά» του 1965 και η «Αποστασία»|journal=Sansimera|url=https://www.sansimera.gr/articles/947|language=el}}.</ref><ref name="sansi2">{{cite news |last1=Σήμερα .gr |first1=Σαν |title=Το Πραξικόπημα της 21ης Απριλίου 1967 |url=https://www.sansimera.gr/articles/250 |access-date=14 January 2023 |work=Σαν Σήμερα .gr |language=el}}</ref> Paraskevopoulos resigned and Kanellopoulos stepped in to fill the role of the Prime Minister on 3 April 1967 until the election.<ref name="Clogg53">Clogg, 1987, pp. 53</ref>