[citation needed] The Greek crown was originally offered to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha but he declined, later being elected the king of the Belgians.

[2] After Otto's deposition as king, the crown was offered to many others, including the novelist and former British colonial secretary Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

Alfred declined to be king, and so did every candidate until Prince Vilhelm of Denmark of the House of Glücksburg, who had received only six votes.

Then in 1974, the democratically elected prime minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis, called a referendum which legitimately confirmed the abolition.

The property was seized by the Republic following the 1974 referendum and has long been a contentious issue between the former royal family and the Greek state.