Tatoi Palace

Tatoi, located 15 km north of Athens, was the summer palace and estate of the former Greek Royal Family, and the site of George II of the Hellenes's birth. The area is a densely wooded southeast-facing slope of Mount Parnitha, and its ancient and current official name is Decelea.

Court Rulings

The estate was confiscated in controversial circumstances some years after the declaration of the Hellenic Republic. Its confiscation, and the confiscation of other property of the deposed and exiled King, Constantine II, without any compensation, led to a court case in the European Court of Justice. The king's argument centered on the claim that the property in question was acquired by his predecessors by legal means and was therefore subject to regular personal inheritance. The Greek state argued that the property was either used by the royal family by virtue of its sovereign status or obtained by taking advantage of that status, and therefore, once the monarchy was abolished, the property should revert to public ownership automatically. The Court struck a midway course in reaching its verdict and ordered the Hellenic Republic to pay the exiled king compensation, while allowing the Greek state to retain ownership of the property. In June 2007, the Greek government says it intends to turn the former palace and grounds into a museum. It is expected to open in 2012.

Buried at Tatoi

Buried in the Tatoi Royal Cemetery are:
#Princess Alexandra of Greece, Queen of Yugoslavia (March 25, 1921 -- January 30, 1993) - (wife of King Peter II of Yugoslavia)
#King Alexander I of the Hellenes (August 1, 1893 -- October 25, 1920)
#Aspasia Manos (September 4, 1896 -- August 7, 1972) - (wife of King Alexander I of the Hellenes)
#King Constantine I of the Hellenes (August 2, 1868 -- February 6, 1923)
#Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, Queen of the Hellenes (September 3, 1851 -- June 18, 1926) - (wife of King George I of the Hellenes)
#Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (January 20, 1882 -- December 3 1944)
#Prince George of Greece and Denmark (June 24, 1869 -- November 25, 1957)
#King George I of the Hellenes (December 24, 1845 -- March 18, 1913)
#Princess Marie Bonaparte (July 2, 1882 -- September 21, 1962) - (wife of Prince George of Greece and Denmark)
#King Paul I of the Hellenes (December 14, 1901 -- March 6, 1964)
#Princess Sophia of Prussia, Queen of the Hellenes (June 14, 1870 --- January 13, 1932) - (wife of King Constantine I of the Hellenes)
# Princess Frederika of Hanover, Queen of the Hellenes (April 18 1917 -- February 6, 1981) - (wife of King Paul I of the Hellenes)
#Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark (August 10, 1888 -- January 21, 1940)
#Princess Francoise of Orleans (December 25, 1902 -- February 25, 1953)- (wife of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark)
#Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess of Russia (August 30, 1870 -- September 24, 1891) - (wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia)
#Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess of Russia (March 3, 1876 -- December 14, 1940) - (wife of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia)
# Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (May 4, 1913 -- October 2 2007) - (wife of Major Richard Brandram)

External links

* [http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Greece/Attica/Attiki/Tatoi Tatoi Palace Picture Gallery by photographer Christos Gorezis]
*http://www.pbase.com/dead_poet/tatoi_estate
*http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=79164
*http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit12052005/places.asp
*http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=79163
*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070614/lf_afp/greecespainroyalshistory_070614052305
*http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL1285872420070612?feedType=RSS&rpc=22