ENTRY INTO ATHENS 27 SEPTEMBER 1946
ATHENS, 27SEPTEMBER 1946 King George ll arrived back on Greek territory after a direct flight from London on board a Lancastrian aircraft which landed at 5.30 that evening at Eleusis aerodrome, 16 miles from Athens. At the airport he was met by the Minister of War, M. Mavromichalis, and the Minister of Public Order, M. Theotokis. As the ,airplane arrived an hour before it was expected, the Regent, Archbishop Damaskinos, and the Prime Minister, M. Tsaldaris, were not on the field to welcome the King. They arrived a few minutes later. As soon as he arrived the King boarded the destroyer Miaoulis, which had previously arrived at Eleusis Bay with the Crown Prince Paul and the Princess Frederika. The King will spend the night on board the Miaoulis, which the next morning. was to proceed to Phaleron Bay, where his Majesty would land at 10.30 for formal entry into Athens.
KING'S RETURN TO GREECE
HAPPY CROWDS IN ATHENS
A SYMBOL OF HOPE
ATHENS, 28 SEPTEMBER 1946 , Athens greeted her returning King with happy satisfaction, mixed with bursts of enthusiasm. That the people were glad to see their King again could not be doubted; and their welcome was all the more significant because it meant that Athens was ratifying a momentous decision. A distant booming of guns and the sudden pealing of bells signaled to the crowds in the cathedral square that his Majesty had set foot on Greek soil at Phaleron, where a British detachment was included in the guard of honour. In front of the cathedral waited more guards of armed forces, war veterans, islanders in traditional dress, and scouts. Cabinet Ministers, deputies, dignitaries, delegations from all parts of Greece, with the Regent, Archbishop Damaskinos, walking in a gorgeous procession marked by brocaded copes and jeweled episcopal crowns, took their places in the basilica. The crowds gave a specially warm welcome to the American and British Ambassadors, and the officers of the British military mission. Then came King George, accompanied by Crown Prince Paul and Princess Frederica. The King was pale and deeply moved. On the cathedral steps, he affectionately greeted the Princess Andrew and Princess Helena, mother of the Duchess of Kent, both of whom had endured Axis occupation in Greece, and then bent to kiss the silver Bible in the hands of Archbishop Damaskinos.
BALCONY GREETING
There followed the Te Deum, and then the King drove to the old palace and laid a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He next went to the palace balcony to greet his people, and the march past-nurses, war wounded, representatives of the resistance organization, and deputations from the provinces-suddenly sled its formality and dissolved into a crowd waving flags and olive branches. In the palace, between appearances on the balcony, his Majesty received the good wishes of the Cabinet, the deputies, senior officers, and the diplomatic corps. An untimely and coincidental indisposition constrained the Russian and Yugoslav charges d' affaires to express their regret at not being among those congratulating the King. The King had now overcome his earlier emotion, and looked happy and even animated as he saluted his guests. About mid-day he and his party left to rest at the royal residence. Watching the crowds strolling about the squares and streets in the evening-all Athens seemed to be out-one was struck by their quietness. They were a sober, not a mafficking, people. One felt their evident relief that a period of agonizing suspense and uncertainty was over, and shared their hope that in spite of the threat which every Greek sees in the north, the return of the King would permit the beginning of real peace and reconstruction in poor, tortured, gallant Greece.
A ROYAL APPEAL
Broadcasting to the nation last night, the King emphasized the need for national unity in the face of the critical situation in Greece, and stated his determination to respect absolutely democratic and constitutional rights and institutions. He would consecrate all his efforts to the fulfilment of this great aim. Later in the evening, M. Tsaldaris and his Cabinet, as was expected, tendered their resignations, but after a two-hour conference with the King, M. Tsaldaris announced that he had been charged with the formation of a new Government. It is probable that M. T'saldaris will endeavor to form a coalition Government on the widest basis, but the uncooperative attitude of M. Sophoulis, leader of the Liberals, who seems not yet to have responded to the King's appeal, may make this difficult. The Liberal Press urges that Parliament be dissolved and new elections held in order to permit the representation of those parties that boycotted the March elections. Supporters of the Government, however, describe this attitude as " irrelevant," and believe that M. Tsaldaris will have succeeded in forming his new Government by next Wednesday.
