obtained the estate during the 1880s, purchasing it with private funds he had brought from Denmark. In 1916, during World War I, the house was burned down. In the 1920s, most of the estate was stolen from its owners, but in 1936 it was returned to George II of the Hellenes. During the Second World War, when George II of the Hellenes was in exile and Greeks suffered considerable hardships under German occupation, the woods at Tatoi were chopped down for fuel and corpses were buried in shallow graves. King Geórgios II regained possession of the estate in 1946. It passed down as private property to Constantine II of the Hellenes until 1994, when the royal estates were confiscated by the government of Andreas Papandreou. Constantine took the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, who ruled in his favour in 2003. They were not able to force the return of the estates, but they were able to legally force the government to pay him €12m in compensation; this amounted to only one percent of its real worth. The government paid his compensation from the Greek Natural Disasters fund trying to embarrass Constantine by claiming by paying out money to him he was harming the Greek people in need. Constantine used the funds to set up the "Anna Maria Foundation" to provide grants to needy Greeks in time of hardship caused by natural disasters. The fund is named after former Queen Anne-Marie.
Prospects
In June 2007, the Government of Greece said it intended to turn the former palace and grounds into a museum. However it was reported in September 2012 that the government now intended to sell the palace and its estate in the face of mounting financial pressure. Founded in 2012, the "Friends of Tatoi Association" has set itself the goal to restore the former royal estate and convert it to a museum and public venue, while facing political indifference and lack of money. In 2015 ten cars which are kept in the former royal estate of Tatoi, were designated as cultural monuments by the Central Council for Modern Monuments. However, the cars and also the carriages remain in the ruins. In the year 2016 some parts of the roofs have fallen on the cars. Currently, the Greek government has planned no efforts for preservation of the Tatoi Palace, neighbouring buildings and the natural area around the Tatoi. Theft, vandalism and illegal water abstraction occur almost every month, as political corruption allows this. In the case of a fire, terrorist attack or major earthquake, the buildings, the flora and the fauna would be completely defenseless. Damage caused by time and weather is extensive. The Greek state has renamed the area as metropolitan area. A political idea to convert the former royal estate to a private winery or a resort with restaurants and barbecue could erase the important history from this important part of the modern Greek history. Nevertheless, this proposal was criticised by private persons and organisations, who would like to open Tatoi as a museum for the public. The former royal estate of Polydendri is also completely abandoned, and the buildings are in a state of decay.
Buried at Tatoi
Tatoi Royal Cemetery is a private cemetery located on the south end of the estate in a large wooded area. Buried in the Tatoi Royal Cemetery are:
A mausoleum was built to house the bodies of King Konstantínos I, Queen Sophie and King Aléxandros. The remaining members are buried in tombs with crosses near the Royal Chapel. Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Queen of Yugoslavia was buried here from 1993 until 2013, when her remains were exhumed and returned to Serbia, where they were reburied at Oplenac on 26 May 2013.
Tatoi along with Elefsina currently hold the record for the highest ever recorded temperature in Europe according to WMO, with 48.0 °C, based on measurements made by the use of minimum/maximum thermometers.
