Constantine II – Europe’s nobility bid farewell to the last king of Greece – News
Thousands of Greeks and almost all of Europe’s royal families and other nobles bid farewell to Greece’s deceased ex-king Constantine II in Athens.
Thousands of people had gathered around the orthodox cathedral in central Athens to pay their last respects to the ex-king.
When the coffin was carried out of the church after the funeral service, many people sang the Greek national anthem.
Since the monarchy in Greece was abolished by referendum in 1974, Constantine II was buried as a private citizen. Flags were not flown at half-mast and there were no military honors, as is customary at funerals of former heads of state in Greece. This was decided by the conservative government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
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The funeral service for Constantine II took place in the Orthodox Cathedral in Athens.
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It took place in the presence of the former Queen of Greece, Anne Marie, wife of Constantine II (left) and his son Prince Pavlos and his wife Princess Marie-Chantal. Not pictured are Constantine’s other children, Princess Alexia, Prince Nikolaos, Theodora and Philippos.
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The Swedish royal family was represented by King Carl XVI. Gustaf and his wife, Queen Silvia.
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The Spanish royal family was on the one hand with the royal couple King Felipe VI. and Queen Letizia represented.
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On the other hand, the former Spanish king Juan Carlos and his wife, Queen Mother Sofia, attended the funeral service. Sofia is the sister of Constantine II. After numerous affairs by Juan Carlos, the couple lives apart.
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The Danish Queen Margrethe II also attended the funeral service.
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Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit represented the Norwegian royal family at the funeral service.
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The British King Charles III. was represented by his sister, Princess Anne of Edinburgh.
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The Monegasque Prince Albert II was also at the funeral service in Athens.
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Constantine II is buried near the summer palace of the Greek monarchy alongside his parents, King Pavlos and Queen Frederica.
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Nobles from eleven countries attended the funeral service. The royal couples of Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands were spotted. Britain was represented by King Charles III’s sister, Princess Anne.
Numerous heirs to the throne and other nobles from Luxembourg, Monaco and members of former royal houses in Europe from Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria also attended the funeral service, as reported by state radio.
Spanish ex-royal couple at funeral service
The Spanish Queen Mother Sofia and Spain’s ex-King Juan Carlos also met at the funeral service. The two became estranged from Juan Carlos after numerous financial scandals and extramarital affairs. Juan Carlos lives in exile.
As Greek television showed, the two hardly exchanged a word on Monday and hardly looked at each other. They were last photographed together at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service in mid-September 2022. Sofia is the sister of Constantine II. She married Juan Carlos in 1962.
Fatal political mistake
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The time when Constantine II was king in Greece was ill-fated. When he ascended the throne in 1964 at the age of 23, he was one of the youngest monarchs in Europe. The young man, who was still inexperienced at the time, quickly got involved in disputes with the political leadership and made a fatal political mistake when a military group staged a putsch in Greece on April 21, 1967: he had his picture taken with the putschists and signed the approval for the formation of a military government. He said he wanted to avert civil war and bloodshed.
A counter-coup he organized in December 1967 failed miserably. Constantine went into exile. Many Greeks have never forgiven him for interfering in political life and for initially tolerating the dictatorship (known as the Colonel Junta 1967-1974). After the restoration of democracy, the monarchy in Greece was abolished by referendum in December 1974.
For the bourgeois conservative government in Athens, the funeral service and funeral were a political balancing act. Since parliamentary elections have to be held in Greece by July at the latest, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not want to annoy centrist voters who want nothing to do with the royal family. That is why Constantine II was buried as a private citizen.
At the same time, however, he allowed the funeral service to take place in the Athens Cathedral, where all funeral services for politically important former figures in the country are held. At least some of the few remaining royalists in Greece were satisfied with this.
Burial in the Summer Palace
Constantine II died on January 10 at the age of 82. The health of the ex-monarch had suddenly deteriorated after a stroke. The funeral is set to take place at the former royal family’s summer palace in northern Athens. There are the graves of almost all of Constantine’s ancestors. From his tomb you can see the Aegean Sea, where he kept sailing. He had chosen the spot himself, as he once said on a visit to the Summer Palace.
Playboy image and successful athlete
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Constantine’s life as crown prince was tumultuous. He made the headlines at a young age. The playboy life of the young crown prince is well known. Veteran journalists still tell of secret meetings with a successful actress. “They were good times. We were young,” Constantine II said in a TV interview without giving any details. He is said to have had a lot of arguments with his mother.
Konstantin was also successful in sport: at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 he won the gold medal together with two other Greek sailors in the then kite class. The medal was displayed along with his other awards during the funeral service.
