Constantine spent much of his life in exile in Britain.
1963 archive picture: Princess Anne-Marie and Crown Prince Konstantin at a reception in Athens in January 1963.
kca./(dpa/Reuters)
Greece’s former King Constantine II died in Athens on Tuesday at the age of 82. This was reported by the Greek state radio and the Greek state news agency late Tuesday evening. After a stroke and severe pneumonia, his health had deteriorated in recent weeks. According to information from government circles, King Constantine II is to be buried in a wooded area of his family’s former summer palace in northern Athens.
Constantine II, the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece, was the country’s last king. He ascended the throne as King of the Hellenes in 1964 after his father died. However, his reign was marred by political instability, culminating in a military coup on April 21, 1967.
A few months later he was forced to leave the country after leading an unsuccessful counter-coup against the then military junta. Constantine II remained in Rome for most of his reign until the junta abolished the monarchy in Greece in 1973. A short time later, Athens revoked his citizenship.
In 2002, he and other family members were compensated €13.7 million for their former possessions in Greece. These included the currently restored palatial estate of Tatoi north of Athens and a villa in Corfu where the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born.
King Constantine II had five children with his wife Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and spent most of his life in exile in London. In his last public appearance in central Athens last year, the former king was seen in a wheelchair and with nasal catheters.