King Constantine

2023 - 1 - 17

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Europe's royals bid farewell to Greece's former king, Constantine II ... (ABC News)

European royalty gathered in Athens on Monday for the funeral of the former king, Constantine II of Greece, born a prince but buried a commoner after his ...

But he seemed resigned to the outcome. And, in a referendum a year later, Greece rejected the monarchy again. He briefly cooperated with them before staging a failed counter-coup that led to his exile. In interviews over the years, Constantine would recall that he was not allowed to return to Greece to advocate for himself at the time of the referendum. In 1994, the state stripped Constantine of his Greek citizenship unless he recognised the end of monarchy and stated a second name in official documents. European royalty gathered in Athens on Monday for the funeral of the former king, Constantine II of Greece, born a prince but buried a commoner after his subjects voted to abolish the monarchy in 1974.

Funeral of Greece's last king, Constantine II, takes place in Athens (The Guardian)

Royal who reigned for barely three years before being exiled is laid to rest six days after death was announced.

From the outset, the funeral of the former king was a sensitive affair. It was to the estate of Tatoi, outside Athens, that Constantine’s coffin made its last journey on Monday. “I flew in from Germany just for this,” said Spyros Lallos, a banker dressed in a black suit and matching black tie as he queued to bow his head before the flag-draped coffin of Constantine lying in state in a chapel next to the cathedral. “It wasn’t right that they sent him into exile and took away his passport and denied us a king.” But for a few hours in Athens on Monday, Constantine II, the royal who reigned for barely three years before being forced into exile was king of the Hellenes again – or at least of thousands of his former subjects. The seizure of power by junior army officers on 21 April 1967 would throw the country into seven years of military dictatorship, a dark era in which leftist opponents were killed, tortured and banished to far-flung Aegean islands.

Greece's last king Constantine laid to rest at former royal cemetery (Neos Kosmos)

Greece's last king, Constantine II, was laid to rest on Monday at the royal cemetery of Tatoi near Athens, after a private funeral service that drew dozens ...

“This is not the end, father. The junta abolished the monarchy in 1973, and Greeks voted not to restore the royal family after the restoration of democracy in 1974. He fled to Rome with the rest of the royal family, and later to London. As crown prince, he won a sailing gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics and was an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee. Constantine, who died last week aged 82, was a divisive figure in the country’s history, and the government drew criticism from conservatives after deciding not to grant him the honour of a state funeral. Greece’s last king, Constantine II, was laid to rest on Monday at the royal cemetery of Tatoi near Athens, after a private funeral service that drew dozens of European royals and a crowd of several hundreds.

Funeral Held for Greece's Former King Constantine (Voice of America)

Members of European royal families from Britain, Denmark, Monaco and Spain bid farewell to Greece's last monarch.

The junta abolished the monarchy in 1973, a year before democracy was restored in Greece. Despite the lingering acrimony, Constantine and his family returned to Greece permanently in 2013. Constantine died last week at the age of 82 in a local hospital.

The Death Of Former King Constantine United The Royal Family Of ... (Greek City Times)

The arrival of the approximately 300 Spanish journalists and cameraperson's to Greece for the funeral of former King Constantine II of Greece was not just ...

What will he say after so many years to his children? [Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens](https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/01/16/live-from-athens-the-last-farewell-to-the-late-king-constantine/) and within the premises of [Tatoi](https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/01/13/other-royals-buried-at-tatoi-royal-cemetary-in-athens/). The fact that Juan Carlos has isolated himself from the Spanish family and that both his son, now King Felipe VI of Spain, and his wife, Queen Sofía, have been keeping their distance from him for several years was the reason that so many Spanish journalists were in Greece.

Royalty farewell King Constantine II at his funeral in Athens (9Honey)

Also present were King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Prince Albert II of Monaco, King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Belgian King ...

King Constantine and his family spent most of their time in the UK and forged a close relationship with the British royal family. He was denied a state funeral and was buried as a private citizen, close to his ancestors in the grounds of the family's former summer palace at Tatoi. The monarchy was abolished in 1974, and the former King was later stripped of his Greek citizenship. Constantine lived in exile for in Rome with the rest of his family before they later settled in London. Constantine came to the throne in 1964 and reigned for just three years but was ousted in a military coup three years later. The late king was godfather to both William and Gabriella.