The Greek government will decide Wednesday how the burial ceremony of former King Constantine of Greece, who died Tuesday at the age of 82 after being admitted in serious condition in a private hospital in Athens, the Hygenia center, for health problems.
The last monarch of Greece (1964-1973) will be buried in the former royal estate of Tatoi, on the outskirts of Athens, where his mother Frederica of Greece lies, although the Greek Executive has to decide how the funeral will be, ‘iEidiseis’ has reported.
The family of the former monarch is reportedly looking for ways to overcome the pending legal issues surrounding the funeral ceremony, as his children are lobbying the government for a funeral with head of state honors.
That funeral ritual would include a popular pilgrimage as well as other details of a state funeral. The family believes Constantine of Greece has that right because of the public office he held for nine years.
However, it is foreseeable that the Executive will deny this possibility on the grounds that the ex-king does not have Greek citizenship and that he left the country after a referendum on the head of state held in 1974 and in which the republic won, according to the newspaper.
The ex-king Constantine of Greece, uncle of King Philip VI and brother of Queen Sofia, may have suffered a stroke at home, according to local media, while others point to an admission caused by the coronavirus, although for the moment there is no official confirmation of his death from the Hellenic Royal House.
Queen Sofia has traveled to Athens after attending the last farewell of Pope Benedict XVI. His children, who live abroad, have also accompanied the monarch in his last days, as well as his wife, Anna Maria of Greece.
The former Hellenic monarch’s state of health had been very unstable for several years. In early 2022 he was hospitalized after being infected with COVID-19 and in December 2021 he suffered an ischemic attack while staying with his wife at the palace of Porto Heli.
The last public appearance of the monarch, who enjoyed great popularity, was last October 23, when he attended in a wheelchair the wedding of his youngest son, Prince Philippos of Greece to Nina Flohr.
Constantine II was king of Greece from 1964 until 1973, when the monarchy was abolished by referendum in 1974. Some 75.6 percent of Greeks decided they wanted a republic as a form of state. After that, he spent some time living in London, although he later returned to his homeland, the daily ‘Ethnos’ has recalled.
The former monarch was the son of Frederica of Hanover and Paul I of Greece, who was the younger brother of King George II, as well as first cousin of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and also father-in-law of Juan Carlos I of Spain.
After the death of King Paul I in 1964, Constantine succeeded him on the throne. That same year he married Anne Marie, youngest daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark, whom he met as heir to the throne in 1959 in Copenhagen during a visit to Sweden and Norway.
Constantine lived his first years as king very convulsive as a result of the riots that broke out in July 1965 after the resignation of George Papandreou as prime minister, as well as the subsequent coup d’état in 1967, led by George Papadopoulos, who deposed the king and imposed a military dictatorship.
After the fall of the dictatorship in July 1974, the politician Konstantinos Karamanlis returned from exile in Paris to form a government. In December of the same year a referendum was held on the future of the monarchy.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
