A large part of the members of the royal houses of all Europe come to Athens on Monday for the funeral of the last king of Greece, Constantine II, who died on January 10 at the age of 82.
At around 12.00 noon (local time), the coffin of Constantine of Greece will be transferred to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the main church of the metropolis of Athens, where a funeral will be held presided over by the archbishop of the Greek capital, the daily ‘SKAI’ has reported.
In the front row will be the family of the deceased. To their left will be the current heads of state, while just behind will be the former kings and heirs to the throne. The princes will follow them, while on the right will sit the other guests.
Among the invited royal families are the royal couples of Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Prince Albert and Caroline of Monaco and Duke Henri of Luxembourg.
After an hour of funeral, the funeral procession will proceed to the burial place of the former monarch, in the cemetery of Tatoi, where the remains of his mother Frederica of Greece lie.
The cemetery is located two kilometers from the former royal estate of Tatoi, as detailed by ‘iEidiseis’.
The funeral will be attended by 1,500 police, anti-terrorist and National Intelligence Service officers. In addition, 1,500 snipers will take part in the Greek Police’s orderly measures for the Exodus procession and burial of the late ex-king Constantine.
At the same time, drones and helicopters will be deployed and vehicle traffic will be cut off in several streets in the center of Athens, culminating the heavy police deployment.
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.
The health condition of the former Hellenic king 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)