By Shirley Farmer 
Greece bid farewell to its last king. Constantine II died last Tuesday, January 10, and the funeral service took place on the morning of Monday, January 16, in Athens.
The ceremony started at 10:00 am (Lisbon time) at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Santa Maria, better known as the Cathedral of Athens. Among the 200 or so guests inside the temple were the extended royal family of Greece (Constantine and Anna Maria had five children, Alexia, Pavlos, Nicholas, Theodora and Philippos) as well as various members of the royal houses.
Constantino II was the brother of Queen Sofia of Spain, so the Spanish royal family was present almost entirely. In addition to the Honorary Queen and her younger sister, Princess Irene, King Juan Carlos also traveled to Athens, as well as Kings Felipe and Letizia and the Queen’s Infantas sisters Elena and Christina, with their children.
The royal house of Greece is directly linked to the royal house of Denmark, as Queen Anna Maria, widow of King Constantine, is a sister. Margrethe, Queen of Denmark. For this reason, Her Scandinavian Highness did not miss the ceremony and was accompanied by her two sons, Princes Frederico and Joachim.
The Kings of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Máxima were also present, joined by the Honorary Queen Beatrix. Philip and Mathilde of Belgium, Carl Gustaf and Silvia of Sweden and Albert of Monaco, Princess Anne of the United Kingdom with her husband Sir Tim Lawrence, Crown Prince of Norway Haakon and Mette-Marit, Queen of Jordan Nur and Farah Diba, wife of the former Shah of Persia were other royal guests at this funeral.
Members of the royal family during the ceremony at the Athens Cathedral
The Greek government, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, decided last Wednesday that the king would hold a private, not a state, funeral. Two days later, after negotiations with two of the king’s sons, Princes Pavlos and Nicholas, the government allowed the construction of a kind of burning room, however, without giving it this name or contributing to its organization, he said. the scientist.
At 4:00 a.m. (Lisbon time, 6:00 a.m. in Athens) the king’s body was placed in a burning chamber at St. Peter’s Basilica. Eleutherius, a chapel near the Cathedral of Athens, so that the public can bid farewell to the king. According to the Spanish newspaper, the intention of the Greek government was that the king’s death was not relevant, but there were thousands of Greeks who had gathered to see off Constantine II and waited in line for about three hours. In addition to the many Athenians, buses traveled with Greeks from other parts of the country to the capital, especially from the Peloponnese, the region where the kings would reside since they returned to the country about a decade ago.
Greece will hold legislative elections in July this year, according to British newspaper The TimesHowever, the government’s decision to conduct a private funeral (and pay for it by the family) would have appeased public opinion. Using the same means of communication, members of the Greek government confirmed that they are in contact with the royal family to deal with the security of international royals who have traveled to Athens.
The Greek royal family leaving the funeral
The ceremony has been prepared for the last few days by the Greek princes Pavlos and Nicholas. The first, the crown prince, was at the door of the cathedral to greet the guests. Queen Anne Maria was the last to arrive at the ceremony, accompanied by Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, and was greeted with standing ovations from the crowd gathered around the cathedral. During the ceremony, Prince Pavlos delivered a speech addressed to his father, in English. When the guests left after the funeral, many people shouted “Pavlos” and then “Sofia”, as the Honorary Queen of Spain and the Greek Princess left the ceremony.
The king’s body was then taken to Tatoi, the property of the Greek royal family on the outskirts of Athens, where 22 of his ancestors are now buried. Once there, the coffin was carried by six men, including the king’s sons and grandsons, to the chapel of Santa Egreja da Resorição, where a short ceremony took place. Constantine II’s body then followed again on the shoulders of his descendants and in a funeral procession on foot to the Royal Cemetery, where it was laid beside his parents, Kings Pavlos and Federica, as was his will.
Many people gathered on the side of the road to see off the king and greet members of the royal family. Tatoi Palace was the palace where the three siblings, Prince Sofia, Constantine, and Irene, grew up. After suffering severe damage during World War II, it has been closed since 1967. In 2003 it passed into the hands of the Greek state and just over a year ago a huge fire consumed part of the property. Recently, plans have been put in place to restore the palace with the aim of making it a tourist attraction in Greece and an ecological farm. King Charles III of England is advising the government on this renovation, which will have a budget of 14.20 million euros, According to Hola magazine.
The king’s coffin was draped in the flag of Greece. At the ceremony in the cathedral in Athens and on Tatoi, the urn of Constantine II was accompanied by a wreath with the name of the woman and the ornaments of the king. The floral arrangement consists of the white flowers that the Queen took with her wedding bouquet, which symbolize happiness. It was a wreath with the words “your sweet Anna Maria” written on it. According to the Spanish magazine. To the former Head of State’s most important decorations, the family has also chosen to add other relevant references in crosses and medals.
The interior of the ceremony of the Athens Cathedral and the Greek royal family
The night before the funeral, the Greek royal family, along with several members of other royal houses, gathered for dinner at a hotel restaurant in Athens. As Vanitatis says. Guests were photographed on their way out, and those who drew particular attention were Queen Letizia of Spain and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, her husband King Philip and Crown Prince Pavlos who are first cousins. About five years ago A little argument broke out between the two. After a controversial scene between Queen Sofia and Letizia and their two daughters at the Easter Mass in Palma de Mallorca, the Greek princess criticized the Queen of Spain on her social networks, but she quickly withdrew the post. On Sunday night, they are seen letting go of their arm, talking and looking excited, fixing the idea that there could be a conflict between the two.
It was in the Athens Cathedral that the Greek kings Constantine and Anna Maria got married in 1964. The same place where The Kings of Spain, Juan Carlos and Sofia, had also been married two years earlier. Only in October 2021 the cathedral again got its The royal wedding, the wedding of Philippos and Nina Flor. The religious commitment of the youngest son of the Greek kings brought together the royal family for a major event in the Greek capital.
In 1997, the royal family had to leave the country and since then her treatment and image have fallen on hard times. In 1994, during the government led by then Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, King Constantine’s Greek passport was withdrawn, as well as his lands were confiscated, including Tatoi Palace, the home of the royal family, and the king’s passage through her country was. Not well appreciated even on holidays. The 2004 Olympic Games marked a turning point. The exile ended when the king was invited back to Greece and the family began taking holidays and visiting the country.
Kings Constantine and Anna Maria permanently settled in Greece in 2012 and since then they have also begun to participate in public events. In 2019, conservative Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis decided to make peace between Greece and its royal family and stop denying its history.