Date |
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Time |
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Duration | ~11 hours [b] |
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Type | Private burial |
Participants | See list of funeral dignitaries |
On 10 January 2023, Constantine II of Greece, Head of the Royal House of Greece, who reigned as the last King of the Hellenes from 6 March 1964 to 1 June 1973, died in Athens at the age of 82, having already been placed under intensive care after suffering a stroke in hospital. His death was initially announced by an Associated Press report, which referenced hospital staff, however Constantine's private office later released a formal death statement. The Greek government declined the royal family's request for a state funeral, although it was later decided that Constantine should have a lying-in-state and a funeral procession.
On 16 January, Constantine's body was laid for public viewing in the Saint Eleftherios Chapel in Athens from 6:00 am to 11:00 am (UTC+2), followed by a funeral at noon in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. He was then buried privately at Tatoi Palace by his family. Members of royal houses from seventeen countries were in attendance, including the Greek royal family, members of the Spanish royal family and Danish royal family, and the monarchs of Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Sweden.
In the last few years of his life, Constantine had been experiencing "chronic heart" problems. [1] In September 2022, due to ill health, he was unable to travel to the United Kingdom to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, his third cousin, and the widow of his first cousin once removed, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[ citation needed ] His last public appearance occurred in Athens in October 2022 when he went to a restaurant for lunch with his wife, Queen Anne-Marie, and his two sisters, Queen Sofía of Spain and Princess Irene. Although he remained undisturbed during his meal, Spanish tourists later noticed Queen Sofía and a Greek civilian recognised the former king, who was being pushed in a wheelchair with nasal catheters that provided him with supplementary oxygen, prompting concerns for his health.[ citation needed ] His heart and mobility issues had "worsened" in the twelve months prior to his death and resulted in multiple hospitalisations in 2022. [1] He also suffered through a severe case of COVID-19.[ citation needed ]
On 9 January 2023, it was revealed that Constantine had been hospitalised and was in a "serious, but stable" condition.[ citation needed ] His family was said to be at his side, and his two sons, Crown Prince Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos, were meeting in the Maximos Mansion to discuss the events that would occur following his death.[ citation needed ] Constantine's daughter-in-law, Princess Tatiana, was seen lighting a candle at church in prayer for his health.[ citation needed ] He had been placed in the intensive care unit of the private Hygeia Hospital following a stroke, but died on 10 January 2023. [2] [3] He was 82 years old. Constantine died one day short of the centenary anniversary of the death of his grandfather, Constantine I.
His death was leaked publicly by an Associated Press report, which referenced hospital staff. [4] Constantine's private office later formally announced, "It is with deep sadness that the royal family announces that HM King Constantine, beloved husband, father, and brother, passed away yesterday." [5] Despite the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, Constantine never formally renounced his title as King of the Hellenes due to Greek Orthodox tradition, which holds that an anointed monarch retains their status until their death. However, he had accepted that he would be styled as the former King of the Hellenes by the media.[ citation needed ] Upon his death, the International Olympic Committee and Hellenic Olympic Committee flew the flags at the Panathenaic Stadium and the flags at the Hellenic Olympic Committee offices at half-mast. [6] The flags at Amalienborg Palace were also lowered to half-mast. [7]
Constantine II was survived by his wife, Anne-Marie, his sisters, Sofía and Irene, and his five children, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Alexia, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos, as well as his nine grandchildren. [8] He also had nine godchildren, including Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania,[ citation needed ] William, Prince of Wales, [9] and Lady Gabriella Kingston. [9] [10]
Following Constantine's death, it was announced a discussion would be held later that day at the Maximos Mansion to decide whether a state funeral is appropriate. [3] Following the discussion, it was decided that Constantine would not receive a state funeral, but would rather be buried as a private citizen.[ citation needed ] It was also announced that his burial location would be at Tatoi Palace, where other past Greek royal family members have been buried.[ citation needed ] The funeral location was decided to be the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens on Monday 16 January. [11] Lina Mendoni, the Minister of Culture and Sports, was also called to be the government's representative at the funeral. The government also declined requests for a lying-in-state for Constantine's body. Many "right-wing politicians" reportedly were upset with the decision for neither a state funeral nor a lying-in-state, something which was requested by his family. [12] [ unreliable source? ]
The prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, defended the government's decision by insisting that Constantine was only the leader of the "Kingdom of Greece, which no longer exists".[ citation needed ] Despite this, a funeral procession was still planned to occur outside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. [11] On 12 January 2023, Queen Sofía of Spain, Princess Irene and Princess Nina, as well as Princess Theodora's fiancé, Matthew Kumar, were photographed visiting the royal cemetery at Tatoi Palace for preparations at the royal tombs ahead of Constantine's funeral.[ citation needed ] Mitsotakis received backlash from many, including former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, [13] over his decision to deny Constantine a state funeral, and he later agreed to put the former king's body on display in an unofficial lying-in-state, while also giving him the "honours of a state leader".[ citation needed ] Police also stated that they would "have a presence at vital points around the Metropolitan Cathedral and Tatoi, as well as the funeral procession's route and the locations where invited officials stay." [14]
Royal guests began arriving in Greece on 15 January 2023 and most of them stayed at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, where both reporting mediai and crowds greeted them.[ citation needed ] Constantine's body laid in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel from 6:00 am till 11:00 am (UTC+2), allowing members of the public to pay their respects. Thousands of mourners viewed his coffin. [15] By 8:00 pm (UTC+2), police estimates placed over 5,000 mourners to have visited Constantine's coffin. [16] Afterwards, a procession into the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens occurred. Τhe procession was headed by a crucifer, followed by two priests, including Archbishop Ieronymos II, then the coffin, which was draped in the current flag of Greece, and finally Constantine's three sons, with crowds watching from the side. Members of the public were chanting "Immortal" and "Constantine, you will never die" and held flowers, flags of the Kingdom of Greece and pictures of Constantine and Anne-Marie. [16] [13] Some people were chanting, "Long live the king!" [17]
Constantine's body was moved through the church's nave then placed in the centre of the chancel with wreaths, icons and medals surrounding it. Government officials were jeered and booed by the crowd upon their arrival at the ceremony. [18] The wreaths beside Constantine's coffin were made out of lily of the valleys, which were the same flowers that Anne-Marie's wedding bouquet was made out of. On the wreath was written in white letters on blue felt, "Your beloved Anne-Marie" (Greek : Η αγαπημένη σου Άννα-Μαρία, romanized: I agapiméni sou Ánna-María), which were revealed, through an attached card, to have been Anne-Marie's last words to Constantine.[ citation needed ] His three sons decided on the various medals displayed on his coffin, which were the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece, the Medal of Military Merit, the Order of the Dannebrog, the Order of the Elephant, the Order of George I, the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Order of the Phoenix, the Order of the Redeemer, the Order of Saints George and Constantine and his 1960 Summer Olympic Games golden medal.[ citation needed ]
The funeral ceremony commenced at 12:30 pm (UTC+2) and over 200 people were in attendance, [14] including nine monarchs, which prompted the deputy prime minister of Greece, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, to also represent government at the ceremony. [19] Prime Minister Mitsotakis also allowed members of Greek parliament to attend on their own accord.[ citation needed ] Anne-Marie wore the same diamond cross from her wedding at the funeral ceremony.[ citation needed ] Archbishop Ieronymos II presided over the ceremony, standing at the front of the church with almost twenty other priests. [20] [21] To the right and left of him stood two Byzantine choirs and further right sat Constantine's descendants, wife and two sisters. Foreign monarchs, heads of states and other royal family members were seated further left of the Greek royal family. Behind the family were four Orthodox Bishops. Crown Prince Pavlos delivered Constantine's eulogy at the end of the service.[ citation needed ] The recessional consisted of the same order as the procession, except with the whole Greek royal family followed by all guests at the end. Crowds sang the Greek national anthem as Constantine's coffin exited the cathedral. Over 1,000 police officers were in Athens on the day to secure the funeral. [20] The funeral was streamed on television and online by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT).[ citation needed ]
The burial was a private event at Tatoi Palace, the residence of the former Greek royal family. Much of the land surrounding Tatoi Palace was destroyed in the 2021 Greece wildfires and no clean-up effort was undertaken. Following the announcement that Constantine's memorial would take place there, clean-up crews arrived to have the site cleared in days. New trees were said to have been planted, burnt trees were removed, newly-pathed gravel pathways were installed and a nearby church was repaired by "frantic" workers.[ citation needed ]
After the funeral, with police escort and five supervising drones and two helicopters, Constantine's body was driven 29 kilometres to Tatoi Palace via Metropolitan Road, which was closed to the public from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm (UTC+2). [20] [22] It took at least 40 vehicles to transport all 60 guests who attended the burial to Tatoi Palace.[ citation needed ] The coffin was greeted by many people who were waiting at Tatoi Palace. [23] Although the burial committal ceremony at Agios Athanasios, the chapel at Tatoi Palace, was photographed, there were no press or photographers during the actual burial, as requested by his family. At the burial comittal ceremony, Constantine's coffin was covered in a wreath, his Olympic medal and the monarchical flag of Greece. The burial was said to have happened around 4:00 pm (UTC+2). [24] The burial's dignitaries attended a memorial dinner in the evening. [14]
Just under two weeks later, a severe storm caused minor damage to the outer edge of Constantine's coffin. Per Greek customary traditions, the coffin had yet to be sealed up as 40 days had yet to pass after his death. [25] On 18 February 2023, a service at the Metropolitan Cathedral to mark 40 days since Constantine's death was held at 11:00 am (UTC+2). It was officiated by Archbishop Ieronymos and was attended by Anne-Marie, her and Constantine's children, their grandchildren, Constantine's sisters, other members of the Greek royal family and over 250[ citation needed ] members of the public. [26] At the front of the cathedral was a kolivo with letters spelling his name in Greek (Greek : ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΊΝΟΣ Β', romanized: KONSTANTÍNOS II) on top. Afterwards, a lunch was held for the Greek royal family and close friends. A service to unveil Constantine's tomb with a Trisagion hymn occurred the following morning. [26]
On 10 January 2024, the first anniversary of Constantine's death, a private memorial service was held in Tatoi and was attended by his immediate family. [66] On 27 February, a thanksgiving service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, was held by the British royal family and attended by Constantine's family, members of foreign royal families and both former and present members of British parliament. [67] The Protestant service was officiated by Christopher Cocksworth, Dean of Windsor. [68] Greek Orthodox representation was also present at the service. Readings were conducted by all five of Constantine's children and Archbishop Nikitas Loulias, the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain. [69] Constantine's eulogy was delivered by Nicholas Soames, which he described as a "great and humbling honour". [70] After the Lord's Prayer was read in English and in Greek, the British national anthem was sung to conclude the service. [71] Five of Constantine's grandchildren, King Charles III and Constantine's two British godchildren, Prince William and Lady Gabriella Kingston, were not present. William was due to give a reading at the ceremony, but pulled out shortly before the ceremony commenced for an undisclosed "personal matter". [72] Gabriella's husband had died two days prior to the service. [73] Charles, who was unable to attend due to his cancer treatment, was spotted honouring Constantine by wearing a Greek tie days later. [74] The day following the thanksgiving service, a memorial service was held in the Saint Sophia Cathedral and officiated by Archbishop Nikitas. ANT1 reporters were present and interviewed both Crown Prince Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos. [75]
Frederik IX was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972.
Anne-Marie is a Danish princess who was Queen of Greece as the consort of King Constantine II from their marriage on 18 September 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973.
Constantine II was the last King of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973.
Alexander was King of Greece from 11 June 1917 until his death on 25 October 1920.
Alexandra was the last Queen of Yugoslavia as the wife of King Peter II.
Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark, is a member of the former Greek royal family and the extended Danish royal family. She is married to Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. Marie-Chantal's husband was the heir apparent to the throne of Greece until the monarchy was abolished in 1973.
Tatoi was the summer palace and 42 km2 estate of the former Greek royal family. The area is a densely wooded southeast-facing slope of Mount Parnitha, and its ancient and current official name is Dekeleia. It is located 27 km (17 mi) from the city centre of Athens and 2.5 km (2 mi) from Kifissia.
Aspasia Manou was a Greek aristocrat who became the wife of Alexander I, King of Greece. Due to the controversy over her marriage, she was styled Madame Manou instead of "Queen Aspasia", until recognized as Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark after Alexander's death and the restoration of King Constantine I, on 10 September 1922. Through her marriage, she and her descendants were the only ethnically Greek members of the Greek royal family, which originated in Denmark.
Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark was a Greek historian, author, and member of the Greek royal family. He wrote several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, in addition to working as a contributing writer to Architectural Digest.
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, Prince of Denmark is the current head of the former Greek royal family. He is the second child and eldest son of the last king of Greece, Constantine II, and Queen Anne-Marie. His father served as king from 1964 until 1973, when the Greek monarchy was abolished. Pavlos was crown prince and heir apparent to the throne from birth until the monarchy's abolition. He became head of the former Greek royal family following his father's death on 10 January 2023. As a male-line descendant of Christian IX of Denmark he is a Danish prince, although not in succession to its throne. Queens Margrethe II of Denmark and Sofía of Spain are his aunts, and Kings Felipe VI of Spain and Frederik X of Denmark his first cousins.
Sophia of Prussia was Queen of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922 as the wife of King Constantine I.
Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark is the third child of Constantine II and Anne-Marie, who were the last King and Queen of Greece, from 1964 to 1973.
The currently deposed Greek royal family was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. The family is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a cadet branch of the House of Glücksburg. The family had replaced the House of Wittelsbach that previously ruled Greece from 1832 to 1862. The first monarch was George I of Greece, the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark. The current head of the family is Pavlos, who assumed the role on 10 January 2023 upon the death of his father, former King Constantine II.
The wedding of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, Prince of Denmark, and Marie-Chantal Miller took place on 1 July 1995 at St Sophia's Cathedral, in London, England. The wedding ceremony, hosted by Miller's father, billionaire Robert Warren Miller, reportedly cost US$1.5 million and was attended by 1,400 guests. The wedding ceremony, receptions, and celebrations combined reportedly cost Miller $8 million. The wedding of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal brought together the largest gathering of royalty in London since the wedding of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1947 and more monarchs were in attendance than at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer.
Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark is a fashion model, socialite and member of the former Greek royal family. She is the oldest child and only daughter of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, and his wife, Marie-Chantal Miller. Her paternal grandparents are Constantine II of Greece and Anne-Marie of Denmark, who were the last King and Queen of the Hellenes, while her maternal grandfather is duty free entrepreneur Robert Warren Miller.
The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson took place on 14 May 2004 in the Copenhagen Cathedral.
The wedding of Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place on Friday, 18 September 1964, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
The Golden Jubilee of Margrethe II was celebrated in 2022 in the Kingdom of Denmark, being the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Margrethe II on 14 January 1972.
The wedding of Princess Margrethe of Denmark and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat took place on Saturday, 10 June 1967, at the Holmen Church in Copenhagen, Denmark.