ATHENS, Greece (AP) — As crowds of thousands chanted “Long live the king” and “Constantine, Constantine,” the casket containing the former and last Greek monarch emerged from Athens’ metropolitan cathedral Monday after a service commemoration attended by royalty. from all over Europe.
Constantine’s wife, Anne-Marie, sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and her eldest son, Pavlos, followed at the head of the funeral cortege. The coffin, draped with the Greek flag, was loaded into a hearse for the journey to Tatoi, a former royal estate north of Athens, where Constantine was to be buried alongside his parents and ancestors.
Once a forest spot popular with Athenians for picnics and nature walks, Tatoi was ravaged by fire about two years ago and has remained largely blackened and abandoned ever since. Cleaning crews have worked feverishly since Constantine’s death last week, aged 82, to clear the site in time for Monday’s funeral.
A referendum finally abolished the Greek monarchy in 1974. Constantine, a controversial figure in a turbulent period of Greek history, spent decades in exile before returning to settle in his native country in its declining years.
“By the grace of God, you breathed your last in our country, which you always loved above all else all your life,” Pavlos said in a eulogy for his father. Constantine’s children and grandchildren, Pavlos said, “are ready, as you have always been, to give Greece everything our country demands.”
European royalty, many related to Constantine, descended on Athens for the funeral, including Margrethe and the Spanish royal family. Constantine’s sister Sophia is the mother of King Felipe VI of Spain and the wife of former King Juan Carlos I.
Constantine was one of the godfathers of Prince William, the heir to the British throne. William’s aunt, Princess Anne, represented the British royal family in Athens.
Photo AP/Petros Giannakouris
Juan Carlos, walking with the help of a cane, helped her with Sophia by his side. It was a rare public appearance for the former king, who has been living in Abu Dhabi since being separated from the Spanish royal family in 2020 amid financial scandals.
The Greek government had announced that Constantine would be buried as a private citizen, without the honors reserved for former heads of state. A limited state was allowed between 6 and 11 in a chapel near the cathedral.
Thousands of people showed up, some from all over Greece, and stood in line for hours in the pre-dawn darkness and winter cold.
“He was a constitutional leader of the country. It was a monarchy then, so we have to honor this man who stayed in Greece for so many years and who is Greek,” said Athens resident Georgia Florenti as she waited to pay her respects to the former monarch.
Some mourners expressed disappointment that Constantine was buried without the honors accorded former heads of state.
“I feel angry because I think it is petty that funerals are done at public expense for actors and singers and not to honor a person who, for better or for worse, was the king of Greece,” said Irene Zagana.
Constantin ascended the throne in 1964, at the age of 23, already an Olympic gold medalist in sailing. The young king and his wife enjoyed enormous popularity, which quickly faded due to Constantine’s active involvement in the machinations that brought down the elected government of then Prime Minister George Papandreou.
“There was social adoration for the young king. Any antipathy there was his mother’s concern,” said Thanassis Diamantopoulos, a professor of political science at Athens’ Panteion University. “He himself was beloved, but unfortunately, through his callous and poorly understood handling of the 1965 crisis, he managed to squander that sympathy very quickly.”
The episode of defection of several parliamentarians from the ruling party destabilized the constitutional order and led to a military coup in 1967. Constantine eventually fell out with the military rulers and was forced into exile.
When the dictatorship collapsed in July 1974, Constantine was keen to return to Greece, but was advised by veteran politician Constantine Karamanlis, who had returned from exile to lead a civilian government.
After winning the November elections of that year, Karamanlis called for a plebiscite on the monarchy. Constantin was not allowed to return to the campaign, but the result was widely accepted: 69.2% voted in favor of a republic.
Constantine “should be given credit for something that other deposed monarchs did not do: he never threatened, challenged or undermined the state that was not ruled by a king after his deposition,” Diamantopoulos said. “He accepted the 1974 referendum. He didn’t create a party of nostalgia for the monarchy. … So with his silence, he helped solidify the new system of government.”
There have been no opinion polls measuring possible support for the former king since the monarchy was abolished. Public discourse in Greece tends to be significantly negative about the monarchy.
The number of people who waited patiently for hours in Athens to pay their last respects suggested that Constantine was still very much loved by a segment of society.
“He is a former high-ranking official to whom we must certainly show the necessary honors, a serious, noble, honest person,” said lawyer Giannis Katsiavos, who was in the crowd. “We will always remember him.”
Raphael Kominis contributed to this report.
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