Greece: No state funeral for ex-King Constantine II
The last king of Greece has died - a good 48 years after the country's monarchy was abolished.
Now the government has decided that he should be buried privately.
The deceased ex-king of Greece Constantine II is to be buried as a private individual. This was decided by the government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday. The funeral will take place in his family’s summer palace, “where his ancestors are buried,” the Greek Prime Minister’s office said in a statement. The summer palace of Tatoi is located around 25 kilometers north of Athens.
Greek media had previously reported that Konstantin’s family had hoped for a state funeral. In Greece, funerals with full military honors are customary for former heads of state.
Representatives of royal families from Europe expected
The funeral mass will take place on January 16 in the Orthodox Cathedral of Athens, a spokeswoman for the former royal family told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. Representatives from almost all of Europe’s royal families are expected in Athens, she added. The funeral will take place afterwards.
Constantine II was the last king of the country. After ascending the throne in 1964 at the age of 23, he was one of the youngest monarchs in Europe. Initially inexperienced, he quickly got involved in disputes with the political leadership and made a fatal mistake: on April 21, 1967, a military group staged a coup in Greece. In order – as he repeatedly said – to avert bloodshed, Constantine tolerated the coup plotters. He had his picture taken with them and signed off on the formation of a military government. Many Greeks have never forgiven him for that. After the restoration of democracy, the monarchy in Greece was abolished in December 1974.
Constantine II died on Tuesday evening at the age of 82. The ex-monarch’s health had deteriorated in the past few days after a stroke.
