Greece’s last king: Constantine II died at the age of 82 – Panorama

He was an Olympic champion, godfather to Prince William – and ex-playboy. Constantine II has now died at the age of 82. His sister, the Spanish Queen Mother, was with him for the last few hours.

Greece’s ex-king Constantine II has died at the age of 82. This was reported unanimously by the state radio and the state news agency. The ex-monarch’s health had deteriorated in the past few days after a stroke. According to government sources, he is to be buried in a forest of his family’s former summer palace in northern Athens.

Constantine II was the last king of the country. Ten years after he ascended the throne as King of the Hellenes in 1964, the monarchy in Greece was finally abolished by referendum. The former king maintained close ties to the British royal family. In 1982 he even became Prince William’s godfather. William’s grandfather, Prince Philip, was a cousin of Constantine’s father, Paul I.

His entire family has been by his side over the past few days, including his wife Anne-Marie, the youngest sister of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, and his five children. His sister, the Spanish queen mother Sofía, also traveled to Greece at the weekend, as reported by state radio.

Konstantin was in the headlines from a young age. The playboy life of young Crown Prince Konstantin is legendary in the country. Veteran journalists still tell of secret meetings with a successful actress. He is said to have had a lot of arguments with his mother.

Konstantin was also successful in sport: in 1960, together with two other Greek sailors, he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome in what was then the dragon class.

Constantine II approved the formation of a military government

After ascending the throne in 1964, he was one of the youngest monarchs in Europe. In the same year he married the then 18-year-old Danish Princess Anne-Marie. The wedding in Athens was then televised in many countries.

Constantine II, who was initially inexperienced, quickly got involved in disputes with the political leadership. He 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 even signed for the formation of a military government. Many Greeks have never forgiven him for that.

After an unsuccessful counter-coup, he went into exile at the end of 1967 without abdicating, but the military junta did not unilaterally abolish the monarchy until 1973.

After the fall of the military dictatorship and the restoration of democracy, the Greeks officially voted against the monarchy in a referendum in December 1974. Almost 70 percent of voters voted against Constantine. Painful years of disputes with his native country followed. He was expropriated and only compensated after a decision by the European Court of Human Rights in 2000. After that, relations with both the governments and the Greeks normalized. Konstantin bought a villa on the Peloponnese peninsula and spent several months of the year at home.

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