Prince William’s godfather dies: last Greek king to be buried without state honors 1/11/2023, 2:35 p.m.

A member of an ancient noble family was admitted to the private Hygeia Hospital in Athens last week with respiratory problems. Constantine II he could not cope with the effects of the stroke and died surrounded by relatives.

Close associates of the Glücksburg dynasty reported that he had been hospitalized several times over the past few months. Clinic staff explained that a known patient was being treated in the intensive care unit.

Constantine II he will be buried in the family cemetery without state honors. This decision was taken at an interdepartmental meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Authorities have announced that the former king will be buried as a private person. Burial will take place at Tatoi Cemetery,

The former Greek monarch had close ties to the British royal family. Constantine II is the nephew of the husband of the late British Queen. Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh) died in April 2021 aged 99. Queen Elizabeth II died last September at the age of 96. Constantine was a friend of Philip and Elizabeth. He was particularly close to his second cousin Charles, now King Charles III of Great Britain, and was also Prince William’s godfather.

The son of King Paul I of Greece and his wife Queen Frederica of Hanover, he ascended the throne at the age of 23 in 1964. The young monarch rose to fame as an Olympic gold medalist in sailing and was extremely popular with the people. However, he quickly lost support due to political machinations that led to the overthrow of the government. This destabilized the constitutional order and led to a military coup in 1967.

The last Greek king was exiled. Referendums in 1973 and 1974 abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, dashing any hopes of Constantine for a second reign. Constantine II lived in Rome and London. It was only in 2013 that he returned to his homeland after definitively adopting the republican system, reports the Daily Mail.

Constantine had family ties in almost all the royal houses of Europe. His older sister Sophia is the wife of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, and the Queen of Denmark was his daughter-in-law. Constantine sued the Greek government for many years, hoping to return all of the royal family’s property. However, in 2002 the European Court of Human Rights awarded only 12 million euros of the 500 million demanded by the former monarch.

Konstantin was survived by two daughters and three sons. Until his death, he continued to call himself king and his children princes and princesses, even though Greece no longer recognized their titles.