Funeral and burial arrangements for King Constantine II of Greece have been announced, and the Government has not granted a State funeral. However, talks continue between ministers and the former monarch’s family over where the funeral service will take place.
The Greek government met on the morning of January 11th 2023, just hours after Constantine’s death, to discuss whether to give the former King of the Hellenes a State funeral, and to discuss burial plans.
Greek customs say that all former Heads of State have the right to a State funeral, and King Constantine II would be no exception. However, two obstacles stood in the way.
The first, is the will of the former King and his family. Ultimately, they could waive the right to a State funeral. It doesn’t seem that the Greek Royals has such an inclination, but many factors could play into their decision.
More pressing is the decades long exile into which the King and his family were forced following the coup d’état that unseated him from power in 1967. The Greek monarchy was finally abolished following a referendum in 1974. It was almost four decades before Constantine and his family were allowed by the Greek government to take residence back on Greek soil.
The ban ended in 2013, and King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie moved their residence from London to Porto Cheli, in the Peloponnese.
As such, the Government has decided to forego the State funeral, only allowing a private ceremony, and granted permission for a private burial within the grounds of Tatoi Palace, where the King’s mother, Queen Frederika, was also buried.
The Greek Government will be represented at the funeral by the Culture and Sports Minister, with Prime Minister Mitsotakis issuing a statement that said in part that King Constantine’s life will be judged by history “fairly and strictly”.
The Greek government is expected to provide security for the many authorities form around the world that will make the trip to Greece for the funeral; those are expected to include the Danish Royals (Queen Anne Marie is a sister to Queen Margrethe), the Spanish Royals (Queen Sofía is King Constantine’s older sister) and some members of the British Royal Family (the King was a close friend of King Charles III, and is godfather to Prince William, whom, in turn, is a godfather to Prince Constantine Alexios, Crown Prince Pavlos’ first son).
Constantine II, last King of the Hellenes, died on January 10th 2023. He was 82 years old.
