SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

Greece

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens – the setting for the final part of a King’s story

On Tuesday, 10 January, King Constantine II died in Athens, Greece, at Hygeia Hospital at the age of 82 from stroke complications.

His private funeral will be held in Athens on Monday, 16 January, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. 

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation is informally known as the Mētrópolis and is below the Acropolis in Athens. It is a Greek Orthodox Church and is the main cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Athens and the largest church in the city. It dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. 

The Greeks declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821; during the Ottoman Empire, administrative buildings sat on the site. It is also said that it is the site where the icon of the Annunciation was found.

However, in 1842 construction on the cathedral began on Christmas Day; King Otto and Queen Amalia laid the cornerstone. Multiple architects worked on the building, and it is considered to be a combination of Romanesque, Renaissance, and Byzantine styles.

The cathedral was built using the materials and artwork from over seventy abandoned churches. Construction halted fully only a year later when funds ran out; construction did begin again, though, and over the next two decades, the church was completed.

The cathedral was finally consecrated on 21 May 1862, and one hundred years later, it was listed as a historic monument. 

Constantine and his family have a history with the cathedral. His older sister, Princess Sophia (now Queen Sofia), married the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain at the cathedral in 1962. 

Sofia, as well as King Felipe, Queen Letizia and King Juan Carlos of Spain, will be attending the funeral on Monday.

Constantine’s wife, Queen Anne-Marie, was a princess of Denmark before marrying him, and both of her sisters, Queen Margrethe II and Princess Benedikte of Denmark, are both attending, as well as Crown Prince Frederik. 

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden will be attending, as well as the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway. The King and Queen of the Belgians and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg have joined the growing list of attendees. It is expected that other royal guests will be confirmed in the coming days. 

After the funeral, the late King will be buried at Tatoi Cemetery, the resting place of several Greek monarchs. 

About author

Historian and blogger at AnHistorianAboutTown.com