The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have now wrapped up a five-day long official state visit to France and Greece.
Charles and Camilla landed in Athens on Wednesday with an aim to strengthen European relations; with a focus on highlighting the military and maritime links between Britain and Greece. As part of this trip, Charles and Camilla have been to visit Constantine II the deposed Greek King who only returned to live in Greece in 2013 after a period of exile.
The meeting took place at the home of Kate Smith, the British Ambassador to Greece on Thursday. The meeting lasted for an hour and was also attended by Constantine’s wife Queen Marie-Anne (born Princess of Denmark) and the couple’s children and daughter-in-law. The bridge-building chat was had over tea and Prince Charles has made it clear that he hopes the visit to the deposed royals will heal wounds in their countries relations that go back decades.
Greece is the only EU state not to have been officially visited by The Queen and Charles is clearly aiming to repair this relationship. He stated that he wanted to connect with his father’s birthplace as the Duke of Edinburgh hails from Corfu. Charles and Camilla’s visit to the deposed royals has put an end to a 45-year long break in communications between the two nations.
Relations have been complicated since the Duke of Edinburgh’s father was forced to flee from Corfu as a child and were strained further by the deposition of the Greek monarchy in 1974. The meeting was followed by a reception at the embassy in Athens attended by politicians, high-ranking business owners and army officers and was an excellent opportunity for Charles and Camilla to strengthen bonds between Britain and Greece. The couple then continued on to Crete to finish their visit on Friday.
