Formed king of Greece, Constantine II, will be buried as a private citizen and not with honors of a state leader as his family requested, an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday morning has decided.
The funeral protocol for Greece’s former king, Constantine, relays on decisions by the Prime Minister.
The last king of Greece, Constantine II, who reigned from 1964-1967 passed away at the age of 82 late on Tuesday following several health issues.
Constantine will be buried as a private citizen near his ancestors in Tatoi the summer palace and 42 km2 estate of the former Greek royal family dom 25 km north of Athens.
The Tatoi Royal Cemetery is a private cemetery located on the south end of the estate in a large wooded area. Buried there are 20 members of the former royal family, mostly in tombs with crosses near the Royal Chapel. The first to be buried there was Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark (born March 1880 – died October 1880) infant daughter of King George I of Greece.
The decisions for Constantine’s funeral are the follow:
– The former king will be buried as a private citizen, near his ancestors in Tatoi.
– His burial site will be near to that of his ancestors in Tatoi,
– The government will be represented at the funeral by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni,
– All procedures envisaged by the protocol for visiting officials and dignitaries from abroad will be observed for those who attend the funeral.
Media reported later that the government and the family decided that the funeral service will be held at the Metropolis cathedral in downtown Athens on Monday, January 16, 2023.
Archbishop of Greece, Ieronymos, will lead the funeral service.
There will be neither a 3-day state mourning nor 3-day lie in state as the family requested, but there is the option that a small one that will last only a few hours will be held at the chapel of Agios Eleftherios next to the Metropolis.
Constantine, a descendant of the German House of Glucksburg, was related to many royal houses in Europe, and a 2nd cousin of late Queen Elizabeth.
although the official list of visitors form abroad is not known yet, media report that the King of Spain Felipe, a 1st degree nephew, will attend the funeral.
Princess Royal Anne of the royal house in UK is expected to attend the funeral but not Prince William who was Constantine’s godson.
Media note that the last royal to be buried in Tatoi will be Constantine’s wife, Anna-Marie, princess of Denmark and a former queen of Greece.
Greece abolished the monarchy with two referendums, one in July 1973 launched by the military junta, and one in December 1974 launched by the government of the Hellenic Republic.
