European royalty gathered in Athens on Monday for the funeral of former King Constantine of Greece, born a prince however spurned by his nation which abolished the monarchy in 1974. Constantine, a second cousin of Britain’s King Charles and Godfather to inheritor Prince William, lived most of his life in exile after a Greek referendum that rejected the monarchy in 1974. He died on the age of 82 final week in an Athens hospital.

Known as “The Ex” or simply “Glucksberg” – from the German House of Glucksberg which has connections with royalty all through Europe, Constantine II was the one son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece and the final king of the nation. Royals from Europe, together with Britain’s Princess Anne, sister of King Charles, and her husband and Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, have been anticipated to attend the funeral, on the Metropolitan Cathedral in central Athens, beneath tight safety.

Archbishop of Greece Ieronymos will lead the funeral procession anticipated to start at 1000 GMT. Hours earlier than the funeral, mourners queued outdoors the chapel of Agios Eleftherios subsequent to the Cathedral, the place Constantine’s physique lies at relaxation.

But solely 200 company would have the ability to attend the funeral, amongst them Greek shipowners, businessmen and different members of the nation’s elite. Royals from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg have been additionally on the visitor listing. Constantine, an Olympics gold medalist in crusing, was 27 years outdated and had been a king for 3 years in 1967, when he was pressured into exile together with his spouse Princess Anne-Marie, the youngest daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark and his household.

He wasn’t to return to Greece for many years, the place he was deeply unpopular for his resolution to swear-in the colonels who seized energy in April 1967. He briefly cooperated with them earlier than staging a failed counter-coup, that led to his exile. The navy junta abolished the monarchy in 1973. In a referendum after the autumn of the junta in 1974, Greece rejected monarchy once more.

After the referendum, his relationship with Greece was testy. He was allowed to return just for a couple of hours in 1981 to bury his mom, Queen Frederika, on the household property at Tatoi, about 20 kilometres north of Athens. In the Nineteen Nineties, Constantine was stripped of his Greek citizenship and the state seized Tatoi and a palace on the island of Corfu the place Britain’s Prince Philip was born.

Constantine shall be buried in Tatoi, the place his ancestors are additionally laid to relaxation.

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