Death and funeral of Constantine II of Greece

On 10 January 2023, Constantine II of Greece, Head of the Royal House of Greece, who reigned as the last King of the Hellenes from 6 March 1964 to 1 June 1973, died in Athens at the age of 82, having already been placed under intensive care after suffering a stroke in hospital. His death was initially announced by an Associated Press report, which referenced hospital staff, however Constantine's private office later released a formal death statement. The Greek government declined the royal family's request for a state funeral, although it was later decided that Constantine should have a lying-in-state and a funeral procession.

On 16 January, Constantine's body was laid for public viewing in the Saint Eleftherios Chapel in Athens from 6:00 am to 11:00 am (UTC+2), followed by a funeral at noon in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. He was then buried privately at Tatoi Palace by his family. Members of royal houses from seventeen countries were in attendance, including the Greek royal family, members of the Spanish royal family and Danish royal family, and the monarchs of Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Background
In the last few years of his life, Constantine had been experiencing "chronic heart" problems. In September 2022, due to ill health, he was unable to travel to the United Kingdom to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, his third cousin, and the widow of his first cousin once removed, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His last public appearance occurred in Athens in October 2022 when he went to a restaurant for lunch with his wife, Queen Anne-Marie, and his two sisters, Queen Sofía of Spain and Princess Irene. Although he remained undisturbed during his meal, Spanish tourists later noticed Queen Sofía and a Greek civilian recognised the former king, who was being pushed in a wheelchair with nasal catheters that provided him with supplementary oxygen, prompting concerns for his health. His heart and mobility issues had "worsened" in the twelve months prior to his death and resulted in multiple hospitalisations in 2022. He also suffered through a severe case of COVID-19.

Death
On 9 January 2023, it was revealed that Constantine had been hospitalised and was in a "serious, but stable" condition. His family was said to be at his side, and his two sons, Crown Prince Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos, were meeting in the Maximos Mansion to discuss the events that would occur following his death. Constantine's daughter-in-law, Princess Tatiana, was seen lighting a candle at church in prayer for his health. He had been placed in the intensive care unit of the private Hygeia Hospital following a stroke, but died on 10 January 2023. He was 82 years old. Constantine died one day short of the centenary anniversary of the death of his grandfather, Constantine I.

His death was leaked publicly by an Associated Press report, which referenced hospital staff. Constantine's private office later formally announced, "It is with deep sadness that the royal family announces that HM King Constantine, beloved husband, father, and brother, passed away yesterday." Despite the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, Constantine never formally renounced his title as King of the Hellenes due to Greek Orthodox tradition, which holds that an anointed monarch retains their status until their death. However, he had accepted that he would be styled as the former King of the Hellenes by the media. Upon his death, the International Olympic Committee and Hellenic Olympic Committee flew the flags at the Panathenaic Stadium and the flags at the Hellenic Olympic Committee offices at half-mast. The flags at Amalienborg Palace were also lowered to half-mast.

Constantine II was survived by his wife, Anne-Marie, his sisters, Sofía and Irene, and his five children, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Alexia, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos, as well as his nine grandchildren. He also had nine godchildren, including Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, William, Prince of Wales, and Lady Gabriella Kingston.

Planning
Following Constantine's death, it was announced a discussion would be held later that day at the Maximos Mansion to decide whether a state funeral is appropriate. Following the discussion, it was decided that Constantine would not receive a state funeral, but would rather be buried as a private citizen. It was also announced that his burial location would be at Tatoi Palace, where other past Greek royal family members have been buried. The funeral location was decided to be the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens on Monday 16 January. Lina Mendoni, the Minister of Culture and Sports, was also called to be the government's representative at the funeral. The government also declined requests for a lying-in-state for Constantine's body. Many "right-wing politicians" reportedly were upset with the decision for neither a state funeral nor a lying-in-state, something which was requested by his family.

The prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, defended the government's decision by insisting that Constantine was only the leader of the "Kingdom of Greece, which no longer exists". Despite this, a funeral procession was still planned to occur outside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. On 12 January 2023, Queen Sofía of Spain, Princess Irene and Princess Nina, as well as Princess Theodora's fiancé, Matthew Kumar, were photographed visiting the royal cemetery at Tatoi Palace for preparations at the royal tombs ahead of Constantine's funeral. Mitsotakis received backlash from many, including former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, over his decision to deny Constantine a state funeral, and he later agreed to put the former king's body on display in an unofficial lying-in-state, while also giving him the "honours of a state leader". Police also stated that they would "have a presence at vital points around the Metropolitan Cathedral and Tatoi, as well as the funeral procession's route and the locations where invited officials stay."

Lying-in-state and ceremony
Royal guests began arriving in Greece on 15 January 2023 and most of them stayed at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, where paparazzi and crowds greeted them. Constantine's body laid in the Agios Eleftherios Chapel from 6:00 am till 11:00 am (UTC+2), allowing members of the public to pay their respects. Thousands of mourners viewed his coffin. By 8:00 pm (UTC+2), police estimates placed over 5,000 mourners to have visited Constantine's coffin. Afterwards, a procession into the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens occurred. Τhe procession was headed by a crucifer, followed by two priests, including Archbishop Ieronymos II, then the coffin, which was draped in the current flag of Greece, and finally Constantine's three sons, with crowds watching from the side. Members of the public were chanting "Immortal" and "Constantine, you will never die" and held flowers, flags of the Kingdom of Greece and pictures of Constantine and Anne-Marie. Some people were chanting, "Long live the king!"

Constantine's body was moved through the church's nave then placed in the centre of the chancel with wreaths, icons and medals surrounding it. Government officials were jeered and booed by the crowd upon their arrival at the ceremony. The wreaths beside Constantine's coffin were made out of lily of the valleys, which were the same flowers that Anne-Marie's wedding bouquet was made out of. On the wreath was written in white letters on blue felt, "Your beloved Anne-Marie" (Η αγαπημένη σου Άννα-Μαρία), which were revealed, through an attached card, to have been Anne-Marie's last words to Constantine. His three sons decided on the various medals displayed on his coffin, which were the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece, the Medal of Military Merit, the Order of the Dannebrog, the Order of the Elephant, the Order of George I, the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Order of the Phoenix, the Order of the Redeemer, the Order of Saints George and Constantine and his 1960 Summer Olympic Games golden medal.

The funeral ceremony commenced at 12:30 pm (UTC+2) and over 200 people were in attendance, including nine monarchs, which prompted the deputy prime minister of Greece, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, to also represent government at the ceremony. Prime Minister Mitsotakis also allowed members of Greek parliament to attend on their own accord. Anne-Marie wore the same diamond cross from her wedding at the funeral ceremony. Archbishop Ieronymos II presided over the ceremony, standing at the front of the church with almost twenty other priests. To the right and left of him stood two Byzantine choirs and further right sat Constantine's descendants, wife and two sisters. Foreign monarchs, heads of states and other royal family members were seated further left of the Greek royal family. Behind the family were four Orthodox Bishops. Crown Prince Pavlos delivered Constantine's eulogy at the end of the service. The recessional consisted of the same order as the procession, except with the whole Greek royal family followed by all guests at the end. Crowds sang the Greek national anthem as Constantine's coffin exited the cathedral. Over 1,000 police officers were in Athens on the day to secure the funeral. The funeral was streamed on television and online by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT).

Burial
The burial was a private event at Tatoi Palace, the residence of the former Greek royal family. Much of the land surrounding Tatoi Palace was destroyed in the 2021 Greece wildfires and no clean-up effort was undertaken. Following the announcement that Constantine's memorial would take place there, clean-up crews arrived to have the site cleared in days. New trees were said to have been planted, burnt trees were removed, newly-pathed gravel pathways were installed and a nearby church was repaired by "frantic" workers.

After the funeral, with police escort and five supervising drones and two helicopters, Constantine's body was driven 29 kilometres to Tatoi Palace via Metropolitan Road, which was closed to the public from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm (UTC+2). It took at least 40 vehicles to transport all 60 guests who attended the burial to Tatoi Palace. The coffin was greeted by many people who were waiting at Tatoi Palace. Although the burial committal ceremony at Agios Athanasios, the chapel at Tatoi Palace, was photographed, there were no press or photographers during the actual burial, as requested by his family. At the burial comittal ceremony, Constantine's coffin was covered in a wreath, his Olympic medal and the monarchical flag of Greece. The burial was said to have happened around 4:00 pm (UTC+2). The burial's dignitaries attended a memorial dinner in the evening.

Just under two weeks later, a severe storm caused minor damage to the outer edge of Constantine's coffin. Per Greek customary traditions, the coffin had yet to be sealed up as 40 days had yet to pass after his death. On 18 February 2023, a service at the Metropolitan Cathedral to mark 40 days since Constantine's death was held at 11:00 am (UTC+2). It was officiated by Archbishop Ieronymos and was attended by Anne-Marie, her and Constantine's children, their grandchildren, Constantine's sisters, other members of the Greek royal family and over 250 members of the public. At the front of the cathedral was a kolivo with letters spelling his name in Greek (ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΊΝΟΣ Β') on top. Afterwards, a lunch was held for the Greek royal family and close friends. A service to unveil Constantine's tomb with a Trisagion hymn occurred the following morning.

Funeral dignitaries
Among the close relatives attending Constantine's funeral were members of the Spanish royal family, including his sister Queen Sofía, her husband King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and his nephew King Felipe VI and niece-in-law Queen Letizia of Spain; and the Danish royal family, including Constantine's sisters-in-law Princess Benedikte and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and his nephews Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Prince Joachim of Denmark. Other attendees included Deputy Prime Minister of Greece Panagiotis Pikrammenos; King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium; Queen Noor of Jordan; King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands; Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway and Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (representing King Harald V of Norway); King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden; and Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson.

Reactions

 * The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, reacted to the former king's death in a statement. He said of his death, "His passing is, on a human level, the formal epilogue to a chapter that was closed and done with the 1974 referendum." Mistotakis also gave Constantine's family his "sincere condolences".


 * A statement by the Danish royal family said, "It is with great sadness that Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family have received the announcement that His Majesty King Constantine II of Greece passed away on Tuesday evening. The royal family's thoughts are currently with Her Majesty Queen Anne-Marie and the entire Greek family." It also said that flags would be flown at half mast at the Danish royal palace Amalienborg.


 * In a statement on its website, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said, "In King Constantine we have lost a great friend of sport. He was a fellow Olympic Champion and, whenever we met, we shared our passion about sport and discussed our love of Olympism and the life of an athlete. He was always interested in the development of the Olympic Movement, and our conversations were very enriching. I will greatly miss these always friendly meetings. Our thoughts are with Queen Anne-Marie and with the entire family." The IOC also announced the Olympic flag would be flown at half-mast at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days as a "mark of respect".

Subsequent services
On 10 January 2024, the first anniversary of Constantine's death, a private memorial service was held in Tatoi and was attended by his immediate family.

On 27 February, a thanksgiving service was held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the British royal family. The services was attended by members of Constantine's family, foreign royal families and both former and present British Members of Parliament. The Church of England service was officiated by Christopher Cocksworth, Dean of Windsor. Greek Orthodox representation was also present at the service. Readings were conducted by all five of Constantine's children and Archbishop Nikitas Loulias, the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain. Constantine's eulogy was delivered by Lord Soames, which he described as a "great and humbling honour". After the Lord's Prayer was read in English and in Greek, the British national anthem was sung to conclude the service. Five of Constantine's grandchildren, King Charles III and Constantine's two British godchildren, Prince William and Lady Gabriella Kingston, were not present. William was due to give a reading at the ceremony, but pulled out shortly before the ceremony commenced for an undisclosed "personal matter", later revealed to be his wife's cancer diagnosis. Gabriella's husband had died two days prior to the service. Charles, who was unable to attend due to his cancer treatment, was later spotted honouring Constantine by wearing a Greek tie.

The day following the thanksgiving service, a memorial service was held in the Saint Sophia Cathedral and officiated by Archbishop Nikitas. ANT1 reporters were present and interviewed both Crown Prince Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos.

Immediate family

 * Queen Anne-Marie, the late King's widow
 * Princess Alexia and Carlos Morales Quintana, the late King's daughter and son-in-law
 * Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, the late King's son and daughter-in-law
 * Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, the late King's granddaughter
 * Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark, the late King's grandson
 * Prince Odysseas-Kimonof Greece and Denmark, the late King's grandson
 * Prince Aristides-Stavros of Greece and Denmark, the late King's grandson
 * Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana, the late King's son and daughter-in-law
 * Princess Theodora and Matthew Kumar, the late King's daughter and her fiancé
 * Prince Philippos and Princess Nina, the late King's son and daughter-in-law
 * Queen Sofía and King Juan Carlos I of Spain, the late King's sister and brother-in-law
 * The Duchess of Lugo, the late King's niece
 * Infanta Cristina of Spain, the late King's niece
 * Juan Urdangarin y Borbón, the late King's grandnephew
 * The King and Queen of Spain, the late King's nephew and his wife
 * Princess Irene, the late King's sister
 * The Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the late King's sister-in-law
 * The Prince and Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the late King's nephew and his wife
 * Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, the late King's niece and her husband

British royal family

 * The Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of the late King's second cousin
 * The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the late King's second cousin and her husband
 * Zara and Michael Tindall
 * The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, the late King's second cousin and his former wife
 * Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
 * The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
 * The Duke of Kent
 * Earl and Countess of St Andrews
 * Lady Helen Taylor
 * Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
 * Marina Ogilvy
 * Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
 * Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto
 * The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
 * Lady Alexandra and Thomas Hooper

Members of other royal houses

 * Queen Noor of Jordan
 * Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, the late King's fourth cousin once removed and godson (Queen Anne-Marie's half-third cousin)
 * The Margrave and Margravine of Baden, the late King's second cousin once removed and his wife
 * The Prince of Preslav, the late King's fifth cousin
 * The Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess of Hanover, the late King's first cousin once removed and his wife
 * Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia, the late King's first cousin once removed and his wife

Other notable guests

 * Nikitas Loulias, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain
 * The Lord and Lady Cavendish of Furness
 * Sir Rocco Forte
 * Lady Susan Hussey
 * John Kerry, former USA Secretary of State
 * Sir John and Dame Norma Major, former British prime minister and his wife
 * The Lord and Lady Soames of Fletching
 * Sir Jackie Stewart
 * Alexandra von Fürstenberg and Dax Miller, ''sister of the late King's daughter-in-law, Marie-Chantal, and her husband