Last king of Greece buried as private citizen

ANKARA

Constantine II, the former and last king of Greece, was buried as a private citizen on Monday.

He died in the capital Athens on Jan. 10 at the age of 82.

A private funeral service at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral was officiated by Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, state-run news agency AMNA reported.

Constantine was then laid to rest alongside his ancestors at the former royal estate of Tatoi, north of Athens.

The funeral was attended by numerous European royals, including from Spain, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The Greek government was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos and Culture and Sports Minister Lina Mendoni.

Several right-wing politicians affiliated with the governing Nea Dimokratia (ND) party were also in attendance, among them Interior Minister Makis Voridis and former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Their presence drew the attention of the main opposition Syriza-PS party, which has accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of caving in to ND’s pro-royalist faction.

Born on June 2, 1940 in Athens, Constantine acceded to the throne in 1964.

He was forced into exile after the military junta seized power in 1967.

The junta abolished the monarchy in 1973.

In 1974, in a referendum after democracy was restored, Greeks again rejected the monarchy and stripped him of his citizenship.​​​​​​​