Constantine II, last King of Greece, dies at 82

Medical staff at the Hygeia Hospital in Athens announced late Tuesday that former King of Greece, Constantine II, who served as monarch during a particularly tumultuous period in the nation’s history has passed away at the age of 82. He was being treated in the intensive care unit of the private hospital.

King Constantine II, born in 1940, was the last King of Greece. He was the eldest son of King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika. He became King of Greece in 1964, at the age of 23, following the death of his father.

During his early years as King, Constantine II faced several political challenges. Greece was undergoing a period of political upheaval, with a series of governments coming and going. In 1967, a group of right-wing military officers seized power in a coup d’état, and Constantine II, along with his family, was forced into exile.

He returned to Greece in 1974, following the fall of the military dictatorship. However, the country was now a republic, and Constantine II was no longer King. He lived in exile in Italy and London, where he worked as a businessman. He also took part in various international organizations and tried to promote the Greek culture, heritage and the monarchy.

During his reign, King Constantine II was known for his support of education and culture. He also had an interest in sports, particularly sailing, and competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics and other international regattas.

Despite his exile, Constantine II remained popular among many Greeks, and there were calls for his return to Greece and restoration of the monarchy. However, he never regained the Greek throne, and he died in 2020.

King Constantine II was the last King of Greece and his reign marked the end of the Greek monarchy. He had a great impact on Greek culture and history. He will be always remembered for his contribution to the country and his people.

King Constantine 2 wife and family

King Constantine II is married to Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. In 1959, when she was thirteen years old, Anne-Marie first met her future husband, Constantine, Crown Prince of Greece. He accompanied his parents on a state visit to Denmark and they met again in Denmark in 1961 when Constantine declared his intention to marry Anne-Marie. They met again in Athens in May 1962 at the marriage of Constantine’s sister Sofia to Juan Carlos of Spain: at this ceremony Anne-Marie was a bridesmaid; and again in 1963 at the centenary celebrations of the Greek monarchy.

On March 6, 1964 King Paul died, and Constantine succeeded him as King of the Hellenes. In July 1964, the engagement between Constantine and Anne-Marie raised polite protests from people on the left in Denmark. Anne-Marie married Constantine on September 18, 1964 (two weeks after her eighteenth birthday) in the Metropolis—the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Athens. Before their wedding, Anne-Marie converted from Lutheranism to the Greek Orthodox Church. Also, due to her marriage to a foreign ruler, consent was given on the condition that Anne-Marie renounce her succession rights to the Danish throne for herself and her descendants.

Constantine II of Greece relation to Prince Philip

Prince Philip is a first cousin once removed of King Constantine II of Greece as Philip’s father Prince Andrew was a younger brother of Constantine’s grandfather King Constantine I. This is the closest relationship between the two of them.

As blood members of European royal families they are inevitably related in other ways. They are second cousins once removed via Constantine’s descent from Christian IX of Denmark on his mother’s side. They are both third cousins and third cousins once removed by descent from Queen Victoria.