Constantine II, 46 years in exile, the life of a king without a kingdom: he arrived in Rome “with what he was wearing” and Juan Carlos I sent him some suits

His fleeting reign, of 3 years, and his long exile, of almost 50, marked the life of Doña Sofía’s brother. He was a King without a kingdom, without a nationality and without a land. For Doña Sofía, he has been the support, support and refuge in the most difficult moments. Constantine of Greece died on Tuesday 10 at the age of 82, after being admitted in serious condition to a private hospital in Athens..

“The eventful journey of former King Constantine marked and was marked by turbulent times in the country’s modern history.” These were the first words of condolence from the Prime Minister of Greece, Kiriakos Mitsotakisafter death.

Constantine was always very close to his two sisters, Queen Sofia and Irene. He was born in Athens, in 1940, and was the second son of Paul I of Greece and Federica of Hannover. The only son of the Kings of Greece and successor to the throne, he knew exile from childhood. Before the advance of the Nazi troops, his family took refuge in Crete, Alexandria and South Africa, where the youngest, Irene, was born. An itinerant childhood that imprinted on him and his sisters a strong character and a close family bond united like a pineapple. In Sofía, Constantino and Irene.

Constantine received military training at the age of 16. He passed through the Army, Air Force and Navy and in 1958 he was sworn in as an officer of the Armed Forces of Land, Sea and Air. The university would arrive a year later, in 1959. He began to study Constitutional Law and Political Economy.

1964 was a key year in his life: he was proclaimed King and got married. Constantine II ascended the throne, after the death of his father, Paul I. He was the sixth of the Glüksburg dynasty. He married Anna Maria of Denmarksister of the current queen, Margaret II.

The Colonels’ Coup and their exile

His short reign ended in 1967, when he was overthrown by the Colonels’ Coup on April 21 of that year. After the coup, headed by Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, a dictatorship was established that lasted until 1973. They were military years under information and cultural censorship. The monarch went into exile. He was 27 years old when he left Greece. Traveling with him were his wife, Princess Ana María, and the two eldest children of the couple, Alexia (1965) and Pablo (1967).

The sovereign, who refused to return to the country until full democracy was established, took refuge in Rome, in the Villa Polissenna palace. They arrived with ‘what was on’ and stayed there for 6 years. Apparently, his brother-in-law King Juan Carlos had to send him some suits. His third son, Nicolás, was born in the Italian capital in 1969. He would later move to London, thanks to his good friendship with Elizabeth II and his family ties to Philip of Edinburgh. The family settled in the residential and picturesque neighborhood of Hampstead, where Theodora was born, in 1983; and Philippos, in 1986.

In Greece, in 1973, the military regime proclaimed the Parliamentary Presidential Republic and abolished the monarchy. A year later the regime fell. It was not until 1981 that Constantine first returned to Greece to attend the funeral of his mother, Queen Frederick. According to what was published, the Greek authorities granted the royal family six hours of stay in the country.

Without kingdom or nationality (Andreas Papandreou revoked it) or belongings (they expropriated even the Tatoi Palace, his private residence), Constantine began a legal battle that took him to the European Court of Human Rights, which condemned the Greek state for the confiscation of his assets.

The last King of the Hellenes was able to definitively return to Greece after 46 years in exile. In 2013 he sold his property in luxurious London Hampstead and He bought a house in Porto Jéli, a place known as the Greek Riviera, on the Peloponnese coast. Discreet, a good conversationalist and a lover of politics, Queen Sofía’s brother thus fulfilled the dream of living on Greek soil, from which he was exiled 46 years ago.

long lineage

Constantine married the love of his life, Anne-Marie of Denmark. They had five children and nine grandchildren. Pablo is the descendant with the most media attention, thanks to his wedding with Marie Chantal Miller (photo below). The marriage has 5 children: Maria Olimpia, Constantine, Achilles, Odysseus, Aristides. Philippos from Greece and Nina Flohr got married on October 23 in Athens; then Nicolás from Greece, who is married to Tatiana Blatnik; Theodora from Grecia and Alexia from Grecia, together with the Spanish architect Carlos Morales since 1999. They have 4 children: Arrietta, Ana María, Carlos and Amelia.