Confrontation, emotion, but also a “royal” background to the funeral of the former King Constantine

With all the rules of protocol of the royal families of Europe, the presence of kings, crown princes, princes, the emotion that is present in all farewells, but also political confrontation and disagreements about the character of the ceremony, was buried yesterday afternoon at Tatoi, near his ancestors, as we wish, the last man who brought him title of the king of the Greeks.

The funeral of the 83-year-old former king forced planning and execution of a large security plan within an extremely short period of time, as although he was buried as a private person, the presence of kings-heads of state and other high-ranking guests of his family in Athens obliged the Police to plan and execute security measures, at the same time as the services of the Ministries of Culture and Environment raced for to beautify the public estate of Tatoiouin the section of the royal tombs that had been affected by the devastating fire of 2021.

However, there was no lack of political confrontation, despite the government’s decision to bury the former king Constantine as a private person– on the one hand, the official opposition in its announcement yesterday, after the funeral, support that the government bowed to a deposed king, on the other hand, there were voices from the ruling faction that declared their disagreement with the government’s decision from the beginning. More typical was the attitude of the former prime minister, Antonis Samaras who was present yesterday in the Metropolis.

Thus, the official opposition launched an attack on the government and the prime minister regarding the management of the funeral, commenting that “what the whole of Greece watched on a national broadcast was, according to Mr. Mitsotakis, the funeral of a “private person”.

“The parade of his ministers and parliamentarians, the retreat from his initial decision on the popular pilgrimage, the choice of ERT for the three-day marathon of television coverage, concerned, according to the hypocrite Mr. Mitsotakis, who wants to tread on two boats, one deceased individual.

For the rest, only the presence of the prime minister himself was missing from the ceremony to confirm that Mr. Mitsotakis, under the unbearable pressure of the pro-royal wing of the ND, did not simply pay tribute at the funeral of a private person, but today bowed normally to the fallen kingdom” stated in the announcement.

The funeral of the former king, however, had everything: Crowd that rushed and queued since dawn yesterday for the final joy, in the chapel of the Metropolis, but also curiosity about the presence of kings in the ceremony: At some point yesterday morning the queue for the informal popular pilgrimage reached almost to Monastiraki, while the arrivals of the officials kept the crowd around the Metropolis . Representatives of eleven royal houses attended the ceremony – most of them related to the Glyxburgh family. The most numerous delegations were those of the royal houses of Spain and Denmark, as the queen of Denmark is the sister of the deceased’s wife, Anna-Maria, while the queen mother of Spain, Sofia, is his sister. The presence of the Queen of Spain was special, Letitia who attracted all the eyes inside and outside the Metropolis, Princess Anne of Great Britain, Albert of Monaco, but also the princely couple of Norway Haakon and Mette Marit. The presence of the honorary king of Spain, Juan Carlos, who has been living in self-exile for the last few years, was also special.

The dignitaries of the family came and sat inside the temple in a certain order and positions, based on their positions and their relationship with the Glyxburgs. The order of attendance of the members of the deceased’s immediate family in the Metropolis was not at all accidental. The first to arrive were his sons, who accompanied their father’s coffin from Agios Eleftherios to the Metropolis. The two youngest, Nikolaos and Philippos, took places inside the temple, while the firstborn, Pavlos, welcomed the guests. Shortly before the end of the processions, the wives of the two youngest Tatiana Blatnik, Nina Flor and the youngest daughter of the deceased, Theodora, arrived. Then the first-born daughter, Alexia, with her husband Carlos Morales-Quintana and their children arrived, while Anna Maria arrived last, accompanied by the wife of her first-born son, Marie Sandal.

Apart from royal protocol, the funeral, like any funeral, was emotional. Anna Maria sobbed listening to her son’s funeral, while the choice of flowers for her wreath, which was placed on the flag-draped coffin, was also touching: From miguet, the small white flowers from which her bridal bouquet had been made . However, in addition to his sister Alexia, Nikolaos was visibly moved, as was his wife Tatiana Blatnik – especially during the trisay at the Church of the Resurrection in Tatoi and when together with his siblings and nieces he lifted his father’s coffin of to be taken to the grave.

The distinguished visitors began to depart from Athens yesterday, after the meal hosted by the family at the M. Britannia Hotel and withdrawals are expected to be completed today. The program of the ceremony was followed almost to the letter: However, there was a slight delay in the transfer of the body to the Metropolis due to the crowd, while the family’s decision not to allow citizens to approach the burial site was not respected – they were finally allowed to enter on foot, after burial.

The process went in absolute order, without any “paratograms” – with the exception, perhaps, of some who declared themselves nostalgic for the kingdom and carried royal flags, while pro-royalty slogans were also heard.

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