European royalty gathered in Athens on Monday for the funeral of Greece’s former King Constantine, a prince born but rejected by his country, which abolished the monarchy in 1974.
A second cousin of Britain’s King Charles and godfather to heir Prince William, Constantine spent most of his life in exile following the Greek referendum that rejected the monarchy in 1974. He died last week at the age of 82 in a hospital in Athens.
Known as “the X” or just “Glücksburg” from the German House of Glücksburg, which has ties to royalty throughout Europe, Constantine II was the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece and the country’s last king.
Britain’s Princess Anne, sister of King Charles, and her husband and Europe’s royals, including Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, were expected to attend the funeral amid tight security at the Metropolitan Cathedral in central Athens.