On Monday, January 16, the funeral procession of the former King Constantine will be held in the Metropolitan Church of Athens, and then his burial will follow in Tatoi, near his ancestors.
The Greek government, after an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – and after intense behind-the-scenes consultations – decided that the former King Constantine will be buried as a private person and discusses all the procedures provided for in the Protocol for officials from abroad, who will attend the funeral in Athens.
The Greek government will be represented by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, while the funereal procession will be led by Archbishop Hieronymos and probably members of the Holy Synod will also take part.
According to government sources, the government’s decision to bury him as a private person was purely political and the prime minister never wavered about it.
The dignitaries and security measures
At the same time, police have already started the processes for the security measures and the operational plan for the dignitaries who will arrive in our country from abroad.
Constantine’s children and his sister Sophia of Spain have been in Athens for days since his health deteriorated. All his grandchildren are expected in Greece, the five children of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal and the four of Alexia.
Sending invitations by the family to the persons who wish to attend the funeral of the former King Constantine is considered a matter of time.
The relatives and members of the royal families of Europe, with whom they are connected, have already been informed in order to prepare their visit to Athens.
Representatives of the royal houses of Spain, Denmark, Great Britain and Luxembourg are expected to attend the funeral in Athens, without excluding representatives of other European royal families.
As reported by Spanish media, the country’s royal family will be gathered in Athens. Queen Mother Sofia is already here, her daughters Princess Elena and Princess Cristina will arrive today, Friday, while King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letitia will also attend the funeral.
The honorary king of Spain Juan Carlos, who has been living in Abu Dhabi for the last few years, is also expected to be present.
Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henry, will come to Athens to attend the funeral, according to information.
Also, members of the Danish royal family, with whom there are close ties of kinship, will come to Greece. More specifically, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Anna-Maria’s sister, and their sister Princess Mathilde are expected. Crown Prince Frederik will also attend.
As far as the British royal family is concerned, it has already informed that it will be represented at the funeral. It is unknown which of Charles’ family members will attend.
It is most likely that King Charles will not attend as according to British royal protocol this is not foreseen. Prince William, whose godfather Constantine was and who has baptized the eldest of the children of Paul and Marie-Chantal, may be found in Athens. Otherwise, it is likely that Princess Anna will come to Athens.
Lying in State
The family of the deceased, who visited the PM’s office at the Maximos Mansion, has requested that his body be placed in a popular pilgrimage at the chapel of Agios Eleftherios next to the Metropolis, in order for those citizens who wish to say goodbye to him.
Circles close to the family, speaking to in.gr, stated that their wish is for the body of the former king to arrive in the metropolis early in the morning and for there to be a period of 3-4 hours until his funeral, which is expected to take place at 12 noon.
However, on the part of the government, the final decisions have not been made on this specific issue, as the security measures that will be in place to protect the foreign leaders who will be in the Greek capital for the funeral will have to be decided upon.
