Constantine II, last king of Greece, dies at 82
Constantine II, the last king of Greece, died aged 82 in Athens. According to the Associated Press, staff at Hygeia Hospital confirmed the news. The death occurred after receiving intensive care treatment.without knowing more details. It was also revealed that his son Pablo is the head of the Royal House headquarters.
Ascended the throne at age 23 and went into exile 3 years later
When he ascended the throne at age 23 in 1964the young monarch, who had already achieved fame as Olympic champion sailor, was immensely popular. But within a year he had lost much of that support due to his active participation in the machination that end the popularly elected government of the Center Union of Prime Minister George Papandreou.
The episode, which remains widely known as the “Apostasy” for the defection of several ruling party lawmakers, destabilized the constitutional order and led to a military coup in 1967. Constantine eventually fell out with the military government and had to go into exile. The dictatorship abolished the monarchy in 1973 and a referendum was held once democracy was restored in 1974 he ended all hope of Constantine returning to the throne.
Limited in the following decades to a few visits to Greece which each time triggered a political and media storm, he was finally able to settle in his last years in the country, when opposing its presence ceased to be valid as a hallmark of republicanism. With little desire for monarchy in Greece, Constantine has become a relatively uncontroversial figure of the past..
Constantine was born on June 2, 1940 in Athens, the son of Prince Paul, younger brother of King George II and heir apparent to the throne, and Princess Frederica of Hanover. His older sister Sofía is the wife of King Emeritus Juan Carlos I of Spain.. Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh and husband of the late Queen Elizabeth II of England, was her uncle.
The family of Constantine II Prince Christian of Denmark
The family, which had ruled Greece since 1863 except for a 12-year republican period between 1922 and 1935, descendant of Prince Christian, future Christian IX of Denmarkof the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg house of the fruling family of denmark
Before Constantine’s first birthday, heThe royal family was forced to flee Greece during the German invasion during World War II., moving to Alexandria, Egypt, South Africa and back to Alexandria. King George II returned to Greece in 1946 after a controversial referendum, but died a few months later, making to Constantine as heir to King Paul I.
With information from AP
Source: El Heraldo De Mexico
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