UPDATED WITH OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM GREEK ROYAL HOUSE
"His Majesty King Constantine is in good health and is not in the hospital as the tabloids have published, if so, he would have made an official statement from his office."
In the past few years, the 79-year-old Constantine has suffered at least on stroke and more recently, he has experience motor issues and has been using a wheel chair.
Constantine II is the second but only son of the late King Paul and Queen Frederika (nee Princess Friederike of Hanover.) He succeeded his father on March 6, 1964. In September 1964, he married Princess Anne Marie of Denmark, the youngest of three daughters of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid.
The couple have five children: Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos.
A right wing coup d'état on April 21, 1967 led to further instability. The king did not support the coup, led by Colonel George Papadopoulos, and he called for the restoration of the democracy.
Constantine tried to lead a counter coup against the junta, but he had little support from outside Greece, including the United States. This counter coup failed. Constantine and his family left the country on December 14, 1967, first settling in Rome and then moving to England where they lived for more than 30 years.
He told the Toronto Star: " I consider myself King of the Hellenes and sole expression of legality in my country until the Greek people freely decide otherwise. I fully expected that the (military) regime would depose me eventually. They are frightened of the Crown because it is a unifying force among the people."
A new constitution in 1968 stripped the king of most of his powers, and a regency was proclaimed. In 1974, Papadapoulos declared Constantine to be a "collaborator with foreign forces and with murderers."
This was followed by a rigged plebiscite in June 1973 that led to Greece abolishing the monarchy.
In 2010, the King and Queen, having sold their home in Hampstead, moved back to Greece. They live in Porto Cheli.
Constantine is a godfather of the Duke of Cambridge. He is a double descendant of Queen Victoria, through both parents. Queen Anne Marie is also a descendant of Queen Victoria through her mother, Princess Ingrid of Sweden.
1 comment:
Thank you for that update on the King, cause I have noticed in some photos that he wasn't
looking real good, but it's great to here that he is finally living back in Greece.
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