The former king Constantine II died at the age of 82 after, as it became known on Tuesday (10/1). He suffered an acute stroke while at home in Athens.
Specifically, according to information cited by ERT , the 82-year-old patient has been hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the private "Hygeia" hospital for several days. He was not intubated, but his contact with the environment was very limited.
In fact, his entire family was by his side during his last moments. His children, namely Alexia, Pavlos, Theodora, Nikolaos and Philippos , who live in foreign countries, have come to Athens, with his sisters, Sofia and Irene, who are in our country from Spain .
It is recalled that, in recent years, he has been facing serious health problems, having suffered a stroke in the past. In 2021, he experienced aspiration pulmonary edema. Also, recently, he had been hospitalized again due to an infection with the disease COVID-19, while he was also facing movement problems.
Who was the former King Constantine II
The former King Constantine II was born on June 2, 1940 in the Palace of Old Psychikos . His parents were Prince Paul, brother and heir of King George II, and Princess Frederick of Greece, Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland. On the day of his birth, 101 cannons were fired from Lycabettus Hill, as was customary to announce that the new prince was a boy.
He was baptized in Athens under the patronage of the Armed Forces. He had two sisters, Sophia and Irene. Sofia was Queen of Spain from 1975 until the abdication of her husband King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 2014 and the ascension of her son, Philip VI, to the Spanish throne.
His family followed the royal family, which on the eve of the Nazi advance on Athens, along with the government and the leadership of the country's Armed Forces, fled to Egypt via Crete. There they formed the so-called "Government of Egypt" and were put in charge of Greek battalions fighting in Africa against the Axis. He later resided in South Africa. They returned to Greece in 1946 with the restoration of the monarchy and the return of King George II.
A year later, in 1947, after the sudden death of George II , his father ascended the throne and Constantine was named heir. In fact, in 1955, he was awarded the title of Duke of Sparta. Then, on February 20, 1964, King Paul, due to the deterioration of his health, issued a decree according to which he transferred his powers to the heir Constantine , who now became Viceroy of Greece. During the short regency, Constantine was limited to signing decrees and legislation, such as appointing and accepting resignations of government members.
On March 6, 1964, King Paul died of cancer and was succeeded on the throne by the 24-year-old Constantine as King of Greece Constantine II. Although popular at the time, he was considered young, inexperienced and under the strong influence of his mother Queen Frederick .
The political situation during the reign of Constantine was particularly polarized between the prime minister and leader of the Center Union, George Papandreou , and the leader of E.R.E. Panagiotis Kanellopoulos , who essentially replaced the self-exiled founder of the party, Konstantinos Karamanlis .
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