Constantine II(English: Constant II; June 2, 1940 - January 10, 2023), YesGreeceThe last king.He's like most peopleEuropean royal familyAll haverelationship。sisterSophiaMarriedKing of Spain, and the third cousin isKing of EnglandKing Charles III 。In 1964, he succeeded the Greek king and became Constantine II at the age of 24.In 1967, the military launched a coup, and Constantine II wasDethrone。
On January 10, 2023 local time, Constantine II died at the age of 82.[1]
In 1960, Constantine, who was once a princeRomeHeldSummer Olympic GamesHe was only 20 years old and won the gold medal in windsurfing.At the same time, he is also good atSwimming、Karate。Married in 1964DenmarkThe third princess, Anne Marie, is the queen, the former queen of DenmarkMargrethe II The young sister ofChristian IX This is one of the reasons why the King's family held Danish passports after the military coup.
Enthronement
Shortly after the marriage, his father Paul died of cancer in March 1964.He succeeded to the throne and became Constantine II.
Constantine is facing a "mess".At that time,GreeceIt has not yet recovered from the world war and civil war, and the contradiction between the royalists and liberals is deepening.In just two years, Greece has changed four prime ministers.The unstable situation gave the careerist a sniff of opportunity.[2]
The military government came to power
On the morning of April 21, 1967, the military led by Colonel George Papadopoulos launched a coup.Soon after, the head of the military met with the king under the cover of tanks. The king saw this and initiallyKyriakos Papadopoulos Dismiss;After a while, I went to the Ministry of Defense in person.Upon arrival, all the main generals had gathered there;After some discussion, Constantine II reluctantly agreed to let the military establish a military government called "Colonel Regiment" to replace the former right-wing government of Panayiotis Kanellopoulos and accept its oath.Subsequently, the "Colonel Regiment" began its 7-year dictatorship.In December of the same year, the royal family fled to Rome.The king's departure has made monarchy exist in name only.In 1973, the colonel group announced the abolition of the monarchy.
Abdication by referendum
Constantine II
In July 1974, the Turkish army invadedCyprusThis led to the downfall of the military government.And those who were forced into exileConstantine KaramanlisHe returned home smoothly.Constantine II welcomed this and re invited him to be Prime Minister;In November of the same year, Kalalimans' New Democratic Party won a resounding victory in the parliamentary elections. He announced that a referendum would be held on December 8 and decided that Greece would continue to adoptConstitutional monarchy, or reconstructionrepublic。As a result of the referendum, the overwhelming majority of the people were in favour of transforming the country into a republic.
In this regard, Constantine II expressed his respect for the results and also recognized the establishment of the Republic.Later, he accepted the United StatesTime magazineDuring the interview, he said: "If the Greeks decide that they want a republic, they have this qualification and enjoy it in peace."
The Constantine family moved in 1974britain。Due toKing of EnglandKing Charles III He is a cousin. When he was in England, he was very close to the British royal family and became the godfather of Prince William.During his exile, Constantine tried to return to Greece, but was repeatedly "persuaded to leave".In 1981, he was allowed to return home to attend his mother's funeral, but the then government only gave him a few hours to stay.[2]
After the abolition of the monarchy, the Greek government confiscated three properties of Constantine II in Greece.laterEuropean Court of JusticeIt was ruled that Constantine II owned these properties, and the government should compensate him 12 million dollars.Constantine II planned to use the money as a fund to support the Greek farmers affected by the disaster, which also reflected the former king's love for his people.
In 2013, Constantine II returned to Greece with his wife Anna Maria.In 2014, he sold his house in London, England,[3]Settled in the Greek summer resort of Port Eli.[4]
Death
In 2022, Constantine II chose to move to Athens because of his poor health and was closer to the hospital.[4]
On January 10, 2023 local time, Constantine II died at the age of 82[1]；On the 16th, the funeral of Constantine II was held in the Orthodox Cathedral in the center of Athens, the capital. Constantine II's body was buried in the family cemetery in northern Athens.Prime Minister of GreeceKyrgiakos MizotakisThe current government of the leader decided that, in view of the abolition of the monarchy, Constantine II should be regarded as an ordinary citizen, not allowed to receive state funeral treatment, not to fly the flag at half mast, and there was no military honor guard to see him off.[5]
Constantine II
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Olympic athletes
Constantine II
For the past three decades, Greece has always been a democratic republic led by parliament, and the highest leader of the country is the President.Before that, however, Greece had experienced the monarchy of two dynasties.
After 37 years of exile, Constantine II returned to his hometown, feeling particularly excited.He said: "Hosting the Olympic Games in my country is an exciting thing, which is also my dream for a long time. I am glad to see that the Olympic Games have closely linked our entire nation."
Constantine II was so excited when he saw the Greek delegation enter at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.This scene reminds him of the 1960 Olympic Games, at which the flag bearer of the Greek delegation was their king.Constantine II said, "It is a great honor for me to have the responsibility of raising the national flag to guide our delegation to the entrance. Up to now, my ears are still ringing with the cheers from the crowd when our team entered."
In 1960, Constantine II won the gold medal of sailing at the Rome Olympic Games, which was the first gold medal won by Greece in the past 50 years.Winning this gold medal was the most exciting moment in Constantine II's life.He said that when he heard the Greek national anthem, he knew that he was not fighting for himself, but fighting for the glory of Greece.
Three year King
Constantine II
In 1974, Greece held a referendum to decide the fate of the king.As a result, 69% of Greeks agreed to abolish the monarchy.
Constantine II frankly said that when he just succeeded the king, he was really afraid.What made him wince was not the heavy state affairs, but the loss of his wise father, although he thought he was young and promising and had a high sense of responsibility.
After sitting on the throne of the king for only three years, Constantine II encountered the worst moment of his life.In April 1967, a group of soldiers rushed into the palace and arrested the king and his ministers.A total of 8000 people were arrested in the coup.
Six months later, Constantine II tried to organize a force to fight against the coup, but it failed.He was afraid that his actions would lead to a civil war, so he fled to Rome.Constantine II believed that the best choice at that time was to leave the motherland and avoid any harm to the people.
Exile abroad
Elderly Constantine II
Constantine II said that when he knew that he would never be the top leader of the country again, "he was very shocked, and then suddenly woke up. The telephone for discussing state affairs would never ring again, and no one would listen to my opinion again."
When these changes happened, Constantine II's wife and five children stood firmly behind him.His eldest son later married the daughter of a billionaire, and his youngest son is one of the most famous "Diamond King Five" in London.
Constantine II believed that these things happened when he was very young, which was very lucky for him.He said, "I have family members who love me and support me. I have a long-term future waiting for me. If it had not happened when I was still so young, it might have caused more harm to me."
Over the years, the former king has returned to Greece only a few times.In 1994, he lost his Greek citizenship under Greek law.Since then, he can only come and go with a Danish passport.
WhenOlympic GamesBack in its birthplace, Greece, the most proud person was the former Greek King Constantine II.For him, the Olympic Games not only reflected the long-standing civilization of the motherland, but also his personal good memory - he won a sailing gold medal for Greece in the Rome Olympic Games in 1960.After nearly 40 years away from his motherland, he returned to Greece as a distinguished guest of the International Olympic Committee.
In the only few previous trips back to China, Constantine II never received a special welcome.In 1973, he was even driven out of Greek waters by gunboats and destroyers, which also made Constantine II very sad.However, when he returned to China this time, the attitude of the Greek government towards him changed 180 degrees. Everyone was very friendly to him, and Constantine II felt a little flattered.
Although Constantine II has been a person unwelcome to the Greek government for a long time, his feelings towards Greece have never changed.Once someone criticized the slow progress of the preparation of the Greek Olympic Committee, Constantine II did not hesitate to defend his country.He said: "We are a small country, but now we are carrying out a huge project. Criticizing the staff who are preparing for the Olympic Games will only make them lose confidence. Now the fact is that those accusations will only benefit us, because the world has seen how well we have completed our preparations."
Constantine II has always dreamed of settling in Greece. He said: "It is very important to be able to blow the sea breeze in Greece, see the mountains, and be with the Greek people. I don't care whether I am the leader of the country or not. It is really not important for me to be a Greek king or an ordinary Greek. I just want to stay with the Greeks and my country."
