All the Photos of Royals at King Constantine's Funeral in Greece
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All the Photos of Royals at King Constantine's Funeral in Greece
Former king Constantine II passed away last week at the age of 82.
Yesterday, royals from around the world gathered in Athens to pay their respects to the last king of Greece. Constantine was related to many royal houses—his sister, Silvia, is the former Queen of Spain (making him uncle to the current king, King Felipe), and his sisters-in-law are Queen Margrethe, current queen of Denmark and Denmark's Princess Benedikte, who married into the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. In addition, he was cousins with Britain's King Charles and his siblings, including Princess Anne, who was in attendance.
Constantine, after spending much of his life in exile, spent the final years of his life in Athens. As he told T&C, "Look at ancient Greek history. All Greeks who live in exile, they want to go back. It's in the blood. Funnily enough, the one pushing hardest was my wife. I think she realized I would be happy only when I came back home." He was buried as a private citizen at Tatoi cemetery, a royal estate north of Athens.
"By the grace of God, you drew your last breath in our country, which you always loved above all else throughout your life," his eldest son, Pavlos, said in his eulogy. Constantine's children and grandchildren, he also said, "are ready, as you had always been, to offer Greece whatever the country asks of us."
Here, see photos of all the royals at Constantine's funeral—including the members of the Greek royal family.
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King Constantine's sons, Prince Philippos, Prince Pavlos, and Prince Nikolaos, walked behind their father's coffin to the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens.
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On the right, you can see the three sons pictured behind the coffin.
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Former Queen Anne Marie of Greece and Prince Pavlos thanked the crowds for gathering to pay their respects.
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Crown Princess Marie-Chantal wore a cross on a long chain, and pearl drop earrings.
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Even at a funeral, Queen Letizia looked glamorous in a black coat dress, diamond drop earrings, and her "Joyas de Pasar" pearl and diamond brooch. Many royals wore pearls, a mourning tradition started by Queen Victoria.
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Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore a lace veil; she was the only royal in a black veil at the funeral.
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Queen Silvia of Sweden also wore pearl earrings, and a wide-brimmed black hat.
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Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence represented the British Royal Family at the funeral. Anne and Constantine were second cousins.
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Former Empress Farah Phalavi, who rarely makes public appearances, traveled from Paris to Athens for the funeral.
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Queen Margrethe wore a pearl necklace to attend the funeral of her late brother-in-law. (Margrethe's sister is Anne-Marie.)
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The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway, Haakon and Mette-Marit, were in Athens, too.
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Among the royals at the funeral were plenty of Greek royals. Pictured here, left to right, are Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal's children (and Constantine's grandchildren): Prince Odysseus Kimon, Prince Aristidis-Stavros, Princess Maria-Olympia, and Prince Achileas-Andreas.
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Former queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was in attendance with her son and daughter-in-law.
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The Spanish royals, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, were close with Constantine—the late Greek king was Felipe's uncle.
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Spain's Queen Sofia was Constantine's sister. She's pictured here with her husband, former King Juan Carlos of Spain.
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Princess Benedike, older sister to Queen Anne-Marie, arrived at her brother-in-law's funeral with her daughter Princess Alexandra. Both royal women wore pearls.
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Here, a gathering of monarchs: Queen Letizia, King Felipe, Queen Maxima, and King Willem-Alexander.
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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium were also in attendance at the funeral.
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Lady Gabriella Windsor represented her cousin, Prince William, who was unable to make it. Constantine was a godfather to both the Prince of Wales and Lady Gabriella.
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Princess Theodora, pictured, is Constantine's youngest daughter.
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The Greek royal family all lined up behind former Queen Anne-Marie and Prince Pavlos.
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Queen Anne-Marie's jewelry choice was significant: She wore the necklace she wore on her wedding day to Constantine.
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Queen Noor of Jordan attended the funeral.
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Queen Margrethe was joined by her two sons, Prince Frederik of and Prince Joachim, in a rare show of family unity despite ongoing bitterness over a title dispute. Constantine was Frederik and Joachim's uncle.
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25)
Prince Albert of Monaco arrived, sans his wife, Princess Charlotte.
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More Greek royals: Princess Nina, wife of Constantine's son Prince Philippos, and Princess Tatiana, wife of Prince Nikolaos, arrived together.
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Constantine's eldest child, Princess Alexia (second from right), arrived with her husband, Carlos Javier Morales Quintana, and their children Arrietta, Amelia, Anna-Maria, and Carlos.
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Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg was in attendance at Constantine's funeral service.
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As was Princess Sarvath, the wife of Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal.
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Prince Alexander and Princess Katherine of Serbia also traveled to the Greek capital.
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Following the service, a more intimate group traveled to a graveside service at Tatoi cemetery. Pictured here is Princess Maria Olympia.
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The Greek royals gathered around the graveside. Left to right in the front row: Queen Anne Marie, Prince Nikolaos, Prince Odysseus-Kimon, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos.
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Princess Anne was also at Tatoi cemetary. Here she is pictured embracing former Anne Marie.
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She also hugged her late mother's dear friend, Queen Margarethe.
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Prince Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos carried the coffin during the service for their father.
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