Constantine II died on Tuesday at the age of 82. He was the last king of Greece before the monarchy was abolished there in 1973.
The death of the last Greek king was announced on Greek television. He was hospitalized last week for breathing problems and eventually died of a stroke. The king died in the presence of his wife and children in a hospital in the capital Athens.
Constantine II came to power in 1964 at the age of 23. At that time he had already won an Olympic gold medal as a sailor and was very popular among the Greek population. He lost much of that support within a year due to his involvement in the movement that toppled the then government.
This led to a military coup by conservative army officers in 1967, in which Constantine II was exiled by the perpetrators. The king tried to regain power in December of that year, but that attempt failed. He and his wife then fled to Italy.
Constantine may forget to return due to lack of popularity
The new government headed by Georgios Papadopoulos replaced the monarchy with a republic in 1973. The majority of Greek voters approved the new republican constitution.
A year later, democracy was restored in Greece by another coup. Constantine II hoped to be reinstated as king, but a new referendum once again showed his lack of popularity: 70 percent of voters chose a republic.
The expelled royal couple then spent some time in Denmark, but eventually settled in the British capital London. Over the years, Constantine II has returned to Greece several times, including for the 2004 Olympic Games.
Nine years later, Constantine II decided to return to Greece permanently. During his time in England, he established good relationships with, among others, the British and Spanish royal families. He is godfather to the British Crown Prince William and the Dutch Prince Constantijn.
