Queen Camilla led the British royal family in attending a thanksgiving service in Windsor for the late King Constantine II.
Constantine, who was a second cousin of King Charles, a first cousin of the late Duke of Edinburgh, and a godfather to Prince William, enjoyed a close relationship with the British royals.
The memorial service to celebrate his life was held at St George’s Chapel on Tuesday morning, with Camilla stepping in for her husband Charles, who is unable to attend due to his ongoing cancer treatment.
Prince William had also been due to attend, but pulled out last-minute due to a “personal matter”. He was expected to give a reading, but Constantine’s son Crown Prince Pavlos did the honours instead.
Queen Camilla
Queen Camilla stepped in for her husband King Charles, who was unable to attend the memorial due to his cancer treatment.
Princess Anne and Queen Camilla
Queen Camilla was seated next to Princess Anne. The service, which took place in the nave of St George’s Chapel, was led by the Dean of Windsor, The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth.
British Royals
Several members of the British royal family were in attendance.
Constantine died at the age of 82 in January 2023. He had been suffering from ill health for a number of years and was treated at the private Hygeia Hospital in Athens.
His funeral took place at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens, with a whole host of European royals in attendance, including Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, who were representing King Charles and Queen Camilla, and Lady Gabriella Windsor, who was there on behalf of Prince William. Gabriella counted Constantine as one of her godfathers.
William had a “private” engagement on the day of the funeral, while Charles and Camilla had a scheduled meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Other European royals in attendance at the funeral included King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Prince Albert of Monaco, King Felipe of Spain’s sister Infanta Cristina, Queen Mathilde and King Phillipe of Belgium, and Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI of Sweden.
Constantine was later buried at Tatoi Palace cemetery, close to Athens.
Constantine acceded to the Greek throne in 1964 following the death of his father, King Paul I. He was proclaimed King of the Hellenes at the age of 24, however, he ruled for only a decade after a military junta abolished the monarchy. He was the last king of Greece.
Two referendums were held, a disputed one in 1973 before a second one in 1974, with both returning results in favour of the abolition of the monarchy.
Constantine lived in exile for many decades in London, before eventually returning to his native country in 2013, where he spent the last ten years of his life.
