Athens: Constantine, the former and last king of Greece died in a private hospital in Athens. His doctors gave this information late on Tuesday night. Constantine was 82. Staff at the private hospital Hegia in Athens told and confirmed Constantine’s death and reported that he breathed his last while being treated in the intensive care unit.
He did not give any details as no official announcement has been made. In 1964, at the age of 23, he ascended the throne as Constantine II. He was already very popular for winning the Olympic gold medal in rowing, and his fame increased after he became king. However, after a military coup in 1967, Constantine took on the military rulers and faced exile.
The dictatorship abolished the monarchy in 1973, and after democracy was restored in 1974, a referendum ended any hope of Constantine ruling again. His visits to Greece became less frequent in the decades that followed, and each time he did, there was a political storm. In the last few years of his life, he managed to settle in his home country.
Constantine was born on June 2, 1940, in Athens. His father was Prince Paul and his mother was Princess Federica of Hanover. 12 years of ‘Republican Interlude’ between the years 1922-1935; The royal family ruling in Greece since 1863 is a descendant of Prince Christian of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg branch of Denmark, later Christian IX of Denmark.
