The Diplomat
The funeral for the former King of Greece, Constantine Constantine, yesterday brought King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia together again in public, after three years, with the King Emeritus, Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, his sisters, the Infantas Elena and Cristina and their six children. Only the King and Queen’s daughters were absent: the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Sofía.
The King and Queen of Spain and the King and Queen Emeritus arrived separately at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. First came Don Juan Carlos, assisted by an aide, and Doña Sofia, sister of Constantine of Greece, accompanied by the Infantas Elena and Cristina and their children.
Juan Carlos and Sofia sat in the second row, behind Queen Anne-Marie and the children of the former King of Greece, while the Infantas were in the third row, behind their parents.
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, who arrived later, like the rest of the monarchs who travelled to Athens to pay a last farewell to Constantine, were placed in the front row next to the coffin wrapped in the Greek flag, in the area reserved for the reigning monarchs.
Paul of Greece, Constantine’s first-born son, was in charge of receiving the funeral guests at the doors of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, including the kings of Belgium, Holland, Sweden and Denmark, as well as Prince Albert of Monaco, the Crown Prince of Norway and Princess Anne of England.
Before the funeral, Constantine’s remains remained from 5.00 to 10.30 am in the nearby Chapel of St. Elefterios, where the citizens who so wished were able to bid him a last farewell.
The last time that the King and Queen, the King and Queen Emeritus and the Infantas coincided in a public act was on the occasion of the funeral of the Infanta Pilar, sister of Don Juan Carlos, in January 2020.
The King and Queen and the princesses, along with the princesses, had already had the opportunity to see each other last night at the dinner of Constantine’s family held at the King George Hotel in Athens, although no photos have emerged showing them together.
