- 'Royals', Constantine of Greece, the king who wore his own crown
- 'Royals', Constantine of Greece, the worrying decline of Queen Sofia's brother
The pandemic has ruined what was to be a big year for the Greek royal family. The dethroned Constantine, idolized brother of Queen Sofia, turns 80 on Tuesday. And a few days ago, the wedding of one of his daughters, Princess Theodora, should have been celebrated, canceled sine die by the ravages of the Covid-19 . The two events were to bring together the Greek representatives of the Götha on Greek soil, including members of almost all the ruling dynasties in Europe. Very special celebrations that would have served to advance the public rehabilitation of the last king of the Hellenes .
It is undeniable that there are new times in Greece for his dynasty. Since the 1974 referendum that gave way to the republic in the country, the royal family has been subjected for decades to a brutal smear campaign, well encouraged by left-wing parties - and also by other signs - with an effective echo in the media. There was an unwritten law that did not publish positive news about Constantine and his offspring, about which all kinds of hoaxes, lies and insults were spread. Also true, of course; Because the young and inexperienced Constantine lost the throne largely due to his mistakes and the disastrous influence that his mother, Queen Federica , exercised in his brief reign , who became one of the most hated characters by his people.
After almost half an exiled life in London , Constantine and his wife, Queen Ana Maria, settled in their homeland again in 2013. They live in a beautiful mansion in Porto Jeli, south of the Peloponnese, very close to the Spetses Island and "sufficiently distanced from the political life of the capital", as the king without a throne once declared to dispel any suspicion that his intention was to maneuver to destabilize the democratic system , as his ardent opponents blamed him.
Of course, since then, both Constantine and his have been increasingly present in the social life of the country. And many media have freed themselves from the omertá and allow analysts, historians and politicians to dismantle the hoaxes about the monarchical period and review the role of the king in his initial support for the 1967 coup of the colonels - an episode that follows with as many gaps and literature as on our 23-F-, it would cost him the crown. Popularity is growing among a not inconsiderable sector of citizens towards the royal family.
The publication of Constantino's autobiography in 2015 by one of the most influential newspapers in the country was a resounding success that already revealed this change in trend. And the fall of Syriza, the brotherly Hellenic party of Podemos, and the victory of the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2019 has also contributed to that rehabilitation process .
This Prime Minister is the son of former President Constantino Mitsotakis , an important politician who in 1974 denounced that the referendum to abolish the monarchy did not take place under equal conditions for the defenders of the throne. And that decades later he would regret that Greek democracy did not respect people, starting with Constantine himself, in reference to the fact that the Republic has kept him deprived of his original nationality and of his passport since the Pasok passed in 1994 a law that was clearly contrary respect for human rights.
The socialists coerced the monarch to renounce his royal aspirations and accept the name Glücksburg - from the Danish dynasty from which the Hellenic royal family descended. Doña Sofía's brother refused, among other reasons because her true patronymic is Grecia.
With the new government, invitations to members of the royal family to participate in cultural events with political representatives have increased, something unthinkable before. In addition, last year Prime Minister Mitsotakis announced a plan for the rehabilitation of the Tatoi complex - where the royal tombs are - in a gesture of vindication of the nation's monarchical past.
Delicate in health and unable to meet his family due to the coronavirus, but with the satisfaction of beginning to see his image rehabilitated, the king without a throne of the Hellenes will blow 80 candles.
In accordance with the criteria of The Trust Project
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