• Obituary Constantine of Greece, the king who paid with the crown for his serious mistakes

  • Corona The funeral of King Constantine, a dilemma for the Government of the Greek Republic

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens has once again hosted this Saturday morning the members of the

Greek royal family

who have attended the so-called

40-day funeral mass

in memory of the late King Constantine II of the Hellenes.

It has been a very intimate farewell ceremony without so much pomp or the large presence of members of all the European dynasties who wanted to say goodbye to the dethroned monarch at the funeral held in the same Athenian temple last January.

Queen Sofía, sister of Constantine II -to whom she has been very close throughout her life- and her sister Princess

Irene of Greece

have been present at this mass celebrated 40 days after the death of the former sovereign, following a centenary tradition, along with the entire Greek royal family, headed by

Queen Anna Maria

, Constantine's widow, and the new head of the House, her son

Prince Paul

, who returned to Athens on Friday with his wife,

Marie Chantal

.

Also present in Athens are the

Infantas Elena and Cristina

, who in this case have not been accompanied by their children.

The two have been very attentive to their aunt Irene, whom she has seen as especially delicate.

This emotional ceremony has enormous meaning for Orthodox believers, since it exalts how the soul of the deceased person ascends to heaven to meet the Father.

Unlike the funeral in January, it has not been broadcast on television.

Approximately 250 people

have been able to access the temple

, many close friends of King Constantine and members of associations and organizations with which he was closely linked, such as the International Olympic Committee -of which he was an honorary member-, the International Sailing Federation, the Greek Shipowners Consortium or the famous Round Square schools organization, created by Constantine II in 1966.

Decenas de curiosos se han agolpado en las inmediaciones de la Catedral metropolitana para ver la llegada de los asistentes a la misa de los 40 días. La Reina Sofía ha recibido muchos aplausos al descender del coche en el que ha llegado al templo, de riguroso luto. No ha dejado de vestir de negro en todos los actos públicos que ha protagonizado en nuestro país desde que falleció su hermano.

Este mismo sábado, los asistentes a esta misa compartirán después un café en la Fundación Niarchos. Y la familia real griega junto a sus invitados más cercanos cenarán esta noche en el Hotel Gran Bretaña.

And already tomorrow, Sunday, the family will participate in a response in the royal cemetery of Tatoi, where the remains of Constantine rest together with those of his parents, Kings Pablo

and Federica

, as well as many other members of the dynasty.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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