Luis Fernando Romo
Updated Tuesday, February 27, 2024-21:21
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Constantine II of Greece, the British Royal House has organized
a mass in memory of the last
Hellenic king in
St. George
's Chapel at Windsor Castle
.
Queen Camilla (76) has led the tribute since King Charles III is
on sick leave due to the cancer he suffers from.
At the last minute, Prince William (41) excused his absence due to
"personal reasons"
.
The reason why this event has been celebrated in England is due
not only to their family ties
, but also to the deep friendship that exists between both royal families.
To begin with, they are family as a result of
the successive marriages
of the children of Queen Victoria of England who linked up with the members of the
most important European royal houses.
In fact, the Emerituses and Philip of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II,
are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria
, whom she calls
"The Grandmother of Europe"
.
And in the case of Queen Sofia, consanguinity is intensified through the Prussian maternal line since Kaiser William II was the great-grandfather of
the Emerita and Felipe
.
On the Bourbon side, the connection began when
Victoria Eugenia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria
, married King Alfonso XIII, grandparents of Juan Carlos I (86).
One of the monarch's first cousins was
Alice of Battenberg,
mother of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Spanish Royal Family during the funeral of Constantine of GreeceGTRES
Out of respect,
families try to stay together,
but where the relationship is truly forged is in friendship, as Elizabeth II demonstrated when she allowed
Constantine II of Greece and his family to choose London
as their official residence after exiling themselves from Greece.
That happened when in November 1974 another referendum definitively rejected the monarchy in the Greek people.
During the four decades that they remained on British soil, they resided in
a splendid mansion of almost 900 square meters
in the elite neighborhood of Hampstead that consisted of 13 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and a heated indoor pool.
In this residence located on a 3,000 square meter plot of land, Lady Di found the ideal refuge
due to the affection that the family always showed them.
Therefore, on many of the occasions when she had to undertake official trips she left her children,
Princes William and Henry (39)
in the care of the Greeks.
Constantine of Greece in 1999GTRES
Over time, these ties became even more intense since
the Prince of Wales is not only the godson of
Constantine II, but is also one of the seven godfathers of Prince
Constantine Alexios (25).
The young man is the second of the five children of Pablo de Grecia (56) and Marie-Chantal Miller (55) and the first boy.
During her stay in England, Queen Elizabeth II always took into consideration that Constantine
had been born on the Greek island of Corfu
like her husband.
At the most important social events, the
monarch had the courtesy to invite them
and give them their rightful place, interacting with the rest of the country's aristocratic families.
The youngest children of the "kings of Greece",
Theodora (40) and Philip (37) were born in London.
Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina and Juan ValentínGTRES
Constantino and Ana María were able
to move to Greece permanently in 2013
where they bought a mansion in Porto Cheli in the Peloponnese.
As a result of the monarch's worsening health, they decided
to sell the property to settle in Athens
due to the proximity of the hospitals.
They sold their London residence
for 6.7 million euros
when they initially asked for 15.5 million.
At the religious service held in Windsor this Tuesday, King Felipe VI (56), Queen Letizia (51) and Juan Carlos I
sat together in the third pew ,
while Queen Sofia (85) and Princess Irene (81) They did it at first with the rest of their families.
Other notable guests were
the infantas Elena (60) and Cristina (58)
, the latter accompanied by her first-born, Juan Valentín (24).