Constantine II, the last king
of Greece from 1964 to 1974, passed away on 10 January 2023, in Athens, Greece,
aged 82.
After
spending World War II in exile in South Africa, Constantine returned to Greece
in 1946. When his father became King Paul I in 1947, Constantine became crown
prince; he succeeded to the throne upon his father’s death on 6 March 1964.
Fearing leftist infiltration of the army, he dismissed Georgios Papandreou in
July 1965 and appointed Interim premiers until April 21, 1967, when a military
coup forestalled the election, he was planning for May of that year. He
attempted a countercoup from northern Greece on 13 December 1967, but had few
sympathizers and almost immediately fled to Rome with his family. The military
regime retained control of the monarchy and appointed a regent in Constantine’s
place, granting the king a free return if he desired.
On
1 June 1973, the military regime ruling Greece proclaimed a republic and
abolished the Greek monarchy. A referendum on 29 July 1973, confirmed these
actions. After the election of a civilian government in November 1974, another
referendum on the monarchy was conducted on December 8. The monarchy was
rejected, and Constantine, who had protested the vote of 1973, accepted the
result.
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