The Windsors and Europe

[JR76]

If I were to guess I'd say that the absence of the POW and HM at King Constantine's funeral was probably out of security concerns, which are higher and bigger when we're talking about the British. The UK involvement in an on going war means the BRF (or any British state official) are even more in danger nowadays. Maybe the Security agencies didn't feel confident they could be protected properly.

All the funeral guests that belong to ruling houses (except Liechtenstein I think?) comes from countries that are just as involved in the war in Ukraine as the UK is. The 1000 policemen around the cathedral plus an assumed amount of private security was enough for the Queen of Denmark, the Kings of Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and their wives, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the Prince of Monaco, the former Queen of Jordan, the former Queen of the Netherlands & the former Empress of Iran.

Anne, Tim & Ella are fine representatives for their country and their family, but it's been obvious for many years that the Windsors work differently than the rest of the Royal families. I find their way of doing things quite disgraceful, but the other royals seem to accept it and so should we. It's not as if I'll ever get invited anyway [emoji23]

 

[xenobia]

I don't see any problem with princess Anne representing the BRF at the funeral. The problem is that we have a clear pattern where the BRF clearly don't seem to be tat interested in getting to know the mainland royals of other European countires. At least not at a higher level (King/Queen and/or Prince/princess of Wales). I have no idea why, but it's clearly a pattern.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

I thought Prince and Princess Michael of Kent would go together with their daughter… They have often been regulars at private or half-official royal events like this when they knew the person - and Constantine they knew very well…. Likely much better than William

Maybe their health does not allow them to travel that much anymore…

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

No, I have to correct you on this. Soviet Union won the war and lost 23 millions people NOT Russia. Soviet Union and Russia are not the same thing, citizens living in USSR were called Soviets not Russians.
At least half of Red Army Soldiers were not even ethically Russian but people coming from other Socialist Republics.
And Ukraine was the second largest republic to contribute to that war with more that 3 millions soldiers that joined Red Army against Nazi.
So it's historical incorrect keep repeating that "Russians" won or that we should be grateful to them or even Putin, when Putin wasn't even alive!

Of course the USSR, I stand corrected. But if we should not be grateful to the then Soviet-Union, Russia being by far the largest country, it would be strange to expect gratefulness to the British.

But don't worry, in my country the gratefulness to the British, the Canadians, the Americans and the Polish is enormous. And I do not share the opinion that the non-attendance of King Charles is "isolationist". But that eyebrows are raised because of this: not more than normal.

The Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Lawrence and Lady Gabriella were all warmly and gentlemanly welcomed by Crown Prince Pavlos. I am sure King Charles has expressed his' and Queen Camillla's sadness in a telephone conversation with Queen Anne-Marie.

 

[Durham]

The trope that Europe should be eternally grateful to the UK for being one of the winners of a war that took place 80 years ago is starting to wear very thin for everyone except the British.

I'm saddened to read this. Is that how it's seen? A trope? It was after all more than just "a" war. It was "the" war. A war for the defense of civilisation from a barbarous hell. And in the process the UK was bled dry & many of its cities laid waste.

It's a conflict that continues to cast a long shadow & we are all of us on this small continent of ours still living with the consequences.

 

[Izzie]

The spinning and excuses on Twitter right now about why Charles and Will didn't show up ranges from absurd to comical to asinine to an agenda driven attempt at inept deflection. This type of action is just par for the course for the BRF. Now even the Greek police and security is getting "blamed". SMDH.

 

[Durham]

The King has to have the permission of the government to go abroad. That said I can't see any reason why the government would say no.

What I find more puzzling is the absence of The Queen &/or the PofW.

 

[royalistbert]

The spinning and excuses on Twitter right now about why Charles and Will didn't show up ranges from absurd to comical to asinine to an agenda driven attempt at inept deflection. This type of action is just par for the course for the BRF. Now even the Greek police and security is getting "blamed". SMDH.

Maybe because they can't drop everything at the hat like others.

 

[Moran]

And it is always neglected by the West, but Russia has lost 23 million (!!) compatriots in WWII and their immense and gruesome war effort at the Eastern Front has made Nazi-Germany to collapse. In fact the Allied invasion in Normandy was to open a fresh front. But to continue the reasoning: we should fall on our knees (the British included) and thank Putin for everything we have now thanks to Russia?

Err, "the West" might have neglected is but "the East" hasn't, ever, you can trust me on this. Over my head in the centre of Sofia, the Soviet soldier rises proudly on his monument in the blue sky over the Vitosha mountain, standing higher than the flag over the Bulgarian Parliament, his gun pointing threateningly towards the Sofia University - the oldest one in Bulgaria. That's the highest monument in my capital. Just one of the many which dot my entire country still. They are the altars on which the Soviet-loving devils worship their evil master and express their gratitude towards the occupying Red Army, with the help of which their lazy, useless, traitorous mummies, daddies, grandmummies and granddaddies seized power and started a reign of terror. And the eternal gratitude was so disgustingly engrained in every Bulgarian child that I cannot possibly describe it. That was the entire theory on which the politics of "Eastern Europe" was founded. Somehow, I don't think it can compare to any gratitude towards Britain.

BTW, the only Soviet soldiers who ever died in Bulgaria were shot on their own commanders' orders for rapes and murders. In the city of Burgas, five Soviets saw a barrel full of alcohol and shot the old man who was trying to tell them not to drink it. They've got a monument there as well after dying from drinking the METHYL alcohol.

The gratitude to the Soviet Union and then Russia is real. And it's poisoning lives here right now. It isn't a laughing matter. It isn't a theoretical means to prove one's point. It dictates too much of the politics of the too many countries. They just aren't from "the West".

 

[SirGyamfi1]

The King has to have the permission of the government to go abroad. That said I can't see any reason why the government would say no.

What I find more puzzling is the absence of The Queen &/or the PofW.

I don’t think Camilla was close to him and I don’t think she’d go without Charles.

 

[Somebody]

The RF go abroad when it is requiered of them. They do a lot of tours and usually some member of the RF attends funerals abroad. It just isnt' usually the monarch or his/her heir.

Charles attended several funerals abroad as the heir; see the list that was posted on funerals for monarchs and their spouses upthread.

In this case, imho it was a faux pas that William didn't attend (no need for Charles imho - as I wouldn't necessarily expect both the monarch and the heir): it was his godfather and a former king being buried.

 

[tommy100]

It seems that for whatever reason the British sovereign since at least QE2s reign doesn't attend foreign funerals (she attended one in 70 years).

I thought for the Greeks funeral Anne was a perfect representative as I see her more like her father than anyone else in the funeral. She was a perfect representative for her brother - especially as she and Constantine were both on the IOC together.

Whilst I have pretty much always defended the BRF when it comes to things like this but even I have to say in the bigger picture it seems they are happy to allow their connections to European RFs to diminish over time. Certainly unless William starts pulling his finger out and attends some foreign royal events soon. They certainly are not as familiar or close - outwardly at least - as their fellow European royals. That is quite sad IMO. However, it is worth noting they do seem to see each other more than we realise they just do it in private. However I see even that getting less and less in time.

I think he should have, if he was allowed, been at his godfather's funeral. But that's just my opinion.

I will say I do think this was a particularly difficult funeral to judge them on. Let's not forget this wasn't an official event of a reigning royal or even an officially recognised funeral for a former royal like the funeral of King Michael of Romania which had more state support. I can well imagine the Greek government wouldn't want Charles or William there and I can also well imagine the British Foreign Office advising against it. Likewise possible security issues. I think the thought of William especially drawing even larger crowds may have been a reason. Add to that in her long 70 year reign Queen Elizabeth II never once visited Greece, I suspect neither side would particularly want the first visit of the new King - the first of a British sovereign in 70 years to be for this. So in that sense I believe this is a tricky one to judge them on - William may well step in as the family's representative at foreign funerals in the same way Charles once did (and even he didn't do it very often)

 

[Moonmaiden23]

If I were to guess I'd say that the absence of the POW and HM at King Constantine's funeral was probably out of security concerns, which are higher and bigger when we're talking about the British. The UK involvement in an on going war means the BRF (or any British state official) are even more in danger nowadays. Maybe the Security agencies didn't feel confident they could be protected properly.

This is a good point and one I hadn't taken into consideration. Perhaps the GRF and whoever in Greece are in charge of security for this sad event are relieved not to have the headache after all.

 

[Moran]

The spinning and excuses on Twitter right now about why Charles and Will didn't show up ranges from absurd to comical to asinine to an agenda driven attempt at inept deflection. This type of action is just par for the course for the BRF. Now even the Greek police and security is getting "blamed". SMDH.

I don't care about Twitter but there is a war right now. People rightly say that the UK isn't the only one involved but they often overlook Putin and his cronies' specific statements: their chief enemy isn't just the West, it's "the Anglo-Saxons". To them, Enemy No1 are the USA and the UK. And Greece is a country where sympathies towards Russia are spread more widely than in the rest of Europe. (Except for my Bulgaria, regretfully.) I realize that not everyone has followed the developments in this part of Europe in the last decade but whatever the BRF reasons for not sending the top dogs, I'm relieved, personally. This is the last place I'd want to see them. (Again, except for Bulgaria.)

 

[muriel]

I have long held a theory of why senior members of the BRF only very rarely appear at large gatherings of royals. It dates back to WW1, and the next 2 decades or so. Many European royals were seen as living the good life, perhaps at the expense of their subjects, and eventually quite a lot of the RFs lost their thrones.

Since then, the BRF have been very careful for very senior royals (typically the monarch and the heir) to not appear at these large gatherings and maintain their distance in public. Privately, they maintain good personal relationships and meet their counterparts outside the public gaze.

In relation to the Greeks, they supported the family when they came to London in exile, and regularly saw them. I am sure Charles will receive Anne-Marie in London privately and pay his condolences. If their is a memorial service in London, it will be well attended by the BRF.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Didn’t Charles have a meeting today with the Cyprus president?

 

[muriel]

Didn’t Charles have a meeting today with the Cyprus president?

He did, indeed.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

He did, indeed.

So it’s not as if Charles was twiddling his thumbs or whatever and I think their discussions were about Cyprus and the Commonwealth. Plus Camilla was with him.

 

[A Tudor]

In relation to the Greeks, they supported the family when they came to London in exile, and regularly saw them. I am sure Charles will receive Anne-Marie in London privately and pay his condolences. If their is a memorial service in London, it will be well attended by the BRF.

A London Memorial service would be a great idea. I'm sure many people who hold KC dear, especially during his time in the UK, were not able to travel down to Greece so that would be a nice opportunity.

 

[valeas]

If the UK wanted "isolation from Europe", the British Army would not be deployed today in Estonia and Poland to protect them from Russian aggression, not to mention the UK's continuing committment to support UKraine, now even supplying the Ukranians with Challenger 2 MBTs while Germany refrains from allowing them to have the Leopard 2 for fear of antagonizing Putin.

Europe owes a great debt of gratitude to the United Kingdom, from the Napoleonic Wars all the way to World Wars I and II and the Cold War. The Dutch of all people should be reminded of that .

Western countries are protecting their interests, if they wanted to help Ukraine only, the war had long been ended.
But let's not get more into politics.

 

[valeas]

Yes I've always thought that the queen only attended as the king was the senior reigning Monarch at the time.
There after the queen sent representatives to funerals but strangely no one for Queen Fabiola

Really? Txs, dis not expect this. Strange, but well its the BRF ;-)

 

[Dantheman]

Do we think the task of going to other royal funerals; weddings etc would have eventually become Harry and Meghan responsibility in future years (eg they could’ve also shared this responsibility with Edward and Sophie)

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Do we think the task of going to other royal funerals; weddings etc would have eventually become Harry and Meghan responsibility in future years (eg they could’ve also shared this responsibility with Edward and Sophie)

No I don’t think so. Harry is not really close to many of them.

 

[Blog Real]

Prince William should have at least expressed his regret at the death of King Constantine, even if it was through a statement or a post on official social media. By the way, was there a wreath in his name at the funeral?

 

[yukari]

I give up about KP social media honestly. For awhile now, their captions are atrocious. They didn't post anything for Catherine's birthday this year, did they? No wedding anniversary post last year so I don't expect one this year too.

To be fair, BP social media also didn't release anything about Constantine's passing. Then again, they made no acknowledgement of QMII's Jubilee last year (DRF social media did one for QEII's).

In both case, it's like they don't really care.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

A service of thanksgiving in London would be a good idea.

As Constantine and Anne-Marie lived in London for 40 years, they must have many friends there who were not able to go to Athens for the funeral…

So i think its even likely that something will be done there

 

[An Ard Ri]

A service of thanksgiving in London would be a good idea.

As Constantine and Anne-Marie lived in London for 40 years, they must have many friends there who were not able to go to Athens for the funeral…

So i think its even likely that something will be done there

I agree and that would be a perfect opportunity for those unable to make the funeral to pay their respects to the late king.

There's a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in London.

 

[Stefan]

I agree and that would be a perfect opportunity for those unable to make the funeral to pay their respects to the late king.

There's a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in London.

Yes it is where Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Alexia got married and where Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos got christened.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Prince William should have at least expressed his regret at the death of King Constantine, even if it was through a statement or a post on official social media. By the way, was there a wreath in his name at the funeral?

The BRF don’t post funerals or announcements of non-reigning royals on Instagram whether they are closely related or not. I don’t think that the previous POW posted or made an announcement for the late King Michael of Romania apart from going to the funeral.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I give up about KP social media honestly. For awhile now, their captions are atrocious. They didn't post anything for Catherine's birthday this year, did they? No wedding anniversary post last year so I don't expect one this year too.

To be fair, BP social media also didn't release anything about Constantine's passing. Then again, they made no acknowledgement of QMII's Jubilee last year (DRF social media did one for QEII's).

In both case, it's like they don't really care.

Well their Instagram accounts are about them and their activities not relations between Royal houses that’s why there’s no posts about foreign royal celebrations. I’m sure they have letters and correspondence between them to send well wishes and regards.