Funeral of King Constantine - January 16, 2023

[Silverpot]

Not giving Constantine a state funeral was a missed opportunity for a country so dependent on tourism as Greece is. They need all the attention they can get, especially after covid shut downs.

 

[An Ard Ri]

There were very large crowds outside the Cathedral in Athens yesterday,were there any any anti-Monarchist protesters?

 

[kalnel]

The entire family was very impressive. I have thrown a lot of shade at them in this Forum, especially Princess "Eyelash extensions changed my life I am OBSESSED with them"!! Maria-Olympia.[emoji38]

But I admit I am slowly warming to them and seeing them in a new light.

They conducted themselves the way I like to see Royals behave.

The incident with Infanta Cristina whipping out her cell phone during the Funeral Liturgy and taking photos was a figment of my imagination. It simply didn't happen.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

I also noticed that too in the footage but overlooked as he had done a lot of meeting and greeting.

 

[MsJulie]

I will give Pavlod a pass. There are several respiratory illnesses going around with coughing. He may be drinking the water to suppress the cough. I am sure if he had a cough drop in his mouth he would have been criticized for that. I did not see any pictures of him walking into the church with a bottle, so maybe the water bottle was placed under the chair for him before the services. (Seats were probably pre-assigned to most people). I am sure he wanted to be at the service and others wanted him to be there too.

 

[kimebear]

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

With the way he was darting about greeting so many people with real conversation and not a token word or two, plus knowing he'd be giving a tough eulogy, not to mention how days of tears wears on a person, it's not surprising that he might be a little dehydrated.

 

[tihkon2]

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

Eh, Nikolaos does it like an hour later. Pulls the bottle out and swigs it. I think most people wouldn't care. It's not like he sipped an espresso.

 

[hereditarytitles]

Eh, Nikolaos does it like an hour later. Pulls the bottle out and swigs it. No one cares.

But really, what is wrong about that? Give them a break... They all had a very difficult day, Pavlos had to made a long speach, all of the family was grieving.
So drinking a glass of water, from a bottle or not, is really not worth a discussion IMO

 

[maria-olivia]

Crown Prince Pavlos wore his Father King Constantine II 's Ring

 

[valeas]

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

Don't know which institution you refer to as church,
but its not a big thing if there is a physical need for it.
Even in Roman Catholic church and Orthodox similar (mass takes 4 h) it's appropriate.

 

[fandesacs2003]

She is Princess Chantal of Hannover their mother

No this one. The other blond with the headpiece slightly hidden by Prince Christian

Sent from my SM-A426B using The Royals Community mobile app

 

[valeas]

Well, well it could be the other way round: Charles met today because then he had an excuse to not attend
the funeral of the controversial ex-king...
Here in Germany the news completely ignored his death and funeral...
IMO in Constantine' s case the BRF didn' t send C or W because they would become in some political trouble. Believe me we will see W at other royal funerals in the future.
Besides: I read elsewhere that C attended Prince Claus' funeral in the Netherlands then. ..

Don't know what you are watching, but both the death and the funeral were mentioned in Germany. f.e. "Heute" and "Panorama" as many others and of course Celeb News.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Just out of curiosity- did Queen Noor attend as an official representative of the monarch of Jordan or was it her personal choice to attend

I think I mentioned earlier that Queen Noor is a close friend of Queen Sofia, so I’d say it’s more of a personal choice. Plus Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath were too and those are officially and typically sent to funerals and weddings of reigning and non-reigning royalty and they are close friends with much of foreign royalty.

Beautiful service - it was very moving. Queen Ann Marie was wonderful- you could see the emotion and love. I actually don’t mind Pavlos and Marie Chantel - do we know if their titles will change now?? I thought Princess Anne was a good choice but I do believe the younger generation of British royals eg William and Kate need to start attending these events to be more of a “presence” (for lack of a better word) in royal circles. I have previously wondered if this (attending weddings and funerals etc) would have ended up being done by Harry and Meghan if they didn’t move away. I was impressed by the number of monarchs and spouses who attended and I just love seeing Grand Duchess Maria at these events - I personally think she has a regal kind of presence (but that is just my opinion - feel free to disagree!)

Their titles won’t change, Pavlos will simply be Head of the family. I don’t think that H&M would ever be going to those gatherings even if they were working royals. Pavlos will remain Crown Prince.

 

[Adda]

Photos of the guest leaving the Grande Bretagne. Nikola and Tatiana had breakfast with Pavlos and his family, so I guess they'll be staying in Athens for the rest of the week.

https://www.protothema.gr/greece/ar...nnia-gia-paulo-nikolao-kai-tis-suzugous-tous/


These are very moving images (4th and 5th particularly) of the sea of wreaths around King Konstantinos' grave.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnhs6MPMQRo/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

[Frelinghighness]

Also the couple on the other side of Chantal of Hanover were the Badens. His father just died Max who was first cousin to prince phillip.

 

[irish_royalist]

Because they rarely deem themselves to go to weddings/funerals of other royals if those are abroad, they usually send Edward & Sophie to those, they rarely name each others' as godparents to their kids (unless they are exiled royals who live in the UK, again Edward being the exception), you don't really see them attending special events outside of the UK (at least the most senior royals).

For example, QEII only attended ONE royal funeral abroad (King Baudouin of the Belgians), apart from that it was always someone else, usually a second/third string royal.

There are very close ties amongst the continental royals, a club that the House of Windsor doesn't seem to be very interested in tbh.

I think the large turnout of European Royals at the funeral of The late Queen Elizabeth II would go against your theory.

 

[kalnel]

With the way he was darting about greeting so many people with real conversation and not a token word or two, plus knowing he'd be giving a tough eulogy, not to mention how days of tears wears on a person, it's not surprising that he might be a little dehydrated.

I get it, but he should have sipped water before he went into the service. It's never appropriate to eat or drink during a religious service of any kind.

 

[polyesco]

Nice pictures of Frederik and Joachim greeting Pavlos and Nikolaos
https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongeli...og-prins-joachim-blev-moedt-med-varme-kram-af
video of the Danes leaving yesterday
https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongeli...erik-og-prins-joachim-fik-knus-og-klem-af-mor

 

[Alisa]

The only cringeworthy moment I saw was at the beginning of the service, when Pavlos reached under his seat for a bottle of water and took a slug. Inappropriate in a church.

It's funny at that moment I was actually wondering if the family and royal guests were provided with water. Funerals are very dehydrative. People loose fluids and electrolytes when they cry. Furthermore emotions and the scent of the incense used in ceremonies may require people to need some water.

How much more so would Pavlos who was greeting everyone at the door and giving a eulogy in 2 languages need to have water.

 

[valeas]

https://www.gala.de/royals/allgemei...der-seiner-trauerfeier_22998520-22998256.html

Princess Margareta from Liechtenstein at Athens.

How the sons and grandsons carry the coffin has moved a lot of people.
like an ordinary family and of course because the gov. denied everything else,
usually soldiers had carried the coffin.
I guess the sons& will always remember it.

It's funny at that moment I was actually wondering if the family and royal guests were provided with water. Funerals are very dehydrative. People loose fluids and electrolytes when they cry. Furthermore emotions and the scent of the incense used in ceremonies may require people to need some water.

How much more so would Pavlos who was greeting everyone at the door and giving a eulogy in 2 languages need to have water.

As I wrote befire its appropriate when physically needed and especially in services without Blessed Sacrament.
You have a good point with being dehydrative AND
one cannot cry&chew same time. This is why prof. cooks do chew chewing gum or something else when cutting onions
So water can be help with reducing emotional outbreaks, too.

 

[Ana]

I only watched the funeral today, but they seem to be a very united family! Very emotional and a great example of dignity!

 

[tihkon2]

I get it, but he should have sipped water before he went into the service. It's never appropriate to eat or drink during a religious service of any kind.

His father just died ,

I'll give him and Nikolaos a pass to drink water if they needed it. Better than passing out or coughing through the whole service.

 

[Somebody]

I get it, but he should have sipped water before he went into the service. It's never appropriate to eat or drink during a religious service of any kind.

That's your opinion but not a general rule. I often drink some water during a religious service and one of our former churches even offered drinks and snacks ahead of the service for people to take with them to their seats...

Given that there were water bottles placed underneath their seats - they clearly considered it acceptable to use them; otherwise there wouldn't have been a need to place them there.

 

[iceflower]

A number of posts have been moved to the following thread:


** Titles, Surname and Protocols for the Royal Family **

 

[An Ard Ri]

Hopefully the dowager queen will have her family around her for sometime.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Precisely because it was not a state funeral, the presence of nearly all European royal heads of state can be taken as a mark of how well loved and esteemed Konstantinos was among his royal cousins, which must be a comfort to his family.

Do we know whether Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Princess of Luxembourg, was representing the ruling family of Liechtenstein or Luxembourg or both?

The Greek Minister of Culture and Sports getting booed upon arriving.

The Greek government denied their former king a State funeral.

The Greek people had other ideas..BRAVO to them for making their voices heard!

Do we know for certain that the booing was a reaction to the government's decision against a state funeral? (The British prime minister was booed at the British queen's jubilee, but that was probably not in protest at the state of the jubilee festivities.)

Even if that was the case, the crowds who voluntarily come to observe the former king's funeral are not necessarily representative of the Greek people as a whole on the issue of whether a controversial former head of state from a former constitutional regime should be afforded a state funeral. Did any of the other political parties oppose the government's decision?

Due to the exodus procession to the Metropolis of Athens and the motorcade headed for the Tatoi estate , EL.AS had instructed the police not to come into confrontation with the citizens who ask to pass to the former royal estates.

Hahahaha the Greek government is ...is...quite something... ISN'T IT? I can hear their panic.

I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why should the police have confronted citizens attempting to pass to the former royal estates? Is the public normally excluded from or posing a risk to the estates?

 

[maria-olivia]

Hopefully the dowager queen will have her family around her for sometime.

Anne Marie wil never be a Dowager Queen. Never Marie Chantal will be Queen of Greece. She will remain Crown Princess such as the Royals of Serbia.

 

[Clematis]

I remember the Tatoi area (I lived in Athens in the 70s-80s), it's very beautiful, full of trees - at least, that's how it was before the raging fires in recent years - quiet, far from the chaos of the capital.
It conveys a sense of peace; it's perfect for a final resting place.

May king Constantine rest in peace in his beloved Greece.

 

[Benjamin]

Do we know for certain that the booing was a reaction to the government's decision against a state funeral?

The shouts of "shame, shame!" when the politicians arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral would indicate that the crowds, who were clearly largely monarchist, were not pleased at either (1) the attendance of the politicians at the funeral or (2) the lack of a state funeral for the king, who was a former head of state or (3) both of the aforementioned factors. The combination seems more plausible.

https://en.rua.gr/2023/01/17/the-funeral-of-former-king-constantine-is-a-challenge-for-greece/

 

[An Ard Ri]

The shouts of "shame, shame!" when the politicians arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral would indicate that the crowds, who were clearly largely monarchist, were not pleased at either (1) the attendance of the politicians at the funeral or (2) the lack of a state funeral for the king, who was a former head of state or (3) both of the aforementioned factors. The combination seems more plausible.

https://en.rua.gr/2023/01/17/the-funeral-of-former-king-constantine-is-a-challenge-for-greece/

Good on them,I saw the politician and his wife had their heads down on entering the cathedral.

Shame on the Greek Government!