As soon as his death became known former King Constantine on Tuesday night, the Maximos Palace immediately issued a statement noting that an inter-ministerial meeting will take place on Wednesday morning to discuss all the procedural issues of the deposed monarch’s funeral.
According with information from “K”, the prime minister never wavered on whether there will be a funeral with the honors of a head of state or not, since article 7 of the Constitution is clear and leaves no room for misinterpretation: “Titles of nobility or distinction are neither awarded nor recognized to Greek citizens”, it states. The initial trend was officially confirmed after yesterday’s “morning coffee” of Maximus, where upon its completion a statement was issued with the decisions taken: First, the former king will be buried as a private person.
Second, the burial will take place near his ancestors at Thosewhere her last residence is Frederick and his Paul.
Thirdly, the government will be represented at the funeral by the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni and, fourth, all protocol procedures for foreign dignitaries attending the funeral will be followed. The same sources say that during yesterday’s meeting the decisions taken were unanimous without the slightest disagreement.
Regarding the funeral procession, the government announced that the temple where it will be held will be determined in consultation with the family. Indeed, yesterday at noon they crossed the threshold of Megaros Maximos three sons of Constantine, Pavlos, Nikolaos and Philipwhere they discussed the procedures.
The family’s decision, as it became known, is for the funeral procession to take place in the Metropolis of Athens on Monday, January 16, officiated by Archbishop Hieronymos, and the burial will follow in the Tatoi cemetery. Until late last night, the time of the “last cheer” was not known, which is expected to be announced today.
However, the Perpetual Holy Synod issued a related announcement, noting that “His Beatitude and the Reverend Synod expressed their heartfelt condolences to the family of the exiled former King Constantine II, who invited them to perform the exodus ceremony in accordance with the provisions of ecclesiastical order and etiquette”.
This was followed by a relevant announcement from the former royal family, in which, among other things, it is stated that “the body’s stay in the Church will be determined at a later time”. It is essentially about the arrangement of the popular pilgrimage, which was yet another point of “negotiation”. The government expressed the opinion that if the exodus sequence takes place in the Metropolis, then a popular pilgrimage cannot take place. Thus, it is most likely that the citizens can say their last goodbyes to the former monarch only shortly before the exodus begins. A rumor was heard that the popular pilgrimage would take place in the adjacent – of the Metropolis – chapel of Agios Eleftherios, but circles of the deceased reported to “K” that there was no such proposal.
Who will attend?
The exact burial time also depends on procedural matters, such as the invitations that will be sent. So far there is incontrovertible information that the British royal house will be represented by either Prince William or Princess Anne· they will come to Athens Queen Margarita of Denmark, Philip of Spain and members of the royal families of Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria. It is assumed, however, that the exit will take place by 12 noon.
