Constantine II, the former and last king of Greece, dead at 82
- The monarch’s 9-year reign coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s political history
- Forced to flee Greece after a coup and failed countercoup in the 1960s, Constantine remained in Rome until the monarchy was abolished in 1973
Greece’s former King Constantine II, whose nine-year reign coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s political history, died on Tuesday aged 82.
Greek public broadcaster ERT said Constantine, a cousin of British monarch King Charles, died “of a stroke”.
Constantine II, the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece, ascended to the throne in 1964 after his father died but his reign was marred by political instability which culminated in a military coup on April 21, 1967.
A few months later, he was forced to flee the country after leading an unsuccessful countercoup against the then military junta.
He remained in Rome until the junta abolished the monarchy in 1973.
In a referendum called by a national unity government led by Konstantinos Karamanlis after the fall of the junta in 1974, Greeks rejected monarchy for a second time, making Constantine the last king of Greece.