Constantine II, born on June 2, 1940, reigned as the last King of Greece from March 6, 1964, until the Greek monarchy was abolished on June 1, 1973.
Constantine was the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece.
During WWII, his family was forced into exile, and he spent his childhood in Egypt and South Africa. He returned to Greece with his family during the Greek Civil War in 1946.
Constantine’s father ascended to the throne after King George II died in 1947, making Constantine the crown prince. He was George II’s nephew, as well as the king’s childless younger brother and heir presumptive, Crown Prince Paul’s second child and only legitimate son.
His mother was Princess Frederica of Hanover, the only child of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, and Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia. The birth of a male heir to the throne was heralded by a 101-gun salute from Mount Lycabettus in Athens, which was attended by the Greek royal family.
According to Greek naming customs, he was named after his paternal grandfather, Constantine I, as the first son. At his christening in Athens, the Hellenic Armed Forces served as godparents.
King Constantine II wife: Who is Queen Anne-Marie of Greece?
Anne-Marie, born on 30 August 1946 is a Greek and Danish royal. She is Margrethe II of Denmark’s younger sister. She was the last Queen of Greece, reigning as the wife of King Constantine II from 1964 to 1973.
She is the youngest daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark and his wife Ingrid of Sweden and was born Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark. She married King Constantine in 1964 and became Queen Consort of Greece.
During her reign as Queen of Greece, Anne-Marie devoted much of her time to a charity foundation known as “Her Majesty’s Fund” and later as the “Anne-Marie Foundation,” which helped people in rural Greece.
However, when Greece became a republic in 1967, the monarch and queen were pushed into exile and later ousted.
Princess Anne-Marie and her sisters were raised in chambers at Frederick VIII’s Palace in Amalienborg, Copenhagen, and Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand.
She spent her summer vacations with the royal family at Gersten Palace in Southern Jutland, her parents’ summer retreat.
Her grandfather, King Christian X, died on April 20, 1947, little than a year after Princess Anne-Marie was born, and her father gained the throne as King Frederick IX.
