In Athens, a “parade” of private jets is expected, on which crowned persons will arrive to see the former King of Greece Constantine on his last journey.
Preparations for the funeral are entering the final stage. In particular, the arrival of the royal couple from Spain is scheduled for tomorrow – the nephew of the late Philippos with his wife Letizia, as well as the former king of Spain – Juan Carlos, who will be staying at the hotel Μεγάλη Βρετανία.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik, the Swedish Royal Family, Grand Duke Henry of Luxembourg and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Princess Mette Marin will also arrive in Athens tomorrow. Another VIP of the “blue blood” who, according to iefimerida.gr, will visit Athens is Prince Albert of Monaco.
Also, ex-king of Bulgaria Simeon and a representative of the ex-royal family of Romania will arrive in the capital tomorrow.
From the British royal family at the funeral will be Princess Anne, who will arrive in Athens on Monday morning, January 16th. For now, it remains unclear whether Crown Prince William or Prince Edward will arrive. The Belgian royal couple will also arrive in Athens on Monday.
It should be noted that, according to the Dutch press, the king of the Netherlands, Willem Alexander, who will arrive in Athens, accompanied by Queen Maxima and his mother, Queen Beatrice, is also guiding Constantine on his last journey.
“Parade” of private jets in “El. Venizelos”
A “parade” of private jets is expected at the Eleftherios Venizelos airport, as all representatives of the blue blood will arrive in the capital of Greece on their personal airliners. According to information, the solemn reception of crowned persons is not planned. Thus, upon arrival, they will immediately go to hotels, where they will stay for a short period of time.
The family of the deceased issued only 190 – 200 invitations to the funeral. According to information, about 50-60 invitations for officials concern high-ranking persons and families, residents of Greece: close friends, former classmates of the deceased, businessmen – such as the Vardinogiannis family, lawyer Alexandros Lykourezos, Attica regional governor Georgios Patoulis and others.
Which ministers and deputies will attend the funeral
Representation of the Greek government funeral of the former King Constantinebut it was reinforced. According to the original plan, the government of our country will be represented by the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni and Vice President Panagiotis Picrammenos. Other prominent government figures will also attend in private. As iefimerida.gr has already reported, the funeral will be attended by Interior Minister Makis Voridis and Health Minister Thanos Plevris, who are likely to arrive at the Metropolis.
The funeral will also be attended by MEP Anna-Michel Asimakopulu, who was baptized by the former king. ND MPs Miltos Chrysomallis (Messinia) and Dimitris Vartsopoulos (B’Thessaloniki) will also be present. Note that Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis also said that he would have gone to the funeral if not for the planned investment trip to Kuwait.
Funeral plan
In the chapel of Agios Eleftherios, in Metropolis, a coffin will be placed with the body of the former King Constantine. The townspeople will be able to say the last goodbye to the crowned lady from 6:00 to 10:30. Next, a funeral ceremony will take place led by Archbishop Jerome of Athens, who will be accompanied by the Metropolitans of the Holy Synod. Once the funeral is over, the dignitaries will get into special vehicles to go to Tatoi (under draconian security measures).
The route they will follow: Syntagma, Katehaki, Attiki Odos, Varibobi – Tatoi. At the final destination, the funeral of the former Tsar Constantine will take place, next to the graves of his parents.
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