Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints:
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing but life everlasting.
Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of man:
and we are mortal formed from the dust of the earth,
and unto earth shall we return:
for so thou didst ordain,
when thou created me saying:
Dust thou art und unto dust shalt thou return.
All we go down to the dust;
and weeping o’er the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing but life everlasting.
Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of man:
and we are mortal formed from the dust of the earth,
and unto earth shall we return:
for so thou didst ordain,
when thou created me saying:
Dust thou art und unto dust shalt thou return.
All we go down to the dust;
and weeping o’er the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
It is with deep sorrow that we have learned of the death of His Majesty King Constantine II. We send our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers to Queen Anne-Marie and the Greek royal family.
On accession in 1964, His Majesty inherited a fractured Kingdom still reeling from the Greek Civil War with bitter disputes between the conservatives and communists. The start of his reign coincided with a new government formed of centrists after over a decade of rule from the right. Just three years later, the government would collapse through a lack of parliamentary confidence which was shortly followed by a coup led by Colonel George Papadopoulos.
The King initially dismissed the colonels but was eventually forced to cave out of fear that bloodshed would ensue. His Majesty's relationship with the new government was strained, leading to an organised counter-coup which sadly failed. Under these unfortunate circumstances, the King and his family were forced to flee the country out of fear for their lives.
The collapse of the junta in 1974 fueled hopes that the King would return, though the interim government refused to grant him access to the country in a bid to deliberately undermine monarchists. Their Majesties for many years lived in London, Constantine being a close friend and second cousin of His Majesty The King and a godfather to The Prince of Wales. The couple returned to reside in Greece in 2013, with the King and Queen purchasing a villa before relocating to Athens last year.
We would like to pay tribute to His Majesty's stalwart and uncompromising posture during the political turmoil that followed the Greek Civil War. His Majesty's determination to prevent bloodshed, retain confidence in Greek institutions, and his resolve to see out the junta is most worthy of our praise.
Your Majesty, may you rest in peace.
May he rest in peace
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