With occasional renditions of the Greek national anthem, thousands of people began lining up long before dawn Monday outside Athens' cathedral to pay their final respects to Greece's former and last king, Constantine, who died last week at the age of 82.
Royalty from across Europe, including the Spanish and Danish royal families who were closely related to Constantine, were attending the funeral, while hundreds of police were deployed in the Greek capital.
The government announced Constantine would be buried as a private citizen, without honours reserved for former heads of state, next to his parents and ancestors in Tatoi, the former royal estate north of Athens. The estate was ravaged by a wildfire two years ago, and cleanup crews worked feverishly over the weekend before the funeral to clean up the area.
Some mourners expressed disappointment that Constantine was being buried without the honours awarded to former heads of state. The episode involving the defection from the ruling party of several lawmakers destabilized the constitutional order and led to a military coup in 1967. Constantine eventually clashed with the military rulers and was forced into exile.
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