Funeral of King George II of Greece, 1947

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King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece were joined by Crown Prince Constantine, Princess Sofia, and Princess Irene as well as Queen Helen of Romania, Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta, Princess Katherine of Greece, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess Alice of Greece, and Princess Francoise of Greece for the Funeral of King George II of Greece, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens on this day in 1947, which was followed by a Procession led by King Paul and the new Crown Prince Constantine (who had gone on several long walks to prepare and later recalled the faces of the men in the crowd with tears in their eyes) through the streets of Athens to Stournara Street, from where the Coffin and Guests were transported to the Royal Palace of Tatoi, for the Burial in the Royal Cemetery.

From Greek Royal Chronicles:

The funeral service of George was held at the Diocese of Athens on April 6. At 11:15 the funeral procession began in a heavy atmosphere of mourning. From the Metropolitan Church to Stournara Street along a route of more than two kilometers, everything was crowded. The sidewalks, squares, balconies of buildings, roofs of houses and shops and public buildings were suffocatingly full of crowds who gathered to attend the king’s funeral. The body of King George II was followed on foot by the new King Paul and his successor Constantine. King Paul was holding Constantine with his left hand, who was also walking straight, with obvious surprise from the events of the world painted on his face.

The funeral procession arrives at 12:30 at the intersection of Patision and Tositsa streets, directly opposite the “Acropolis Palace” hotel, where the end of the route is. Three armored vehicles of the Armor Training Center, one of which had been adapted to pick up the body and transport it to Tatoi, were waiting at that spot. Six men of the Royal Navy carried the king’s body from the gallows to the armor and at 12:50 the armor set off for the royal cemetery. The cars of the royal family and the officials of the Palaces followed and through Patision Street, Alexandra Avenue and Vasilissis Sofias Avenue they headed towards Tatoi. All the way, in Chalandri, in Maroussi and Kifissia large crowds of people waited patiently to say goodbye to King George. At 13:50 the procession arrives at the royal estate of Tatoi. It stops in front of the Mausoleum where kings Constantine I, Sophia, Alexander and men of the Royal Navy are buried and lower the coffin from the armor. A procession is formed led by the director of the royal estate Mr. Drouvas and goes to the point which King George himself had chosen to bury. Only King Pavlos and the members of the royal family, the Metropolitan of Attica and Megarid Mr. Iakovos, proceed and reach the tomb with a deacon, and from the Courts Mr. Levidis and the steward Mr. Papadiamantopoulos.

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