The funeral of the last king of Greece, Constantine II, in Athens in a narrow circle.

The sons of former King Constantine II of Greece, Crown Prince Pavlos, Prince Nikolaos and Prince Philippos, leave the Maximos residence after meeting with members of the Greek government in Athens, Greece, Jan. 11, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Acquire a license

ATHENS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Greek former King Constantine II, who died at the age of 82 on Tuesday night, will be buried privately at a former royal estate north of Athens, the Greek government said on Wednesday.

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Displaced by military rulers and rejected by subjects who voted to abandon the monarchy in 1974, Constantine II was the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece. He had chronic heart and mobility problems and had been undergoing treatment in an Athens hospital since last week.

"It is with deep sadness that the royal family announces that His Majesty King Constantine, a loving husband, father and brother, passed away yesterday," Constantine's private office said in a statement released Wednesday.

Constantine II, godfather of Britain's Prince William and cousin of King Charles, will be buried privately at Tatoi, the summer palace of the former Greek royal family, where his ancestors are also interred, the government said.

The funeral procession will be held Jan. 16 at the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, his office said in a statement.

Constantine II was 27 years old and had only recently sat on the throne when he was forced into exile with his young family in late 1967.

He did not return to Greece for decades, where he was highly unpopular because of his decision to take the oath of office from the officers who seized power in April 1967.

The military junta forced him to flee the country and abolished the monarchy in 1973. Another referendum after the fall of the junta a year later, Greece again rejected the monarchy, making Constantine the last Greek monarch.

Constantine was married to Princess Anne-Marie, the youngest daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark, and had five children. Constantine's sister is Queen Sofia of Spain.

Known as "The Ex" or simply "Glucksberg" - from the German House of Glucksberg, which has ties to royal families across Europe - Constantine spent nearly 50 years in exile in Italy and London before quietly returning to settle in Greece in 2013.

"The eventful journey of former King Constantine was marked and marked by turbulent moments in Greece's modern history, wounds healed by elections, free conscience and maturity of our people," said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressing his condolences to the former king's family.

The death of Constantine, he said, is "the final closing chapter of a chapter that was finally closed with the 1974 referendum. "