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Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall visit Athens for bicentenary of Greek independence

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as they board the royal aircraft at the end of their two-day visit in Greece. Image from Press Association/ The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. 

Upon the request of the British government, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall embarked on a two-visit to Athens on March 25-26 to attend the Bicentenary Independence Day celebrations of Greece.  

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were given a warm welcome to the National Gallery in Athens by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The royal couple toured the gallery, which firstopened in 1900. With a collection of more than 20,000 paintings, sculptures, engravings and other works of art, the gallery has seen extensive renovations and the royal tour of the gallery was made in time for its reopening.

In the evening, an official state dinner was hosted by the President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, at the Presidential Mansion. During a speech, the prince made a sentimental remark at how Greece “has long held the most special place in my heart.”

The 72-year-old heir to the British throne also cited his Greek heritage, being “the land of my grandfather; and of my father’s birth.”  Prince Philip was born a prince of Greece in 1921, the youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and the British-born Princess Alice of Battenberg. Prince Andrew was the seventh child of King George I and Queen Olga. The king was born Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, who was elected by the Greeks and the Great Powers as king of Greece in 1863.

Prince Charles also underscored the strong ties between Greece and the United Kingdom: “Today, as in 1821, Greece can count on her friends in the United Kingdom. The ties between us are strong and vital, and make a profound difference to our shared prosperity and security.

“Just as our histories are closely bound together, so too are our futures,” he said.

On the second day of the visit, the royal couple joined representatives from Greece, Cyprus, France and Russia at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath laying ceremony. Prince Charles laid a wreath at the memorial, which is dedicated to all Greek soldiers who died during conflict. The party then proceeded to the Syntagma Square, where the prince and the duchess witnessed a military parade by members of the Hellenic Armed Forces. A flypast over the Athenian skyline concluded the spectacle, where an RAF Voyager aircraft was also featured.

The pair were later welcomed to tea by President Sakellaropoulou before they inspected the Guard at the Presidential Guard Barracks. The prince also met with Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis  at Athen's City Hall and the city’s business leaders who have signed up to Terra Carta initiative, which provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards a sustainable future. The mayor afterwards presented Prince Charles with the Gold Medal of Honour, the city's highest distinction was presented to Prince Charles.  The Prince was delighted by the distinction and remarked that he would “treasure” the medal, which “will always remind me of my connections to this remarkable country.”

The Duchess Cornwall, meanwhile, met representatives from Diotima, a nonprofit which campaigns towards the end of discrimination against women and supports survivors of domestic violence.

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