His Majesty King Constantine

ISAF President of Honour

Sport has always been an integral part of His Majesty's upbringing, with sailing being the favourite sport of the family.

His Majesty became president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee in 1957 demonstrating the family's commitment to the Olympic Movement and in 1963 he was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee actively involved in all aspects of the movement.

In 1974 he resigned his membership and was immediately elected an Honorary Member. Talking on the spirit of the Olympics, he said: 'There is no doubt that Olympisim has a positive effect on the world's imagination from the opening to the closing ceremonies and that it sets a standard of excellence.'

Roles within ISAF

His Majesty has been involved with the ISAF since 1960, giving his time and experience to many Committees as follows:

CPOC from '64-'74
Catamaran Technical Committee from '64-'68
Vice President of Honour from '65-94
ISAF President of Honour in 1994

Sailing Biography

His Majesty participated in his first official regattas in 1959, which included winning the Panhellenic Championships and other International events. The following year he tried his hand at the Dragon Class, entering international competitions including the Gold Cup in Amsterdam and Kiel Week where he came second.

His greatest success however was as a twenty year old helming his Dragon to a Gold Medal victory in the 1960 Regatta at the Rome Olympics. For this win he received the traditional victory dunking by being pushed in to the water by his entire family - his father HM King Paul of Greece, his mother HM Queen Frederika of Greece and two sisters, the present Queen of Spain and HRH Princess Irene. This was the only Gold Medal the Greek Team brought back form those Games and the only Gold Medal Greece had won in the previous fifty years.

More recently His Majesty was seen to be helming at Cowes Week with HRH Prince Philip and sailing in International Dragon and Maxi Class events.

His Majesty King Constantine is married to Her Majesty Queen Anne-Marie and they have 3 sons and 2 daughters.