Constantine II: School, military training and athletic achievements

Constantine attended the elite Anavryta Classical Lyceum, Greece's first Western-style, boys-only boarding school, which was founded in 1940 and re-established for the 1949-50 academic year with the express purpose of ensuring that the heir to the Greek throne received a "proper" education.

The crown prince's athletic prowess and zeal for seizing the initiative - a trait that would later strain his political relationships - were likely cultivated at the school, where 30% of the boys were scholarship pupils from all walks of life.

Constantine admitted that he preferred sports to studying, and especially hockey, volleyball and the high jump. Popular and affable, he enjoyed the camaraderie at the school and kept in touch with many of his fellow pupils for years to come. He also took part in school plays, including Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," which he often quoted...