Crown Prince Konstantinos II competed in sailing at the 1960 Olympics, winning a gold medal in Dragon class. He was the son of King Paul, but when he died of cancer in 1964, Prince Konstantinos succeeded to the Greek crown, becoming His Majesty Konstantinos II, King of the Hellenes. Because of military coups and dictatorships, he was forced into exile in December 1967 but technically remained King until June 1973, when the junta abolished the Greek monarchy. He lived in exile from 1973, returning to Greece only on special occasions and with the consent of the government. Konstantinos was also Prince of Denmark from birth, because of family titles.

King Konstantinos became an IOC Member in 1963 and served until 1974 when he resigned because he no longer was resident in Greece. He was then made an Honorary Member. During his tenure he served on the Commission for the International Olympic Academy from 1967-73.