Constantine I of Greece
Encyclopedia
Constantine I was King of Greece
from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief
of the Hellenic Army
during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War
of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars
of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki
and doubled in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination.
His disagreement with Eleftherios Venizelos
over whether Greece should enter World War I
led to the National Schism. Constantine forced Venizelos to resign twice, but in 1917 he left Greece, after threats of the Entente
forces to bombard Athens
; his second son, Alexander, became king. After Alexander's death, Venizelos' defeat in the 1920 legislative elections
, and a plebiscite
in favor of his return, Constantine was reinstated. He abdicated the throne for the second and last time in 1922, when Greece lost the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II
. Constantine died in exile four months later.
Born on 2 August 1868 in Athens
, Constantine was the eldest son of King George I
and Queen Olga of Greece. His birth was met with an immense wave of enthusiasm: the new heir apparent to the throne was the first Greek-born royal. As the ceremonial cannon on Lycabettus Hill fired the Royal salute, huge crowds gathered outside the Palace shouting what they thought should rightfully be the newborn prince's name: "Constantine". This was not only the name of his maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov of Russia
, but also the name of the "King who would reconquer Constantinople
, the "future Constantine XII, legitimate successor to Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos", according to popular legend. Upon his birth, he was created Duke of Sparta
. This resulted in a heated dispute in parliament, since the constitution did not allow any titles of nobility to be conferred to Greek citizens, but the purely titular dignity was eventually awarded. He was inevitably christened "Constantine" (Greek
: Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos) on 12 August, and his official style was the Diádochos (Διάδοχος, Crown Prince, literally: "Successor"). The most prominent university professors of the time were handpicked to tutor the young Crown Prince: Ioannis Pantazidis taught him Greek literature; Vasileios Lakonas mathematics and physics; and Constantine Paparrigopoulos history, infusing the young prince with the principles of the Megali Idea
. On 30 October 1882 he enrolled in the Hellenic Military Academy
. After graduation he was sent to Berlin
for further military education, and served in the German Imperial Guard. Constantine also studied political science
and business
in Heidelberg and Leipzig
. In 1890 he became Major General
, and assumed command of the 3rd Army Headquarters (Γ' Αρχηγείον Στρατού) in Athens.
forces to break up a street protest against tax policy. Constantine had previously addressed the crowd and advised them to submit their grievances to the government. Prime Minister
Charilaos Trikoupis
asked the King to recommend that his son avoid such interventions in politics without prior consultation with the government. King George responded that the Crown Prince was, in dispersing protesters, merely obeying military orders, and that his conduct lacked political significance. The incident caused a heated debate in Parliament
, and Trikoupis finally resigned as a result. In the following elections Trikoupis was defeated, and the new Prime Minister, Theodoros Deligiannis
, seeking to downplay hostility between government and the Palace, regarded the matter closed.
The organization of the first modern Olympics in Athens was another issue which caused a Constantine-Trikoupis confrontation, with Trikoupis opposed to hosting the Games. After Deligiannis' electoral victory over Trikoupis in 1895, those who favored a revival of the Olympic Games, including the Crown Prince, prevailed. Subsequently, Constantine was instrumental in the organization of the 1896 Summer Olympics
; according to Pierre de Coubertin
, in 1894 "the Crown Prince learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin assured that "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these Games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organizing committee. At the Crown Prince's request, wealthy businessman George Averoff
agreed to pay approximately one million drachmas to fund the restoration of the Panathinaiko Stadium
in white marble.
, which ended in a humiliating defeat. In its aftermath, the popularity of the monarchy fell, and calls were raised in the army for reforms and the dismissal of the royal princes, and especially Constantine, from their command posts in the armed forces. The simmering dissent culminated in the Goudi coup
in August 1909. In its aftermath, Constantine and his brothers were dismissed from the armed forces, only to be reinstated a few months later by the new Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos
, who was keen on gaining the trust of King George. Venizelos was ingenious in his argumentation: "All Greeks are rightly proud to see their sons serve in the army, and so is the King". What was left unsaid was that the royal princes' commands were to be on a very tight leash.
mountain range, and they accordingly allotted their resources, equally divided, on a defensive posture in order to fortify the approaches to Ioannina
, capital of Epirus
, and the mountain passes leading from Thessaly to Macedonia. This was a grave error. The war plan by Venizelos and the General Staff called for a rapid advance with overwhelming force towards Thessaloniki with its vitally important harbor. A minute force of little more than a division proper, just enough to forestall a possible Turkish redeployment eastwards, was to be sent west as the "Army of Epirus", while the bulk of the army and artillery would embark on what would later be called "blitzkrieg" tactics against the Turks in the east. In the event the Greek plan worked brilliantly: advancing on foot, the Greeks defeated the Turks soundly twice, and were in Thessaloniki within 4 weeks. The Greek plan for overwhelming attack and speedy advance hinged upon another factor: should the Greek Navy succeed in blockading the Turkish fleet within the Straits, any Turkish reinforcements from Asia would have no way of reaching Europe fast. Turkey would be slow to mobilize, and even when the masses of loyal troops raised in Asia were ready, they could go no further than the outskirts of Istanbul, fighting the Bulgarians in brutal trench warfare. With the Bulgarians directing the bulk of their force towards Constantinople, capture of Thessaloniki would ensure that the railway axis between these two main cities was lost to the Turks, who would then suffer total loss of logistics and supplies and severe impairment of command and control capability. The Turks would be hard placed to recruit locals, as their loyalties would be liable to lie with the Balkan Allies. Ottoman armies in Europe would be quickly cut off and their loss of morale and operational capability would lead them toward a quick surrender.
broke out in October 1912. He led the Army of Thessaly to victory at Sarantaporos
. At this point, his first clash with Venizelos occurred, as Constantine desired to press north, towards Monastir
, where the bulk of the Ottoman army lay, and where the Greeks would rendezvous their Serb allies. Venizelos, on the other hand, demanded that the army capture the strategic port city of Thessaloniki
, the capital of Macedonia
, with extreme haste, so as to prevent its fall to the Bulgarians. The dispute resulted in a heated exchange of telegrams. Venizelos notified Constantine that "... political considerations of the utmost importance dictate that Thessaloniki be taken as soon as possible". After Constantine impudently cabled: "The army will not march on Thessaloniki. My duty calls me towards Monastir
, unless you forbid me", Venizelos was forced to pulled rank. As Prime Minister and War Minister, he outranked Constantine and his response was famously three-words-long, a crisp military order to be obeyed forthwith: "I forbid you". Constantine was left with no choice but to turn east, and after defeating the Ottoman army at Giannitsa
, he accepted the surrender of the city of Thessaloniki and of its Ottoman garrison on 27 October (O.S.), less than 24 hours before the arrival of Bulgarian forces who hoped to capture the city first.
The capture of Thessaloniki against Constantine's whim proved a crucial achievement: the pacts of the Balkan League
had provided that in the forthcoming war against the Ottoman Empire, the four Balkan allies would provisionally hold any ground they took from the Turks, without contest from the other allies. Once an armistice was declared, then facts on the ground would be the starting point of negotiations for the final drawing of the new borders in a forthcoming peace treaty. With the vital port firmly in Greek hands, all the other allies could hope for was a customs-free dock in the harbor.
front had stalled: against the rough terrain and Ottoman fortifications at Bizani
, the small Greek force could not make any headway. With operations in Macedonia complete, Constantine transferred the bulk of his forces to Epirus, and assumed command. After lengthy preparations, the Greeks broke through the Ottoman defences in the Battle of Bizani
and captured Ioannina
and most of Epirus up into what is today southern Albania
(Northern Epirus
). These victories dispelled the tarnish of the 1897 defeat, and raised Constantine to great popularity with the Greek people.
, on 18 March 1913, and Constantine succeeded to the throne. In the meantime, tensions between the Balkan allies grew, as Bulgaria claimed Greek and Serbian-occupied territory. In May, Greece and Serbia concluded a secret defensive pact aimed at Bulgaria. On 16 June, the Bulgarian army attacked their erstwhile allies, but were soon stopped. King Constantine again led the Greek Army in its counterattack in the battles of Kilkis-Lahanas
and the Kresna Gorge
. He was keen to go for the jugular, Sofia
. In the meantime the Bulgarian army has started to disintegrate: beset by defeat in the hands of Greeks and Serbs, they were suddenly faced with a surprising Turkish counterattack with fresh Asian troops finally ready, while the Romania
ns advanced south, demanding Southern Dobrudja as a compensation to the overreaching Bulgarians. Bulgaria had to sue for peace, agreed to an armistice and entered negotiations in Bucharest
. The victories in the second war gave a further boost to Constantine's popularity, with him being widely acclaimed as "Bulgar-slayer", in imitation of the Byzantine emperor Basil II
. On the initiative of Prime Minister Venizelos, Constantine was also awarded the rank and baton of a Field Marshal.
Admiral Mark Kerr, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Hellenic Navy in the early part of World War I and later Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron, wrote in 1920:
"The persecution of King Constantine by the press of the Allied countries, with some few good exceptions, has been one of the most tragic affairs since the Dreyfus case." [Abbott, G.F. (1922) 'Greece and the Allies 1914-1922']
Although Venizelos, with British and French support, forced Constantine from the Greek throne in 1917 he remained popular with parts of the Greek people, as shown by the overwhelming vote for his return in the December 1920 plebescite.
In the aftermath of the victorious Balkan Wars, Greece was in a state of euphoria. Her territory and population had doubled and, under the dual leadership of Constantine and Venizelos, her future seemed bright. This state of affairs was not bound to last long, however. When World War I
broke out, Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining where Greece's support lay. His own sympathies lay with Imperial Germany
ruled by his wife's
brother, the Kaiser. Sophie, his queen, was popularly thought to support her brother as well, but it seems that she was actually pro-British; like her father the late Kaiser Frederick
, Sophie was heavily influenced by her mother, the British-born Victoria
. Venizelos was fervently pro-Entente
, having established excellent rapport with the British and French echelons of power. He also was keenly aware that a maritime country like Greece could not, and should not, antagonise the Entente, the dominant naval powers in the Mediterranean. This latter point at least came across to the king, no matter where his personal sympathies lay. He finally chose a policy of neutrality. The bold, insubordinate general of a few years before now seemed content to risk nothing and would possibly settle for as much after the war was over. Unable to impose unconstitutionally his will upon the lawfully elected government, he chose to neutralise it for the time being.
Constantine's sympathies for Germany were made manifest during the Allies' disastrous landing on Gallipoli
. Despite support for Venizelos amongst the people and his clear majority in Parliament, Constantine opposed Venizelos's increasing support for the Allies. When Bulgaria attacked Serbia, with whom Greece had a treaty of alliance, Venizelos again urged the King to allow Greece's entry into the war, and permitted Entente forces to disembark in Thessaloniki in preparation for a common campaign over the king's objections. After Constantine refused again to support Greece's entry on the side of the Allies, however, Venizelos resigned, and Constantine appointed Alexandros Zaimis
in his place, at the head of a short-lived coalition government.
In July 1916, arsonists set fire to the forest surrounding the summer palace at Tatoi, in what was popularly seen as a sign of dissatisfaction with the king's policy of neutrality. Although injured in the escape, the king and his family managed to flee to safety. The flames spread quickly in the dry summer heat, and sixteen people were killed. In May and August 1916, Constantine and General Ioannis Metaxas
(future dictator) allowed parts of eastern Macedonia to be occupied, without opposition, by the Central Powers.
The country seethed with rage and in August 1916, an Entente-supported Venizelist revolt broke out in Thessaloniki. There, Venizelos established a provisional revolutionary government
, which declared war on the Central Powers
. With civil war
apparently imminent, Constantine sought firm German promises of naval, military and economic assistance - without success. Gradually, and with Allied support, Venizelos gained control of half the country - significantly, most of the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars. This cemented the "National Schism", a division of Greek society between Venizelists and anti-Venizelist monarchists, which was to have repercussions in Greek politics until past World War II
.
Early in 1917, the Venizelist Government of National Defence (based in Thessaloniki) took control of Thessaly. In the face of Venizelist and Anglo-French pressure, King Constantine left the country for Switzerland
on 11 June 1917; his second-born son Alexander became king in his place. The Allied Powers were opposed to Constantine's firstborn son George becoming King, as he had served in the German army before the war and identified with his father's pro-German policies.
Constantine's younger son, King Alexander, died on 25 October 1920, after a freak accident: he was strolling with his dogs in the royal menagerie, when they attacked a monkey. Rushing to save the poor animal, the king was bitten by the monkey and what seemed like a minor injury turned to septicemia. He died a few days later. The following month Venizelos suffered a surprising defeat in a general election
. Greece had at this point been at war for eight continuous years: World War I had come and gone, yet no sign of an enduring peace was near. All young men had been fighting and dying for years, lands lay fallow for lack of hands to cultivate them, and the country, morally exhausted, was at the brink of physical exhaustion. The pro-royalist parties promised peace and prosperity under the victorious Field Marshal of the Balkan Wars, him who knew of the soldier's plight because he had fought next to him and shared his ration. Following a plebiscite
in which nearly 99% of votes were cast in favor of his return, Constantine returned as king on 19 December 1920. This caused great dissatisfaction not only to the newly liberated populations in Asia Minor, but also to the Great Powers who opposed the return of Constantine.
Within two years the king's new-found popularity was lost again. The inherited ongoing Asia Minor Campaign against Turkey
proved disastrous for the Greeks. An ill-conceived plan to go for the jugular again, Kemal's new capital of Ankara
, deep in barren Anatolia where no Greek lived, succeeded enough only to raise some faint and ill-fated hopes. The Turks eventually broke the overstretched Greek front and routed the Greek army through Anatolia to the shore, burning Smyrna
. Following an army revolt
, Constantine abdicated the throne again on 27 September 1922 and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II
.
, Sicily
. His queen, Sophie of Prussia, was never allowed back in Greece. A life and reign that had started under the brightest of auspices ended in ruin.
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Constantine and Princess Sophie of Prussia married on 27 October 1889 in Athens
. They had six children:
*Abdication speech of 1917
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Hellenic Army
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...
during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War
Greco-Turkish War (1897)
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the Black '97 in Greece, was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause was the question over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union...
of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and doubled in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination.
His disagreement with Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
over whether Greece should enter World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
led to the National Schism. Constantine forced Venizelos to resign twice, but in 1917 he left Greece, after threats of the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
forces to bombard Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
; his second son, Alexander, became king. After Alexander's death, Venizelos' defeat in the 1920 legislative elections
Greek legislative election, 1920
The legislative elections of 1920 were probably the most crucial elections in the modern history of Greece, influencing not only the few years afterwards, including Greece's defeat by Kemal Atatürk's reformed Turkish army in 1922, but setting the stage for Greece's political landscape for most of...
, and a plebiscite
Greek plebiscite, 1920
The Greek plebiscite of 22 November 1920 was held on the issue of the return of exiled King Constantine I following the death of his son, King Alexander. The plebiscite ensured and affirmed the dominance of the anti-Venizelist camp in the country...
in favor of his return, Constantine was reinstated. He abdicated the throne for the second and last time in 1922, when Greece lost the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
. Constantine died in exile four months later.
Early life
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Constantine was the eldest son of King George I
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
and Queen Olga of Greece. His birth was met with an immense wave of enthusiasm: the new heir apparent to the throne was the first Greek-born royal. As the ceremonial cannon on Lycabettus Hill fired the Royal salute, huge crowds gathered outside the Palace shouting what they thought should rightfully be the newborn prince's name: "Constantine". This was not only the name of his maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov of Russia
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia was the second son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.During the reign of his brother Alexander II, Konstantin was an admiral of the Russian fleet and reformed the Russian Navy. He was also an instrumental figure in the emancipation of the serfs...
, but also the name of the "King who would reconquer Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the "future Constantine XII, legitimate successor to Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos", according to popular legend. Upon his birth, he was created Duke of Sparta
Duke of Sparta
Duke of Sparta was a title instituted in 1868 to designate the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Greece. Its legal status was exceptional, as the Greek constitution forbade the award or acceptance of titles of nobility for Greek citizens...
. This resulted in a heated dispute in parliament, since the constitution did not allow any titles of nobility to be conferred to Greek citizens, but the purely titular dignity was eventually awarded. He was inevitably christened "Constantine" (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos) on 12 August, and his official style was the Diádochos (Διάδοχος, Crown Prince, literally: "Successor"). The most prominent university professors of the time were handpicked to tutor the young Crown Prince: Ioannis Pantazidis taught him Greek literature; Vasileios Lakonas mathematics and physics; and Constantine Paparrigopoulos history, infusing the young prince with the principles of the Megali Idea
Megali Idea
The Megali Idea was an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism that expressed the goal of establishing a Greek state that would encompass all ethnic Greek-inhabited areas, since large Greek populations after the restoration of Greek independence in 1830 still lived under Ottoman rule.The term...
. On 30 October 1882 he enrolled in the Hellenic Military Academy
Hellenic Military Academy
The Evelpidon Military Academy is the oldest tertiary level educational institution in Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of the modern Greek State....
. After graduation he was sent to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
for further military education, and served in the German Imperial Guard. Constantine also studied political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
in Heidelberg and Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. In 1890 he became Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, and assumed command of the 3rd Army Headquarters (Γ' Αρχηγείον Στρατού) in Athens.
Confrontations with Trikoupis
In January 1895, Constantine caused political turmoil when he ordered army and gendarmerieGreek Gendarmerie
The Hellenic Gendarmerie was the national gendarmerie and military police force of Greece.-19th Century:The Greek Gendarmerie was established after the enthronement of King Otto in 1833 as the Royal Gendarmerie and modeled after the French Gendarmerie. It was at that time formally part of the...
forces to break up a street protest against tax policy. Constantine had previously addressed the crowd and advised them to submit their grievances to the government. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
asked the King to recommend that his son avoid such interventions in politics without prior consultation with the government. King George responded that the Crown Prince was, in dispersing protesters, merely obeying military orders, and that his conduct lacked political significance. The incident caused a heated debate in Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
, and Trikoupis finally resigned as a result. In the following elections Trikoupis was defeated, and the new Prime Minister, Theodoros Deligiannis
Theodoros Deligiannis
Theodoros Deligiannis, also spelled Delijannis and Deliyannis, , was a Greek statesman.-Life:He was born at Lagkadia, Arcadia. He studied law in Athens, and in 1843 entered the Ministry of the Interior, of which department he became permanent secretary in 1859. In 1862, on the deposition of King...
, seeking to downplay hostility between government and the Palace, regarded the matter closed.
The organization of the first modern Olympics in Athens was another issue which caused a Constantine-Trikoupis confrontation, with Trikoupis opposed to hosting the Games. After Deligiannis' electoral victory over Trikoupis in 1895, those who favored a revival of the Olympic Games, including the Crown Prince, prevailed. Subsequently, Constantine was instrumental in the organization of the 1896 Summer Olympics
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...
; according to Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
, in 1894 "the Crown Prince learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin assured that "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these Games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organizing committee. At the Crown Prince's request, wealthy businessman George Averoff
George Averoff
George M. Averoff , alternately Georgios Averof , was a Greek businessman and philanthropist of Aromanian origin....
agreed to pay approximately one million drachmas to fund the restoration of the Panathinaiko Stadium
Panathinaiko Stadium
The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
in white marble.
Greco-Turkish War and aftermath
Constantine was the commander-in-chief of the Greek Army in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897Greco-Turkish War (1897)
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the Black '97 in Greece, was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause was the question over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union...
, which ended in a humiliating defeat. In its aftermath, the popularity of the monarchy fell, and calls were raised in the army for reforms and the dismissal of the royal princes, and especially Constantine, from their command posts in the armed forces. The simmering dissent culminated in the Goudi coup
Goudi coup
The Goudi coup was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighbourhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in modern Greek history, as it led to the arrival of Eleftherios Venizelos in Greece and his...
in August 1909. In its aftermath, Constantine and his brothers were dismissed from the armed forces, only to be reinstated a few months later by the new Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
, who was keen on gaining the trust of King George. Venizelos was ingenious in his argumentation: "All Greeks are rightly proud to see their sons serve in the army, and so is the King". What was left unsaid was that the royal princes' commands were to be on a very tight leash.
Overview
Turkish planning was foreseeing a two-prong Greek attack east and west of the impassable PindusPindus
The Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m . Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pindus range is often called the "spine of Greece"...
mountain range, and they accordingly allotted their resources, equally divided, on a defensive posture in order to fortify the approaches to Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, capital of Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, and the mountain passes leading from Thessaly to Macedonia. This was a grave error. The war plan by Venizelos and the General Staff called for a rapid advance with overwhelming force towards Thessaloniki with its vitally important harbor. A minute force of little more than a division proper, just enough to forestall a possible Turkish redeployment eastwards, was to be sent west as the "Army of Epirus", while the bulk of the army and artillery would embark on what would later be called "blitzkrieg" tactics against the Turks in the east. In the event the Greek plan worked brilliantly: advancing on foot, the Greeks defeated the Turks soundly twice, and were in Thessaloniki within 4 weeks. The Greek plan for overwhelming attack and speedy advance hinged upon another factor: should the Greek Navy succeed in blockading the Turkish fleet within the Straits, any Turkish reinforcements from Asia would have no way of reaching Europe fast. Turkey would be slow to mobilize, and even when the masses of loyal troops raised in Asia were ready, they could go no further than the outskirts of Istanbul, fighting the Bulgarians in brutal trench warfare. With the Bulgarians directing the bulk of their force towards Constantinople, capture of Thessaloniki would ensure that the railway axis between these two main cities was lost to the Turks, who would then suffer total loss of logistics and supplies and severe impairment of command and control capability. The Turks would be hard placed to recruit locals, as their loyalties would be liable to lie with the Balkan Allies. Ottoman armies in Europe would be quickly cut off and their loss of morale and operational capability would lead them toward a quick surrender.
Macedonian Front
Previously the Inspector General of the Army, Constantine was appointed commander-in-chief of the Greek "Army of Thessaly" when the First Balkan WarFirst Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
broke out in October 1912. He led the Army of Thessaly to victory at Sarantaporos
Battle of Sarantaporo
The Battle of Sarantaporo, variously also transliterated as Sarantaporon or Sarandaporon took place on October 9-10 , 1912...
. At this point, his first clash with Venizelos occurred, as Constantine desired to press north, towards Monastir
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
, where the bulk of the Ottoman army lay, and where the Greeks would rendezvous their Serb allies. Venizelos, on the other hand, demanded that the army capture the strategic port city of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, the capital of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, with extreme haste, so as to prevent its fall to the Bulgarians. The dispute resulted in a heated exchange of telegrams. Venizelos notified Constantine that "... political considerations of the utmost importance dictate that Thessaloniki be taken as soon as possible". After Constantine impudently cabled: "The army will not march on Thessaloniki. My duty calls me towards Monastir
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
, unless you forbid me", Venizelos was forced to pulled rank. As Prime Minister and War Minister, he outranked Constantine and his response was famously three-words-long, a crisp military order to be obeyed forthwith: "I forbid you". Constantine was left with no choice but to turn east, and after defeating the Ottoman army at Giannitsa
Battle of Giannitsa
The Battle of Yenidje or Yenice, also Battle of Giannitsa , was a battle between the Greek Army and the Ottoman Army on October 20 / November 2, 1912, during the First Balkan War...
, he accepted the surrender of the city of Thessaloniki and of its Ottoman garrison on 27 October (O.S.), less than 24 hours before the arrival of Bulgarian forces who hoped to capture the city first.
The capture of Thessaloniki against Constantine's whim proved a crucial achievement: the pacts of the Balkan League
Balkan League
The Balkan League was an alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of the Balkan peninsula...
had provided that in the forthcoming war against the Ottoman Empire, the four Balkan allies would provisionally hold any ground they took from the Turks, without contest from the other allies. Once an armistice was declared, then facts on the ground would be the starting point of negotiations for the final drawing of the new borders in a forthcoming peace treaty. With the vital port firmly in Greek hands, all the other allies could hope for was a customs-free dock in the harbor.
Epirus Front
In the meantime, operations in the EpirusEpirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
front had stalled: against the rough terrain and Ottoman fortifications at Bizani
Bizani
Bizani is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 municipal population was 4,241...
, the small Greek force could not make any headway. With operations in Macedonia complete, Constantine transferred the bulk of his forces to Epirus, and assumed command. After lengthy preparations, the Greeks broke through the Ottoman defences in the Battle of Bizani
Battle of Bizani
The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on March 4–6, 1913. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.At the...
and captured Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
and most of Epirus up into what is today southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(Northern Epirus
Northern Epirus
Northern Epirus is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, that are part of the modern Albania. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region...
). These victories dispelled the tarnish of the 1897 defeat, and raised Constantine to great popularity with the Greek people.
Ascension to the Throne and Second Balkan War
At that point, tragedy struck: George I was assassinated in Thessaloniki by an anarchist, Alexandros SchinasAlexandros Schinas
Alexandros Schinas , was a Greek anarchist who assassinated King George I of Greece in Thessaloniki in 1913....
, on 18 March 1913, and Constantine succeeded to the throne. In the meantime, tensions between the Balkan allies grew, as Bulgaria claimed Greek and Serbian-occupied territory. In May, Greece and Serbia concluded a secret defensive pact aimed at Bulgaria. On 16 June, the Bulgarian army attacked their erstwhile allies, but were soon stopped. King Constantine again led the Greek Army in its counterattack in the battles of Kilkis-Lahanas
Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
The Battle of Kilkis–Lahanas took place during the Second Balkan War between Greece and Bulgaria for the town of Kilkis in Macedonia. The battle lasted three days from 19 to 21 June 1913 and ended with a Greek victory.-Background:...
and the Kresna Gorge
Battle of Kresna Gorge
The Battle of Kresna Gorge was fought in 1913 between the Greeks and the Bulgarians during the Second Balkan War.After the Serbian front became static, and seeing that the Bulgarian Army in his front had already suffered defeat, King Constantine ordered the Greek Army to march further into...
. He was keen to go for the jugular, Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. In the meantime the Bulgarian army has started to disintegrate: beset by defeat in the hands of Greeks and Serbs, they were suddenly faced with a surprising Turkish counterattack with fresh Asian troops finally ready, while the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
ns advanced south, demanding Southern Dobrudja as a compensation to the overreaching Bulgarians. Bulgaria had to sue for peace, agreed to an armistice and entered negotiations in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. The victories in the second war gave a further boost to Constantine's popularity, with him being widely acclaimed as "Bulgar-slayer", in imitation of the Byzantine emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
. On the initiative of Prime Minister Venizelos, Constantine was also awarded the rank and baton of a Field Marshal.
World War I and the National Schism
The widely-held view of Constantine I as a "German sympathiser" owes much to Allied and Venizelist war-time propaganda directed against the King. Constantine rebuffed Kaiser Wilhelm who in 1914 pressed him to bring Greece into the war on the side of Austria and Germany. Constantine offended British and French interests by blocking efforts by Prime Minister Venizelos to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. Constantine's insistence on neutrality was based on his judgement that it was the best policy for Greece.Admiral Mark Kerr, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Hellenic Navy in the early part of World War I and later Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron, wrote in 1920:
"The persecution of King Constantine by the press of the Allied countries, with some few good exceptions, has been one of the most tragic affairs since the Dreyfus case." [Abbott, G.F. (1922) 'Greece and the Allies 1914-1922']
Although Venizelos, with British and French support, forced Constantine from the Greek throne in 1917 he remained popular with parts of the Greek people, as shown by the overwhelming vote for his return in the December 1920 plebescite.
In the aftermath of the victorious Balkan Wars, Greece was in a state of euphoria. Her territory and population had doubled and, under the dual leadership of Constantine and Venizelos, her future seemed bright. This state of affairs was not bound to last long, however. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining where Greece's support lay. His own sympathies lay with Imperial Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
ruled by his wife's
Sophia of Prussia
Princess Sophie of Prussia was Queen of the Hellenes as the wife of King Constantine I.-Princess of Prussia:...
brother, the Kaiser. Sophie, his queen, was popularly thought to support her brother as well, but it seems that she was actually pro-British; like her father the late Kaiser Frederick
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
, Sophie was heavily influenced by her mother, the British-born Victoria
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
. Venizelos was fervently pro-Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, having established excellent rapport with the British and French echelons of power. He also was keenly aware that a maritime country like Greece could not, and should not, antagonise the Entente, the dominant naval powers in the Mediterranean. This latter point at least came across to the king, no matter where his personal sympathies lay. He finally chose a policy of neutrality. The bold, insubordinate general of a few years before now seemed content to risk nothing and would possibly settle for as much after the war was over. Unable to impose unconstitutionally his will upon the lawfully elected government, he chose to neutralise it for the time being.
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
. Despite support for Venizelos amongst the people and his clear majority in Parliament, Constantine opposed Venizelos's increasing support for the Allies. When Bulgaria attacked Serbia, with whom Greece had a treaty of alliance, Venizelos again urged the King to allow Greece's entry into the war, and permitted Entente forces to disembark in Thessaloniki in preparation for a common campaign over the king's objections. After Constantine refused again to support Greece's entry on the side of the Allies, however, Venizelos resigned, and Constantine appointed Alexandros Zaimis
Alexandros Zaimis
Alexandros Zaimis was a former Greek Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He served as Prime Minister six times.-Early Life and Family:...
in his place, at the head of a short-lived coalition government.
In July 1916, arsonists set fire to the forest surrounding the summer palace at Tatoi, in what was popularly seen as a sign of dissatisfaction with the king's policy of neutrality. Although injured in the escape, the king and his family managed to flee to safety. The flames spread quickly in the dry summer heat, and sixteen people were killed. In May and August 1916, Constantine and General Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general, politician, and dictator, serving as Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941...
(future dictator) allowed parts of eastern Macedonia to be occupied, without opposition, by the Central Powers.
The country seethed with rage and in August 1916, an Entente-supported Venizelist revolt broke out in Thessaloniki. There, Venizelos established a provisional revolutionary government
Movement of National Defence
The Movement of National Defence was an uprising by Venizelist officers of the Hellenic Army in Thessaloniki in August 1916 against the royal government in Athens. It led to the establishment of a separate, Venizelist Greek government in the north of the country, which entered the First World...
, which declared war on the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. With civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
apparently imminent, Constantine sought firm German promises of naval, military and economic assistance - without success. Gradually, and with Allied support, Venizelos gained control of half the country - significantly, most of the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars. This cemented the "National Schism", a division of Greek society between Venizelists and anti-Venizelist monarchists, which was to have repercussions in Greek politics until past World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early in 1917, the Venizelist Government of National Defence (based in Thessaloniki) took control of Thessaly. In the face of Venizelist and Anglo-French pressure, King Constantine left the country for Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on 11 June 1917; his second-born son Alexander became king in his place. The Allied Powers were opposed to Constantine's firstborn son George becoming King, as he had served in the German army before the war and identified with his father's pro-German policies.
Restoration and disaster
Greek legislative election, 1920
The legislative elections of 1920 were probably the most crucial elections in the modern history of Greece, influencing not only the few years afterwards, including Greece's defeat by Kemal Atatürk's reformed Turkish army in 1922, but setting the stage for Greece's political landscape for most of...
. Greece had at this point been at war for eight continuous years: World War I had come and gone, yet no sign of an enduring peace was near. All young men had been fighting and dying for years, lands lay fallow for lack of hands to cultivate them, and the country, morally exhausted, was at the brink of physical exhaustion. The pro-royalist parties promised peace and prosperity under the victorious Field Marshal of the Balkan Wars, him who knew of the soldier's plight because he had fought next to him and shared his ration. Following a plebiscite
Greek plebiscite, 1920
The Greek plebiscite of 22 November 1920 was held on the issue of the return of exiled King Constantine I following the death of his son, King Alexander. The plebiscite ensured and affirmed the dominance of the anti-Venizelist camp in the country...
in which nearly 99% of votes were cast in favor of his return, Constantine returned as king on 19 December 1920. This caused great dissatisfaction not only to the newly liberated populations in Asia Minor, but also to the Great Powers who opposed the return of Constantine.
Within two years the king's new-found popularity was lost again. The inherited ongoing Asia Minor Campaign against Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
proved disastrous for the Greeks. An ill-conceived plan to go for the jugular again, Kemal's new capital of Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, deep in barren Anatolia where no Greek lived, succeeded enough only to raise some faint and ill-fated hopes. The Turks eventually broke the overstretched Greek front and routed the Greek army through Anatolia to the shore, burning Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
. Following an army revolt
11 September 1922 Revolution
The 11 September 1922 Revolution was an uprising by the Greek army and navy against the government in Athens. The Greek Army had just been defeated in the Asia Minor Campaign and had been evacuated from Anatolia to the Greek islands in the eastern Aegean...
, Constantine abdicated the throne again on 27 September 1922 and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
.
Second Exile and death
He spent the last four months of his life in exile in Italy and died in 1923 at PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. His queen, Sophie of Prussia, was never allowed back in Greece. A life and reign that had started under the brightest of auspices ended in ruin.
Marriage and issue
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. They had six children:
| Name | |Death | George II, King of the Hellenes George II of Greece George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia... | 20 July 1890 | 1 April 1947 | married Princess Elisabeth of Romania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander I, King of the Hellenes | 1 August 1893 | 25 October 1920 | married Aspasia Manos Aspasia Manos Aspasia Manos , was a Greek commoner who became the wife of Alexander I, King of the Hellenes. Due to the controversy over her marriage, she was styled Princess of Greece and Denmark rather than Queen Aspasia of Greece.-Princess of Greece and Denmark:On 4 November 1919, at Tatoi, Aspasia Manos... |
||
| Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark | 2 May 1896 | 28 November 1982 | married Carol II, King of Romania Carol II of Romania Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria... |
||
| Paul, King of the Hellenes Paul of Greece Paul reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.-Family and early life:Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer.... |
14 December 1901 | 6 March 1964 | married Princess Frederika of Hanover | ||
| Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark | 13 February 1904 | 15 April 1974 | married Prince Aimone of Savoy, 4th Duke of Aosta Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of Aosta was an Italian prince from the House of Savoy and an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. The second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta he was granted the title Duke of Spoleto on 22 September 1904... |
||
| Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark was the third daughter and sixth child of King Constantine I of Greece and Queen Sophie .-Early life:Her paternal grandparents were King George I of Greece, child of King Christian IX of... |
4 May 1913 | 2 October 2007 | married Major Richard Brandram | ||