George I (born Prince William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. He was the first monarch of a Greek dynasty that ruled, with a few breaks, until the monarchy was abolished in 1973.
Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for a career in the Royal Danish Navy. He was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular King Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the great powers: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire and the Russian Empire. He married Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia in 1867. Two of his sisters, Alexandra and Dagmar, married into the British and Russian royal families. Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexander III of Russia were his brothers-in-law, and George V of the United Kingdom, Christian X of Denmark, Haakon VII of Norway, and Nicholas II of Russia were his nephews.
George's reign of almost 50 years (the longest in modern Greek history) was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre-World War I Europe. Britain ceded the Ionian Islands peacefully in 1864, while Thessaly was annexed from the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Greece was not always successful in its territorial ambitions; it was defeated in the Greco-Turkish War (1897). During the First Balkan War, after Greek troops had captured much of Greek Macedonia and Epirus, George was assassinated in Thessaloniki.
Family and early life
George was born on 24 December 1845 at his parents' residence the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, next to the Amalienborg Palace complex in Copenhagen. He was the second son and third child of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.Van der Kiste, p. 6 He was baptised with the names Christian William Ferdinand Adolph George, and until his accession in Greece, he was known as Prince William,Van der Kiste, pp. 6–8 the namesake of both his grandfathers, William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and Prince William of Hesse-Kassel.
Although William was of royal blood (his mother and father were both great-grandchildren of Frederick V of Denmark and great-great-grandchildren of George II of Great Britain) his family was relatively obscure and lived a comparatively normal life by royal standards. In 1852, however, his father was designated the heir presumptive to the childless Frederick VII of Denmark, and the following year the family became princes and princesses of Denmark. William's siblings were Frederick (who succeeded their father as King of Denmark), Alexandra (who married Edward VII of the United Kingdom), Dagmar (who married Alexander III of Russia), Thyra (who married Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover) and Valdemar.
William's mother tongue was Danish, with English as a second language. He was also taught French and German.Van der Kiste, p. 7; see also Christmas, pp. 22, 403 He embarked on a career in the Royal Danish Navy, and enrolled as a naval cadet along with his elder brother Frederick. While Frederick was described as "quiet and extremely well-behaved", William was "lively and full of pranks".Christmas, p. 45
King of the Hellenes Following the expulsion of Otto of Greece in October 1862,Lidderdale, H. A. (editor and translator) (1966). Makriyannis: The Memoirs of General Makriyannis 1797–1864. Oxford University Press. p. 212. the Greek people had rejected Otto's brother and designated successor Luitpold, although they still favored a monarchy rather than a republic. Many Greeks, seeking closer ties to the pre-eminent world power, the United Kingdom, rallied around Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. British prime minister Lord Palmerston believed that the Greeks were "panting for increase in territory",Van der Kiste, p. 4 hoping for a gift of the Ionian Islands, which were then a British protectorate. The London Conference of 1832, however, prohibited any of the Great Powers' ruling families from accepting the crown of Greece. Even without this restriction, Queen Victoria herself was adamantly opposed to the idea. The Greeks nevertheless insisted on holding a plebiscite in which Alfred received over 95% of the 240,000 votes.Clogg, p. 82 There were 93 votes for a Republic and six for a Greek national to be chosen as king.Forster, p. 17 King Otto received one vote.Christmas, p. 37; Van der Kiste, p. 5
With Prince Alfred's exclusion, the search began for an alternative candidate. The French favored Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, while the British proposed Queen Victoria's brother-in-law Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her nephew Prince Leiningen, and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, among others. Eventually, the Greeks and Great Powers winnowed their choice to Prince William of Denmark, who had received six votes in the plebiscite.Christmas, pp. 39–41 Aged only 17, he was elected King of the Hellenes on by the Greek National Assembly under the regnal name of George I. Paradoxically, he ascended a royal throne before his father,Van der Kiste, pp. 6–11 who became King of Denmark on 15 November the same year. There were two significant differences between George's elevation and that of his predecessor, Otto. First, he was acclaimed unanimously by the Greek Assembly, rather than imposed on the people by foreign powers. Second, he was proclaimed "King of the Hellenes" instead of "King of Greece", which had been Otto's style.Woodhouse, p. 170
George's ceremonial enthronement in Copenhagen on 6 June was attended by a delegation of Greeks led by First Admiral and Prime Minister Konstantinos Kanaris. At the ceremony, it was announced that the British government would cede the Ionian Islands to Greece in honor of the new monarch.The Times (London), 8 June 1863, p. 12, col. C
Early reign
The new 17-year-old king toured Saint Petersburg, London and Paris before departing for Greece from the French port of Toulon on 22 October aboard the Greek flagship Hellas. He arrived in Athens on ,Forster, p. 18 after docking at Piraeus the previous day.Van der Kiste, pp. 14–15 He was determined not to make the mistakes of his predecessor, so he quickly learned Greek.Van der Kiste, p. 18 The new king was seen frequently and informally in the streets of Athens, where his predecessor had only appeared in pomp.Van der Kiste, p. 16 King George found the Old Royal Palace in a state of disarray, after the hasty departure of King Otto, and took to mending and updating it.Van der Kiste, pp. 16–17 He also sought to ensure that he was not seen as too influenced by his Danish advisers, ultimately sending his uncle, Prince Julius, back to Denmark with the words, "I will not allow any interference with the conduct of my government".The Times (London), 14 February 1865, p. 10, col. C Another adviser, Count Wilhelm Sponneck, became unpopular for advocating a policy of disarmament and tactlessly questioning the descent of modern Greeks from classical antecedents. Like Julius, he was dispatched back to Denmark.Christmas, pp. 73–74
From May 1864, George undertook a tour of the Peloponnese, through Corinth, Argos, Tripolitsa, Sparta, and Kalamata, where he embarked on the frigate Hellas. Proceeding northwards along the coast accompanied by British, French and Russian naval vessels, the Hellas reached Corfu on 6 June, for the ceremonial handover of the Ionian Islands by the British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Storks.Christmas, pp. 65–66
Politically, the new king took steps to conclude the protracted constitutional deliberations of the Assembly. On 19 October 1864, he sent the Assembly a demand, countersigned by Konstantinos Kanaris, explaining that he had accepted the crown on the understanding that a new constitution would be finalized, and that if it was not he would feel himself at "perfect liberty to adopt such measures as the disappointment of my hopes may suggest".Royal Message to the National Assembly, 6 October 1864, quoted in The Times (London), 31 October 1864, p. 9, col. E It was unclear from the wording whether he meant to return to Denmark or impose a constitution, but as either event was undesirable the Assembly soon came to an agreement.
On 28 November 1864, George took the oath to defend the new constitution, which created a unicameral assembly (Vouli) with representatives elected by direct, secret, universal male suffrage, a first in modern Europe. A constitutional monarchy was set up with George deferring to the legitimate authority of the elected officials, although he was aware of the corruption present in elections and the difficulty of ruling a mostly illiterate population.Campbell and Sherrard, p. 99 Between 1864 and 1910, there were 21 general elections and 70 different governments.Woodhouse, p. 172
Internationally, George maintained a strong relationship with his brother-in-law the Prince of Wales, who in 1901 became King Edward VII, and sought his help in defusing the recurring and contentious issue of Crete, an overwhelmingly Greek island that remained under Ottoman Turk control. Since the reign of Otto, the Greek desire to unite Greek lands in one nation had been a sore spot with Great Britain and France, which had embarrassed Otto by occupying the main Greek port of Piraeus to dissuade Greek irredentism during the Crimean War.Woodhouse, p. 167 During the Cretan Revolt (1866–1869), the Prince of Wales unsuccessfully sought the support of the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Derby, to intervene in Crete on behalf of Greece.Van der Kiste, p. 23 Ultimately, the Great Powers did not intervene, and the Ottomans put down the rebellion.Clogg, p. 87
Marriage and children
George first met Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia in 1863, when she was 12 years old, on a visit to the court of Tsar Alexander II between his election to the Greek throne and his arrival in Athens. They met for a second time in April 1867, when George went to the Russian Empire to visit his sister Dagmar, who had married the Tsar's heir, Tsarevich Alexander. While George was privately a Lutheran,Van der Kiste, pp. 10, 18 the Romanovs were Orthodox Christians like the majority of Greeks, and George thought a marriage with a Russian grand duchess would re-assure his subjects on the question of his future children's religion.Van der Kiste, p. 24 Olga was just 16 years old when she married George at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg on 27 October 1867. After a honeymoon at Tsarskoye Selo, the couple left Russia for Greece on 9 November.Christmas, p. 83 Over the next 20 years, they had eight children: