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Alexander King of the Hellenes Reign June 11, 1917 - October 25, 1920 Born August 1, 1893(1893-08-01) Athens, Greece Died October 25, 1920 (aged 27) Athens, Greece Predecessor Constantine I Successor Constantine I Consort Aspasia Manos Issue Alexandra Royal House House of Oldenburg Father Constantine I of Greece Mother Sophia of Prussia

House of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch) George I Children    Constantine I    Prince George    Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia    Prince Nicholas    Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia    Princess Olga    Prince Andrew    Prince Christopher Grandchildren    Prince Peter    Princess Eugénie, Duchess of Castel Duino    Olga, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia    Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach    Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent    Margarita, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg    Princess Theodora, Margravine of Baden    Princess Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine    Sophie, Princess George of Hanover    Philip, Duke of Edinburgh    Prince Michael Great Grandchildren    Princess Alexandra    Princess Olga Constantine I Children    George II    Alexander I    Elena, Queen of Romania    Paul I    Irene, Duchess of Aosta    Princess Katherine Alexander I Children    Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia George II Paul I Children    Sofia, Queen of Spain    Constantine II    Princess Irene Constantine II Children    Princess Alexia    Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece    Prince Nikolaos    Princess Theodora    Prince Philippos Grandchildren    Princess Maria-Olympia    Prince Constantine Alexios    Prince Achileas-Andreas    Prince Odysseas-Kimon

Styles of King Alexander of the Hellenes Reference style His Majesty Spoken style Your Majesty Alternative style Sir

Alexander, King of the Hellenes (Greek: Αλέξανδρος, Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων) (1 August 1893–25 October 1920) ruled Greece from 1917 to 1920 until his unusual death as the result of sepsis contracted by being bitten by two monkeys.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Reign 3 Death 4 Ancestry 5 Sources 6 Footnotes and references 7 External links

He was born on 1 August 1893 (21 July O.S.) at Tatoi near Athens, the second son of Constantine I and his wife, Sophie of Prussia.

In 1917, Constantine I, known for his pro-German tendencies, insisted that Greece remain neutral in World War I, while Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was determined to go to war in support of the Triple Entente. At Venizelos' invitation, French and British troops entered Greece and forced Constantine I and his first born son Crown Prince George into exile (see National Schism). Young Alexander, a proponent of the Megali Idea, was enthroned as King; in reality he had absolutely no power and was a rubber stamp for the Prime Minister, and his only real task was to visit the front frequently and rally the troops.

On one major issue, however, he did defy Venizelos: on 4 November 1919 he eloped with Aspasia Manos (1896-1972) (who was considered a commoner),^[1] daughter of Colonel Petros Manos, causing a scandal and infuriating Venizelos, who had wanted the young king to marry Princess Mary, daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and his Queen consort Mary of Teck. Aspasia was forced to flee Athens until the crisis was resolved and the wedding was legalized without Aspasia being recognised as queen, she was to be known as "Madame Manos". Six months later, the young couple left for Paris, on condition that they neither travel nor appear at official functions together.^[2]

Soon after, the Treaty of Sèvres was signed in August 1920. The Treaty was extremely favourable to Greece giving her large territories in Thrace and around Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. Alexander became King of a much-enlarged Greek state.^[3]

Although history has unfairly described King Alexander as a careless pet owner who died from a bite "from his pet monkey",^{[citation needed]} the 27 year old monarch actually died after defending his pet dog from an attack during a walk through the Royal Gardens, and he suffered wounds from two of the monkeys. The attack occurred on 2 October 1920.^[4] In the report dispatched from Europe, it was stated that King had been walking in the park with a pet dog, when the dog was attacked by a monkey. The King beat off the monkey with a stick but in the fight the monkey bit him on the hand slightly. "Another monkey rushed to the defense of his mate, and in beating it off, the King received another bite which severely lacerated a gland. The infection which set in following the bites gradually poisoned the King's entire system..."^[5] Both animals were found to have been diseased after they were destroyed.^[6] Within days, he developed a severe reaction to the infection, and after initial signs of improvement, became critically ill on 12 October.^[7]

On 25 October 1920 King Alexander died at Athens, of sepsis.^[8] His father Constantine I was permitted to return to Greece as King. Eventually King Constantine would lead the Greeks to engage in the Greco-Turkish War which resulted in Greece's defeat, a quarter of a million military and civilian casualties and the end of the Megali Idea. Winston Churchill would later write that "it was a monkey bite that caused the death of those 250,000 people."^[9] The territory gained on the Turkish mainland during Alexander’s reign was lost.

King Alexander's only child, born after his death, was Princess Alexandra of Greece (1921-1993), who later married Peter II, King of Yugoslavia. Her mother, Madame Manos, was granted the style "Princess Alexander" by the restored King Constantine.^[10]

The city of Alexandroupolis (formerly Dedeagatch), near the river Evros on the Greco-Turkish border, was renamed after him in 1920 on the occasion of his visit there. He was the first King of Greece to visit the city since its capture by the Hellenic Army during World War I and the official change of guard between Bulgarian and Greek officials on 14 May 1920.

Alexander is unusual among monarchs as he ruled in exception to standard primogeniture tradition. He assumed the throne upon the abdication of his father, though his older brother George still lived. In addition, his older brother would later become King of the Hellenes in his own right, providing a rare case where an older brother would succeed a younger one to the throne (though in this case not directly).

16. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

8. Christian IX of Denmark

17. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel

4. George I, King of the Hellenes

18. Prince William of Hesse

9. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel

19. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark

2. Constantine I, King of the Hellenes

20. Nicholas I of Russia

10. Grand Duke Konstantine Nicholaievich of Russia

21. Princess Charlotte of Prussia

5. Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia

22. Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

11. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg

23. Amelia of Württemberg

1. Alexander I, King of the Hellenes

24. Frederick William III of Prussia

12. William I, German Emperor

25. Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

6. Frederick III, German Emperor

26. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

13. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach

27. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia

3. Princess Sophia of Prussia

28. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

14. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

29. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

7. Victoria, Princess Royal

30. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

15. Victoria of the United Kingdom

31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

• Hindley, Geoffrey (2000). The Royal Families of Europe. New York: Caroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0828-X. 
• "Alexander (Greece)". Encyclopedia Britannica (15). (1990). 
• Miroslav Marek. Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Genealogy.Eu. Retrieved on 30 June, 2005.

• The Fangs of Destiny at Google Video, experimental short film.

Alexander I of Greece House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg Born: 1 August 1893 Died: 25 October 1920
Regnal titles
Preceded by Constantine I	King of the Hellenes 11 June 1917 – 25 October 1920	Succeeded by Constantine I

v • d • e Heads of State of Greece

First Hellenic Republic (1827–1832): Ioannis Kapodistrias | Augustinos Kapodistrias | Governing Council First Period of Monarchy (1832–1924): Otto | George I | Constantine I | Alexander | Constantine I | George II Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935): Pavlos Kountouriotis | Theodoros Pangalos† | Pavlos Kountouriotis | Alexandros Zaimis Second Period of Monarchy (1935–1974): George II | Paul | Constantine II 1967-1974 military dictatorship: Georgios Zoitakis† | Georgios Papadopoulos† | Phaedon Gizikis† Third Hellenic Republic (1974–): Phaedon Gizikis | Michail Stasinopoulos | Konstantinos Tsatsos | Constantine Karamanlis | Ioannis Alevras | Christos Sartzetakis | Constantine Karamanlis | Costis Stephanopoulos | Karolos Papoulias †denotes military dictator