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Constantine I, Current History of the War. v.II (April 1915 - September 1915). New York: New York Times Company.
Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923), ruled Greece from 1913-1917 and from 1920-1922.
Born 2 August 1868 in Athens, he was the eldest son of George I of Greece and Olga, Queen of Greece.
As crown prince, Constantine was instrumental in the organization of the 1896 Summer Olympics, appointing a committee to prepare Athens for the Games and keeping a close watch to ensure that their tasks were completed.
He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913 following his father's assassination in Salonika.
Prince Constantine, 1896
Prior to the start of World War I in 1914 Constantine, as Crown Prince, led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912-1913.
Education in Germany, time spent serving in the Prussian army, then marriage to Kaiser Wilhelm II's sister, Sophie, (in 1889), Constantine's sympathies lay more towards the Central Powers than to the Triple Entente once war broke out.
Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining officially where Greece's support lay once war was underway. This was complicated by the fact that his government, led by Eleftherios Venizelos, was pro-Allied and the fact that the Entente Powers were in possession of naval dominance of the Mediterranean.
King Constantine I (left) and Eleftherios Venizelos in Vyroneia, then Chatzibelik ( Χατζή-Μπεϊλίκ)
Constantine's sympathies emerged during the Allies' disastrous Battle of Gallipoli. Despite popular support of Venizelos amongst the people, Constantine dismissed Venizelos as Prime Minister in October 1915 due to his increasing support for the Allies, and in his stead placed a succession of puppet premiers, all swayed by the King. Venizelos retired to Thessalonica where with the support of the Allies he established a provisional revolutionary government, much to Constantine's dissatisfaction. With civil war apparently imminent in 1916 Constantine sought, from Germany, firm promises of naval, military and economic assistance - without success.
He left Greece on 11 June 1917 as he had to abdicate because of his pro-German sentiments and was succeeded to the throne by his second son Alexander as acting King. He went into exile to Switzerland. Alexander died 25 October 1920 and following a plebiscite, Constantine returned as king on 19 December 1920. He abdicated the throne again on 27 September 1922, following Greek military defeats against the Turks in Anatolia and Smyrna and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II.
He spent the rest of his life in exile in Italy and died in 1923 at Palermo, Sicily.
Issue
He married, on 27 October 1889 in Athens, Princess Sophie of Prussia (1870-1932). They were the parents of:
- George II, King of the Hellenes (1890-1947)
- Alexander I, King of the Hellenes (1893-1920)
- Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark (1896-1982), who married King Carol II of Romania
- Paul I, King of the Hellenes (1901-1964)
- Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (1904-1974), who married Aimone of Savoy, the 4th Duke of Aosta.
- Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (born 1913), who married Richard Brandram
King Constantine I, Pedion tou Areos, Athens
Andrew, Constantine I and Nicholas, children of Georg I
The Family of King Constantine I
Links
| Preceded by: George I |
King of Greece 1913-1917 First Reign |
Succeeded by: Alexander |
| Preceded by: Alexander |
King of Greece 1920-1922 Second Reign |
Succeeded by: George II |
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