User:LiniShu/Alexander Text

Alexander I (Greek Alexandros), King of the Hellenes, ruled Greece from 1917-1920. He was born on 21 July (O.S.) = 2 August 1893 (N.S.) at Tatoi near Athens, the second son of Constantine I, King of the Hellenes and his wife, formerly Princess Sophie of Prussia, sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

 Alexander was named acting king of Greece on 11 June 1917, during World War I, after the Allied forces, in conjunction with a panhellenic insurrection lead by Greek statesman Eleutherios Venizelos, forced the determinedly neutral King Constantine into exile, thus paving the way for Greece to enter the war on the Allied side. Constantine’s eldest son, the future king George II of the Hellenes, was bypassed for the succession at this time because of his allegedly pro-German sympathies.

Venizelos, as Prime Minister, dominated the Greek government during the reign of Alexander I. Under his leadership, accessions of territory to Greece by the terms of the treaties following the war, were considered a triumph for Greece.

On 4 November 1919 Alexander married Aspasia Manos (1896-1972), daughter of Colonel Petros Manos. Their only child, born posthumously, was Princess Alexandra of Greece (1921-1993), who married Peter II, King of Yugoslavia. Through Princess Alexandra, Alexander I of the Hellenes and Aspasia are the grandparents of Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia.

King Alexander I died on 25 October 1920 at Athens, of sepsis, after he had been bitten by a pet monkey. He was succeeded by his father, King Constantine I, recalled from exile by a plebiscite, following the fall of the Venizelos government in 1920.