Constantine I of Greece

Rare card · No. 28188

Constantine I (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, romanized: Konstantínos I; 2 August [O.S. 21 July] 1868 – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and again from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. The eldest son of George I of Greece, he succeeded to the throne following his father's assassination in 1913. Educated in Greece and later in Germany, Constantine was an admirer of Prussian militarism. As the crown prince, he was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Later and under the leadership of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, he led successfully the Greek forces in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece expanded, doubling in area and population. He was married to Sophia of Prussia, a younger sister of Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany. During his reign, Constantine's pro-German aligned interests led him to twice refuse Venizelos' popular elected mandates for Greece to join World War I on the side...

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