Constantine I of Greece

"King Constantine I" redirects here. For other rulers of the same name, seeConstantine I (disambiguation).

Constantine I Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ Konstantínos I
Constantine I in 1921
King of the Hellenes
First reign	18 March 1913 –11 June 1917
Swearing in	21 March 1913
Predecessor	George I
Successor	Alexander
Prime ministers	See list Eleftherios Venizelos Dimitrios Gounaris Alexandros Zaimis Stephanos Skouloudis Alexandros Zaimis Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos Spyridon Lambros
Second reign	19 December 1920 –27 September 1922
Predecessor	Alexander
Successor	George II
Prime ministers	See list Nikolaos Stratos Petros Protopapadakis Nikolaos Triantafyllakos
Born	(1868-08-02)2 August 1868 Athens,Greece
Died	11 January 1923(1923-01-11)(aged 54) Palermo,Italy
Burial	14 January 1923 Naples,Italy 22 November 1936 Royal Cemetery,Tatoi Palace,Athens, Greece
Spouse	Sophia of Prussia ​ (m.1889)​
Issue	George II, King of Greece Alexander, King of Greece Helen, Queen Mother of Romania Paul, King of Greece Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta Princess Katherine, Lady Katherine Brandram
House	Glücksburg
Father	George I of Greece
Mother	Olga Constantinovna of Russia
Signature
Military career
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece German Empire
Service/branch	Hellenic Army Imperial German Army
Rank	Field marshal
Unit	German Imperial Guard
Commands held	Army of Thessaly Army of Epirus Commander-in-Chiefof the Hellenic Army
Battles/wars	Greco-Turkish War (1897) Battle of Domokos Balkan Wars First Balkan War Battle of Sarantaporo Battle of Yenidje Battle of Bizani Second Balkan War Battle of Kilkis–Lachanas Battle of Doiran Battle of Demir Hisar Battle of Kresna Gorge Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir

Constantine I(Greek:Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ,Konstantínos I;2 August [O.S.21 July] 1868 – 11 January 1923) wasKing of Greecefrom 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He wascommander-in-chiefof theHellenic Armyduring the unsuccessfulGreco-Turkish War of 1897and led the Greek forces during the successfulBalkan Warsof 1912–1913, in which Greece expanded to includeThessaloniki,doubling in area and population. The eldest son ofGeorge I of Greece,he succeeded to the throne following his father's assassination in 1913.

Constantine's disagreement with Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelosover whether Greece should enterWorld War Iled to theNational Schism.Under Allied duress, the country was essentially split between the pro-Venizelos North and the royalist South, ushering in a protracted civil war.He forced Venizelos to resign twice, but in 1917 Constantine left Greece, after threats by theEntenteforces to bombardAthens;his second son,Alexander,became king. After Alexander's death, Venizelos' defeat in the1920 legislative elections,anda plebiscitein favor of his return, Constantine was reinstated. He abdicated the throne for the second and last time in 1922, when Greece lost theGreco-Turkish War of 1919–1922,and this time was succeeded by his eldest son,George II.Constantine died on 11 January 1923 in exile inSicily, Italy,from heart failure andbrain haemorrhage.

Early life

Constantine was born on 2 August 1868 inAthens.He was the eldest son of KingGeorge Iand QueenOlga.His birth was met with an immense wave of enthusiasm: the new heir apparent to the throne was the first Greek-born member of the family. As the ceremonial cannon onLycabettus Hillfired theroyal salute,huge crowds gathered outside the Palace shouting what they thought should rightfully be the newborn prince's name: "Constantine". This was both the name of his maternal grandfather,Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov of Russia,and the name of the "King who would reconquerConstantinople",the future" ConstantineXII,legitimate successor to theEmperorConstantine XI Palaiologos",according to popular legend. He was inevitably christened" Constantine "(Greek:Κωνσταντῖνος,Kōnstantīnos) on 12 August, and his official style was theDiádochos(Διάδοχος, Crown Prince, literally: "Successor" ). The most prominent university professors of the time were handpicked to tutor the young Crown Prince: Ioannis Pantazidis taught him Greek literature; Vasileios Lakonas mathematics and physics; andConstantine Paparrigopouloshistory, infusing the young prince with the principles of theMegali Idea.On 30 October 1882 he enrolled in theHellenic Military Academy.After graduation he was sent toBerlinfor further military education, and served in theGerman Imperial Guard.Constantine also studiedpolitical scienceandbusinessinHeidelbergandLeipzig.In 1890 he became aMajor general,and assumed command of the 3rd Army Headquarters (Γʹ Αρχηγείον Στρατού) in Athens.

Olympics and confrontations with Trikoupis

Constantine as member of the international committee for organization of the 1896 Summer Olympics.

In January 1895, Constantine caused political turmoil when he ordered army andgendarmerieforces to break up a street protest against tax policy. Constantine had previously addressed the crowd and advised them to submit their grievances to the government.Prime MinisterCharilaos Trikoupisasked the King to recommend that his son avoid such interventions in politics without prior consultation with the government. King George responded that the Crown Prince was, in dispersing protesters, merely obeying military orders, and that his conduct lacked political significance. The incident caused a heated debate inParliament,and Trikoupis finally resigned as a result. In the following elections Trikoupis was defeated, and the new Prime Minister,Theodoros Deligiannis,seeking to downplay hostility between government and the Palace, regarded the matter closed.

The organization of the firstmodern Olympicsin Athens was another issue which caused a Constantine-Trikoupis confrontation, with Trikoupis opposed to hosting the Games.After Deligiannis's electoral victory over Trikoupis in 1895, those who favored a revival of the Olympic Games, including the Crown Prince, prevailed. Subsequently, Constantine was instrumental in the organization of the1896 Summer Olympics;according toPierre de Coubertin,in 1894 "the Crown Prince learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin assured that "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these Games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organizing committee.At the Crown Prince's request, wealthy businessmanGeorge Averoffagreed to pay approximately one milliondrachmasto fund the restoration of thePanathinaiko Stadiuminwhite marble.

Greco-Turkish War and aftermath

Constantine was the commander-in-chief of theArmy of Thessalyin theGreco-Turkish War of 1897,which ended in a humiliating defeat. In its aftermath, the popularity of the monarchy fell, and calls were raised in the army for reforms and the dismissal of the royal princes, and especially Constantine, from their command posts in the armed forces. The simmering dissent culminated in theGoudi coupin August 1909. In its aftermath, he and his brothers were dismissed from the armed forces, only to be reinstated a few months later by the new Prime Minister,Eleftherios Venizelos,who was keen on gaining the trust of King George. Venizelos was ingenious in his argumentation: "All Greeks are rightly proud to see their sons serve in the army, and so is the King". What was left unsaid was that the royal princes' commands were to be on a very tight leash.

Balkan Wars

Overview

King Constantine I during theSecond Balkan War

In 1912 with the formation of theBalkan League,Greece was ready for war against the Ottoman Empire and Prince Constantine became Chief of theHellenic Army.

Ottoman planning anticipated a two-prong Greek attack east and west of the impassablePindusmountain range. They accordingly allotted their resources, equally divided, in a defensive posture to fortify the approaches toIoannina,capital ofEpirus,and the mountain passes leading from Thessaly to Macedonia. This was a grave error. The war plan by Venizelos and the Greek General Staff called for a rapid advance with overwhelming force towardsThessalonikiwith its important harbor. A small Greek force of little more than a division, just enough to forestall a possible Turkish redeployment eastwards, was to be sent west as the "Army of Epirus".

At the same time the bulk of the Greek infantry and artillery made a rapid advance against the Turks in the east. In the event, the Greek plan worked well. Advancing on foot, the Greeks soundly defeated the Turks twice, and were in Thessaloniki within 4 weeks. The Greek plan for overwhelming attack and speedy advance hinged upon another factor: should theHellenic Navysucceed in blockading the Turkish fleet within the Straits, any Turkish reinforcements from Asia would have no way of quickly reaching Europe. The Ottomans would be slow to mobilize, and even when the masses of troops raised in Asia were ready, they were able to go no further than the outskirts ofConstantinople,fighting the Bulgarians in brutal trench warfare. With the Bulgarians directing the bulk of their force towards Constantinople, the capture of Thessaloniki would ensure that the railway axis between these two main cities was lost to the Turks, causing loss of logistics and supplies and severe impairment of command and control capability. The Turks would be hard placed to recruit locals, as their loyalties would be liable to lie with the Balkan Allies. Ottoman armies in Europe would be quickly cut off and their loss of morale and operational capability would lead them toward a quick surrender.

Macedonian Front

Constantine withGeorge Iand theGreek ArmyenterThessaloniki

Previously the Inspector General of the Army, Constantine was appointed commander-in-chief of the "Army of Thessaly" when theFirst Balkan Warbroke out in October 1912. He led the Army of Thessaly to victory atSarantaporos.At this point, his first clash with Venizelos occurred, as Constantine desired to press north, towardsMonastir,where the bulk of the Ottoman army lay, and where the Greeks would rendezvous their Serb allies. Venizelos, on the other hand, demanded that the army capture the strategic port city ofThessaloniki,the capital ofMacedonia,with extreme haste, so as to prevent its fall to the Bulgarians. The dispute resulted in a heated exchange of telegrams. Venizelos notified Constantine that "... political considerations of the utmost importance dictate that Thessaloniki be taken as soon as possible". After Constantine impudently cabled: "The army will not march on Thessaloniki. My duty calls me towardsMonastir,unless you forbid me ", Venizelos was forced to pull rank. As Prime Minister and War Minister, he outranked Constantine and his response was famously three-words-long, a crisp military order to be obeyed forthwith:" I forbid you ". Constantine was left with no choice but to turn east, and after defeating the Ottoman army atGiannitsa,he accepted the surrender of the city of Thessaloniki and of its Ottoman garrison on 27 October (O.S.), less than 24 hours before the arrival of Bulgarian forces who hoped to capture the city first.

The capture of Thessaloniki against Constantine's whim proved a crucial achievement: the pacts of theBalkan Leaguehad provided that in the forthcoming war against the Ottoman Empire, the four Balkan allies would provisionally hold any ground they took from the Turks, without contest from the other allies. Once an armistice was declared, then facts on the ground would be the starting point of negotiations for the final drawing of the new borders in a forthcoming peace treaty. With the vital port firmly in Greek hands, all the other allies could hope for was a customs-free dock in the harbor.

Epirus Front

King Constantine I of Greece in the uniform of a German Field Marshal, a rank awarded to him byWilhelm II, German Emperorin 1913.

Greek lithography showing the surrender of Ioannina by Essat Pasha to Constantine I during theFirst Balkan War

In the meantime, operations in theEpirusfront had stalled: against the rough terrain and Ottoman fortifications atBizani,the small Greek force could not make any headway. With operations in Macedonia complete, Constantine transferred the bulk of his forces to Epirus, and assumed command. After lengthy preparations, the Greeks broke through the Ottoman defences in theBattle of Bizaniand capturedIoanninaand most of Epirus up into what is today southernAlbania(Northern Epirus). These victories dispelled the tarnish of the 1897 defeat, and raised Constantine to great popularity with the Greek people.

Accession to the Throne and Second Balkan War

Swearing-in ceremony of Constantine, 1913

George I was assassinated in Thessaloniki by an anarchist,Alexandros Schinas,on 18 March 1913, and Constantine succeeded to the throne. In the meantime, tensions between the Balkan allies grew, as Bulgaria claimed Greek and Serbian-occupied territory. In May, Greece and Serbia concluded a secret defensive pact aimed at Bulgaria. On 16 June, the Bulgarian army attacked their erstwhile allies, but were soon halted. King Constantine led the Greek Army in its counterattack in the battles ofKilkis-Lahanasand theKresna Gorge.In the meantime the Bulgarian army had started to disintegrate: beset by defeat in the hands of Greeks and Serbs, they were suddenly faced by a Turkish counterattack with fresh Asian troops finally ready, while theRomaniansadvanced south, demandingSouthern Dobrudja.Under attack on four fronts Bulgaria sued for peace, agreed to an armistice and entered into negotiations inBucharest.On the initiative of Prime Minister Venizelos, Constantine was also awarded the rank and baton of aField Marshal.His popularity was at its peak. He was the "winner over the Bulgarians", the King who under his military commandment, doubled the Greek territory.

World War I and the National Schism

Overview

See also:National Schism

The widely held view of Constantine I as a "German sympathizer" owes something to his marriage withSophia of Prussia,sister ofWilhelm II,to his studies in Germany and his supposed "militaristic" beliefs and attitude.

Constantine did rebuff Kaiser Wilhelm who in 1914 pressed him to bring Greece into the war on the side of Austria-Hungary and Germany. In their correspondence he told him that his sympathy was with Germany, but he would not join the war. Constantine then offended also the British and French by blocking popular efforts by Prime Minister Venizelos to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies.

Constantine's insistence on neutrality, according to him and his supporters, was based more on his judgement that it was the best policy for Greece, rather than venal self-interest or his German dynastic connections, as he was accused of by the Venizelists.

AdmiralMark Kerr,who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Hellenic Navy in the early part of World War I and later Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron, supported the Allied cause, but was sympathetic to the King, personally. He wrote in 1920:

"The persecution of King Constantine by the press of the Allied countries, with some few good exceptions, has been one of the most tragic affairs since theDreyfus case."[Abbott, G.F. (1922) 'Greece and the Allies 1914–1922']

Although Venizelos, with Allied support, forced Constantine to leave the throne in 1917, he remained popular with parts of the Greek people (as shown by the vote for his return in theDecember 1920 plebiscite), who saw the Allied actions as a violation of sovereignty of Greece.

Events

King Constantine ( "Tino" ) being torn between Britain and France on the one, and Kaiser Wilhelm, assisted by Ferdinand of Bulgaria, on the other. Satirical cartoon in the style of an ancient Greek vase, published inPunchin November 1915

In the aftermath of the victorious Balkan Wars, Greece was in a state of euphoria. Her territory and population had doubled with the massive liberation of Greeks from Ottoman rule and, under the dual leadership of Constantine and Venizelos, her future seemed bright. However Constantine had been ill withpleurisysince the Balkan wars and almost died during the summer of 1915.

This state of affairs was not to last, however. WhenWorld War Ibroke out, a dispute appeared between the king and the government about the responsibility for the external policy of the state in case of war.

Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining where Greece's support lay. His first concern as King was for the welfare and security of Greece. He rejected the early appeal from Kaiser Wilhelm that Greece should march on the side of Germany and stated that Greece would remain neutral. Sophie, Constantine's queen, was popularly thought to support her brother Kaiser Wilhelm, but it seems that she was actually pro-British;like her father thelate Kaiser Frederick,Sophie was influenced by her mother, the British-bornVictoria.Venizelos was fervently pro-Entente,having established excellent rapport with the British and French, and was convinced that German aggression had caused the war and that the Allies would quickly win the war.

Both Venizelos and Constantine were keenly aware that a maritime country like Greece could not, and should not, antagonise the Entente, the dominant naval powers in theMediterranean.Constantine settled on a policy of neutrality because it seemed the path that best assured that Greece would emerge from the World War intact and with the substantial territorial gains it had won in the recent Balkan Wars.

In January 1915, the Entente made proposals to both Bulgaria and Greece to side with it. Bulgaria would take eastern Macedonia from Greece (withDramaandKavala), while Greece in exchange would gain land in Asia Minor from Turkey after the war. Venizelos agreed but Constantine rejected the proposal.

Constantine claimed his military judgement was right, after the outcome of the Allies' failed operation of landing onGallipoli.Despite the popularity of Venizelos and his clear majority in Parliament for supporting the Allies, Constantine opposed Venizelos. Venizelos actually wanted Greece to participate at the Gallipoli operation, but after military objections by the General Staff (Ioannis Metaxas), the King rejected the idea.

In autumn 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and attacked Serbia, with which Greece had atreaty of alliance.Venizelos again urged the King to allow Greece's entry into the war. TheHellenic armywas mobilized for defensive reasons, but Constantine claimed that the treaty had no value in case of a global war, but only of Balkan issues. Furthermore, he supported that according to the treaty, Serbia should mobilize 150,000 soldiers against Bulgaria, something that it could not do at that time.

The British then offeredCyprusto the Greek Kingdom to join the war, but Constantine rejected this offer as well. Venizelos permitted Entente forces to disembark inThessaloniki(establishing so theMacedonian front) in aid of Serbia and in preparation for a common campaign over the King's objections. This action of Venizelos, which violated the country's neutrality, enraged the King who dismissed him for second time.

At the same time, Germany offered the protection and security of theGreek population of Turkeyduring and after the war, in exchange for Greece to remain neutral. Constantine was accused also by his Venizelist opponents for secret discussions and correspondence with the Central Powers.

In March 1916, in an effort to increase his prestige, Constantine declared the official annexation ofNorthern Epirus,which was controlled by the Greeks since 1914, but the Greek forces were driven from the area by the Italians and French during the next year.

In June 1916, Constantine, General Metaxas (the future dictator) and Prime MinisterSkouloudisallowedFort Rupeland parts of eastern Macedonia to be occupied, without opposition, by the Germans and Bulgarians, as a counterbalance to the Allied forces in Thessaloniki. This caused popular anger,especially in Greek Macedonia which now was facing the Bulgarian danger. The leadership of the Allied armies in Thessaloniki was worried also about a possible attack by the army of Constantine in their back.

In July 1916, arsonists set fire to the forest surrounding the summer palace at Tatoi. Although injured in the escape, the king and his family managed to flee to safety. The flames spread quickly in the dry summer heat, and sixteen people were killed.Royal rumors connected the incident with actions by French agents, especially De Roquefeuil, who was in Athens since 1915, but it was never proven. A hunting of Venizelists followed in Athens.

In August 1916, a military coup broke out in Thessaloniki by Venizelist officers. There, Venizelos established aprovisional revolutionary government,which created its own army and declared war on theCentral Powers.With Allied support, the revolutionary government of Venizelos gained control of half the country – significantly, most of the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars. This cemented theNational Schism,a division of Greek society between Venizelists and anti-Venizelist monarchists, which was to have repercussions in Greek politics until pastWorld War II.Venizelos made a public call to the King to dismiss his "bad advisors", to join the war as King of all Greeks and stop being a politician. The royal governments of Constantine in Athens continued to negotiate with the Allies a possible entry in the war.

During November/December 1916, the British and French landed units at Athens claiming the surrender of war materiel equivalent to what was lost at Fort Rupel as a guarantee of Greece's neutrality. After days of tension, finally they met resistance by paramilitary (Epistratoi) and pro-royalist forces (during theNoemvrianaevents), that were commanded by officersMetaxasandDousmanis.After an armed confrontation, the Allies evacuated the capital and recognized officially the government of Venizelos in Thessaloniki. Constantine so became the most hated person for the Allies after his best man Kaiser Wilhelm.

Early in 1917, the Venizelist Government of National Defence (based in Thessaloniki) took control of Thessaly.

After thefall of the monarchy in Russia,Constantine lost his last supporter inside the Entente opposed to his removal from the throne. In the face of Venizelist and Anglo-French pressure, King Constantine finally left the country forSwitzerlandon 11 June 1917; his second-born sonAlexanderbecame king in his place. The Allied Powers were opposed to Constantine's first born son George becoming king, as he had served in the German army before the war and like his father was thought to be a Germanophile.

Restoration and Asia Minor Catastrophe

Return of Constantine, December 1920

King Alexander died on 25 October 1920, after a freak accident: he was strolling with his dogs in the royal menagerie, when they attacked a monkey. Rushing to save the poor animal, the king was bitten by the monkey. What seemed like a minor injury turned tosepsis,and he died a few days later. The following month Venizelos suffered a surprising defeat in ageneral election.

Greece had at this point been at war for eight continuous years: World War I had come and gone, but yet no sign of an enduring peace was near, as the country was already atwar against the Kemalist forcesin Asia Minor. Young men had been fighting and dying for years, lands lay fallow for lack of hands to cultivate them, and the country, morally exhausted, was at the brink of economic and political unravelling.

Constantine decorating regimental war flags of the Greek Army after theBattle of Kütahya-Eskişehir,during theGreco-Turkish War (1919–1922).

The pro-royalist parties had promised peace and prosperity under the victorious Field Marshal of the Balkan Wars, he who knew of the soldier's plight because he had fought next to him and shared his ration.

Following aplebiscitein which nearly 99% of votes were cast in favor of his return,Constantine returned as king on 19 December 1920. This caused great dissatisfaction not only to the newly liberated populations in Asia Minor, but also to the British and even more the French, who opposed the return of Constantine.

The new government decided to continue the war. The inherited, ongoing campaign began with initial successes in western Anatolia against the Turks. The Greeks initially met with disorganized opposition.

In March 1921, despite his health problems, Constantine was landed in Anatolia to boost the Army's morale and command personally theBattle of Kütahya-Eskişehir.

However, an ill-conceived plan to captureKemal's new capital ofAnkara,located deep in barren Anatolia, where there was no significant Greek population, succeeded only in its initial stages. The overextended and ill-supplied Greek Army was routed and driven from Anatolia back to the coast in August 1922.Following anarmy revoltby Venizelist officers, considering him as key responsible for the defeat, Constantine abdicated the throne again on 27 September 1922 and was succeeded by his eldest son,George II.

Second exile and death

He spent the last four months of his life in exile in Italy and died at 1:30 am on 11 January 1923 atPalermo, Sicilyof heart failure.His wife, Sophie of Prussia, was never allowed back to Greece and was later interred beside her husband in theRussian ChurchinFlorence.

After his restoration on the Greek throne, George II organized the repatriation of the remains of members of his family who died in exile. An important religious ceremony that brought together, for six days in November 1936, all members of the royal family still alive. Constantine's body was buried at the royal burial ground at Tatoi Palace, where he remains.

Marriage and issue

Constantine with his family, ca. 1910. Top left: the king holding the toddlerPrincess Irene.Top right: the futureGeorge II.Left:Queen Sophia.Center:Princess Helen.Right: the futureAlexander I.Front: the futurePaul I.Princess Katherinenot yet born.

As Crown Prince of Greece, Constantine marriedPrincess Sophia of Prussia,a granddaughter ofQueen Victoriaand sister ofKaiser Wilhelm II,on 27 October 1889 in Athens. They had six children. All three of their sons ascended the Greek throne. Their eldest daughter Helen married Crown Prince Carol of Romania; their second daughter married the 4th Duke of Aosta; while their youngest child, Princess Katherine, married a British commoner.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
King George II	20 July 1890	1 April 1947	marriedPrincess Elisabeth of Romania
King Alexander	1 August 1893	25 October 1920	marriedAspasia Manosaka Princess Alexander of Greece; father ofQueen Alexandra of Yugoslavia
Princess Helen	2 May 1896	28 November 1982	marriedCrown Prince Carol of Romania,later King of Romania; mother ofKing Michael I of Romania
King Paul	14 December 1901	6 March 1964	marriedPrincess Frederica of Hanover;father ofKing Constantine II of GreeceandQueen Sofía of Spain(herself the mother ofKing Felipe VI of Spain)
Princess Irene	13 February 1904	15 April 1974	marriedPrince Aimone, Duke of Aosta,nominally King Tomislav II of Croatia from 1941 to 1943
Princess Katharine	4 May 1913	2 October 2007	married MajorRichard BrandramMC

Legacy and popular culture

A statue inThessaloniki

Constantine remained an idol for his supporters (much like Venizelos for his own supporters), and generally for the conservative Right, for years after his death. However, nowadays the legacy of Venizelos is more appreciated.

In the popular culture, the slogan of the royalists "psomí, elia ke Kotso Vasiliá"(" bread,olivesand King Constantine ") still survives. It was a popular phrase during the naval blockade of southern Greece by the Allied fleet (1916/17), which caused hunger to the population.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

From birth, Constantine was styled "His Royal Highness The Crown Prince (Diadochos) of Greece "until his accession to the throne. On the day of his baptism, his father issued a royal decree granting him the additional title ofDuke of Sparta;however, this title was used only outside of Greece.

He is sometimes numbered Constantine XII in succession toConstantine XI Palaiologos.

Honours

• Kingdom of Greece:
  • Grand Cross of the Redeemer
  • Commander's Cross of theCross of Valour,October 1914
  • Founder of theOrder of George I,16 January 1915
• Denmark:
  • Knight of the Elephant,28 August 1886
  • Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog,26 September 1888
  • Grand Commander of the Dannebrog,28 March 1913;in Diamonds,11 January 1923
  • Commemorative Medal for the Golden Wedding of King Christian IX and Queen Louise
  • King Christian IX Centenary Medal
• Austria-Hungary:Grand Cross of theRoyal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen,1886
• Kingdom of Bulgaria:Grand Cross of St. Alexander,with Collar,1912
• France:Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour,13 December 1886
• Kingdom of Italy:Knight of the Annunciation,27 October 1889
• Kingdom of Romania:Grand Cross of theOrder of Carol I,with Collar,1913
• Russian Empire:Knight of St. Andrew,June 1887
• Spain:
  • Grand Cross of theOrder of Charles III,22 December 1886
  • Knight of the Golden Fleece,17 October 1889
• Sweden-Norway:Knight of the Seraphim,23 September 1886
• United Kingdom:
  • Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath(civil),4 July 1895
  • Recipient of theRoyal Victorian Chain,9 August 1902
• Kingdom of Prussia:Knight of the Black Eagle
• Anhalt:Grand Cross of theOrder of Albert the Bear,1888
• Baden:
  • Knight of theHouse Order of Fidelity,1888
  • Knight of theOrder of Berthold the First,1888
• Brunswick:Grand Cross of theOrder of Henry the Lion,1888
• Hesse and by Rhine:Grand Cross of theLudwig Order,7 October 1903
• Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:Grand Cross of the White Falcon,1888
• Saxony:Knight of the Rue Crown,1888
• Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown,1889

Ancestry

See also:Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

Ancestors of Constantine I of Greece

8.Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 4.Christian IX, King of Denmark 9.Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel 2.George I, King of the Hellenes 10.Prince William of Hesse-Kassel 5.Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel 11.Princess Charlotte of Denmark 1.Constantine I, King of the Hellenes 12.Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia 6.Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia 13.Princess Charlotte of Prussia 3.Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia 14.Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 7.Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg 15.Duchess Amelia of Württemberg

References

• Darling, Janina K. (2004). "Panathenaic Stadium, Athens".Architecture of Greece.Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN0-313-32152-3.
• Dutton, David. "The Deposition of King Constantine of Greece, June 1917: An Episode in Anglo-French Diplomacy."Canadian Journal of History12.3 (1978): 325–346.
• Leontaritis, George B.Greece and the First World War(1990)
• Michalopoulos, Dimitris, "Constantine XII, King of the Hellenes. An outline of his personality and times",Parnassos,vol. 46, pp. 355–360.
• Van der Kiste, John(1994).Kings of the Hellenes.Sutton Publishing.ISBN0-7509-2147-1.
• Young, David C. (1996).The Modern Olympics: A Struggle for Revival.JHU Press.ISBN0-8018-7207-3.
• Polykratis, Iakovos Th. (1945–1955). "Constantine". In Passas Ioannis (ed.).Encyclopedia "The Helios"(in Greek). Vol. XI. Athens.{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• Media related toConstantine I of Greeceat Wikimedia Commons
• Abdication speech of 1917
• Royal House of GreeceArchived25 July 2016 at theWayback Machine
• The Great War – King Constantine I of Greece
• Elli Lemonidou:Constantine I, King of Greece,in:1914–1918 online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
• Newspaper clippings about Constantine I of Greecein the20th Century Press Archivesof theZBW
• Portraits of Constantine I, King of Greeceat theNational Portrait Gallery, London