Greece 30 drachmai silver coin - 5 Kings |
Commemorative Greek 30 drachmas Silver coin |
Greece 30 Drachma Silver Commemorative coin of 1963 5 Kings - Centennial of the monarchy
The obverse depicts five kings of the House of Glücksburg, 1863-1963. Clockwise from the top: Paul, George II, Alexander, Constantine I and George I.
George I of Greece King of the Hellenes (born Prince William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for a career in the Royal Danish Navy. He was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular former King Otto.
Constantine I of Greece - King of the Hellenes (2 August [O.S. 21 July] 1868 – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912 – 1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination.
Alexander of Greece - King of the Hellenes (1 August 1893 – 25 October 1920) was King of Greece from 10 June 1917 until his death.
The second son of Constantine I of Greece, Alexander was born in the summer palace of Tatoi, in the outskirts of Athens. He succeeded his father in 1917, during the First World War, after the Entente Powers pressured Constantine I, and his elder son Crown Prince George, into exile in Switzerland. Having no real political experience, the new king was stripped of his powers by the Venizelist faction and effectively imprisoned in his own palace. His prime minister, the Cretan Eleftherios Venizelos, was the effective ruler with the support of the Entente. Though reduced to the status of a puppet king, Alexander supported Greek troops in the war against Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Under his reign the territorial extent of Greece considerably increased, following the victory of the Entente and the start of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922.
Alexander controversially married the commoner Aspasia Manos in 1919, provoking a major scandal that forced the couple to leave Greece for several months. Soon after reuniting with his wife, Alexander was bitten by a domestic monkey and died of septicemia. The sudden death of the sovereign caused significant difficulties for Greece and raised the question of the monarchy's survival as part of the Venizelist regime.
George II of Greece - King of the Hellenes (20 July 1890 – 1 April 1947) reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.
Paul of Greece - King of the Hellenes (14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.