Tags
Aspasia Manos, Greek Orthodox Church, King Alexander of the Hellenes, Monkey, Olga Constantinovna of Russia, Sepsis, Sophie of Prussia
According to the Greek constitution, members of the royal family had to obtain permission to marry from both the sovereign and the head of the Greek Orthodox Church. By marrying Aspasia without the permission of the Archbishop, Alexander caused a major scandal.
Despite his disapproval of the union, Venizelos allowed Aspasia and her mother to move into the Royal Palace on condition that the marriage remain secret. The information leaked, however, and to escape public opprobrium Aspasia was forced to leave Greece.
She fled to Rome, and then to Paris, where Alexander was allowed to join her, six months later, on condition that they did not attend official functions together. On their Parisian honeymoon, while motoring near Fontainebleau, the couple witnessed a serious car crash in which Count de Kergariou’s chauffeur lost control of his master’s vehicle. Alexander avoided the count’s car, which swerved and hit a tree.
The king drove the injured to hospital in his own car, while Aspasia, who had trained as a nurse during World War I, rendered first aid. The count was seriously injured and died shortly afterward, after having both legs amputated.
The government allowed the couple to return to Greece in mid-1920. Although their marriage was legalized, Aspasia was not recognized as queen, but was instead known as “Madame Manos”. At first, she stayed at her sister’s house in the Greek capital before transferring to Tatoi, and it was during this period that she became pregnant with Alexander’s child.
Alexander visited the newly acquired territories of West Thrace, and on July 8, 1920 the new name for the region’s main town—Alexandroupoli (meaning “city of Alexander” in Greek)—was announced in the king’s presence. The city’s previous name of Dedeagatch was considered too Turkish. On 7 September, Venizelos, counting on a surge of support in the wake of the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres and the expansion of Greek territory, announced a general election for early November.
On October 2, 1920, Alexander was injured while walking through the grounds of the Tatoi estate. A domestic Barbary macaque belonging to the steward of the palace’s grapevines attacked or was attacked by the king’s German Shepherd dog, Fritz, and Alexander attempted to separate the two animals.
As he did so, another monkey attacked Alexander and bit him deeply on the leg and torso. Eventually servants arrived and chased away the monkeys, and the king’s wounds were promptly cleaned and dressed but not cauterized. He did not consider the incident serious and asked that it not be publicized.
That evening, his wounds became infected; he suffered a strong fever and sepsis set in. His doctors considered amputating his leg, but none wished to take responsibility for so drastic an act. On 19 October, he became delirious and called out for his mother, but the Greek government refused to allow her to re-enter the country from exile in Switzerland, despite her own protestations.
Finally, the queen dowager, Olga, George I’s widow and Alexander’s grandmother, was allowed to return alone to Athens to tend to the king. She was delayed by rough waters, however, and by the time she arrived, Alexander had already died of sepsis twelve hours previously at a little after 4 p.m. on October 25, 1920. The other members of the royal family received the news by telegram that night.