The Mad Monkey
That Killed a Smitten King

Alexander, the King of Greece, was the second son of King Constantine I. He was born in 1893 on the outskirts of Athens. Alexander took the throne in 1917 after his Dad and elder brother were pushed into exile. Despite holding the title of regent, his political opponents had rendered him powerless. Alexander was essentially imprisoned in his own palace—he was a king in a cage.

Alexander’s upbringing was carefully choreographed. Educated at the Hellenic Military Academy, the young man developed a proclivity for mechanical things. A natural gearhead, Alexander had a particular passion for motorcars. He was one of the first men in Greece to own an automobile.

It’s always better to be lucky than good. Despite his dearth of any real power, Alexander held office during the war between Greece and both Bulgaria and then the Ottoman Empire. These conflicts resulted in a substantial increase in Greek territory. He got to take credit for that.

Love, the Unstoppable Force

Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop. Take a guy, tell him he’s a king, and then leave him to his own devices, and mischief invariably ensues. In Alexander’s case, it all started with a party.

The year was 1915, and the world was aflame. Prince Alexander was two years away from the throne. The court marshal, Theodore Ypsilantis, threw a spirited jamboree hootenanny in Athens and invited the prince. One of his childhood buddies, a particularly attractive lass named Aspasia Manos, was also in attendance. Though not of noble blood, her family had money. She was recently back from school in France and Switzerland. She was also quite a looker by the standards of the day. Sparks inevitably flew.

Alexander already had a reputation as a ladies’ man, so Aspasia rightfully spurned him. However, Alex was most thoroughly smitten. He chased the winsome lass to the island of Spetses, where she was vacationing with her family. There is a fine line between suitor and stalker. Alexander rode that line carefully.
Alexander eventually wore the poor girl down to the point that she agreed to marry him. However, King Constantine I, his wife Queen Sophia, and the rest of European aristocracy were having none of that. Alex and Aspasia had a hard decision to make.

All of those moldy European regents were related. Greek Constantine I was Kaiser Wilhelm II’s brother-in-law. As a result, when World War I fully conflagrated, things got terribly…cluttered. Eventually, the chaos grew too chaotic, and Constantine I and his mob were forced to beat feet.

Nuptials

In his defense, Alexander kind of tried to do it right. As soon as he assumed the throne, the newly minted King Alexander admitted his enthusiasm for Aspasia to his Dad and asked for his blessing on their marriage. The deposed monarch suggested he wait at least until the end of the war. Alex reluctantly agreed. However, the Greek government began intercepting his correspondence to his exiled father, frustrating the young king to no end. In November 1919, Alexander and Aspasia finally tied the knot.

Most folks don’t bother nowadays. However, back then, at this time and in this place, the king marrying a common woman, even one as awesome as Aspasia, was a big freaking deal. The government of Greece duly ran Aspasia off. She settled temporarily in Paris. Six months later, Alexander finally got free to join her. They declared this trip a belated honeymoon. However, this sincere young couple just seemed to be cursed.

Disaster Everywhere

While out motoring near Fontainebleau, the royal couple happened upon a brutal car crash involving a Count named de Kergariou. Today’s vehicles have crumple zones and airbags that allow these high-tech machines to give their lives for us. Back then, there was none of that. Count de Kergariou’s chauffeur lost control of his vehicle. Though the chauffeur was OK, the Count was about ruined.

Aspasia had trained as a nurse during WWI. She did her best to stabilize the poor man while Alexander drove him to the hospital in his car. The surgeons ultimately removed both of the injured man’s legs, but he still died nonetheless.

In October of 1920, King Alexander was strolling around the grounds of his estate alongside his German Shepherd dog. This was a curious place populated with curious people and their curious pets. Among them was a pair of Barbary macaque monkeys belonging to the steward of the palace grapevines. One of the beasts immediately got sideways with the king’s hound.

Alexander tried unsuccessfully to separate the two creatures. In the process, a second monkey dove into the fray. This little monster bit the king viciously in his leg and torso. Servants showed up in short order and shooed the monkeys away. That very evening, however, it became obvious that the king was in a world of hurt. Tragically, the damage was done.

We take antibiotics for granted today. Back then, there was literally nothing available with which to treat infected wounds. In short order, King Alexander became septic. Three weeks later, he was dead. He was only 27 years old.

The Rest of the Story

Nature abhors a vacuum. After the King’s death, his Dad, Constantine I, returned to the throne. Under his leadership, Greece prosecuted and lost the Greco-Turkish War. Winston Churchill later said, “It is perhaps no exaggeration to remark that a quarter of a million persons died of this monkey’s bite.”

Five months after King Alexander’s death, Aspasia gave birth to a daughter. Aspasia named the little girl Alexandra. The Greek government originally declared the marriage illegal. That made Alexandra illegitimate in the eyes of the state. In the summer of 1922, however, the Greek Parliament had an attack of conscience and made all that right retroactively via legislative fiat. This edict transformed the little girl into Princess Alexandra overnight.

Alexandra’s daughter eventually married King Peter II of Yugoslavia. The result of this union was a son who eventually became the Crown Prince of Yugoslavia. The couple named the little boy Alexander after the star-crossed king who was killed by a grouchy monkey.