Amidst the turbulence of the Balkan Wars, an event unfolded that sent shockwaves through Greece and the rest of Europe. On the evening of March 5, 1913, King George I of Greece was assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki. His killer? A 43-year-old man named Alexandros Schinas.
The Reign of a Foreign Monarch Who Became Greek
King George I, originally Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, was not born to rule Greece. However, in 1863, after the deposition of the previous king, Otto of Bavaria, the Greek National Assembly selected the young Danish prince as their new sovereign. His appointment was backed by the Great Powers of the time—Britain, France, and Russia—who saw in him a stable ruler for the fledgling Greek state.
His reign, which lasted nearly 50 years, was marked by political instability in its early years. He frequently dissolved parliament and struggled with Greece’s fragmented political landscape. However, he gradually adapted, and by 1875, after appointing the reformist politician Charilaos Trikoupis as prime minister, he embraced a more constitutional role. This shift laid the foundation for modern Greek parliamentary democracy.
His later years were defined by crises and wars. In 1909, an uprising by military officers—the Goudi Coup—threatened to overthrow the monarchy. Instead of resisting, George I astutely facilitated the rise of Eleftherios Venizelos, a charismatic politician who would go on to become Greece’s most influential modern leader. Under Venizelos, Greece embarked on a period of political and military resurgence, culminating in the victorious Balkan Wars (1912–1913), which doubled the country’s territory and saw Thessaloniki fall under Greek control.
It was in this newly annexed city that George I met his tragic end.
King George I with Queen Olga and his son and heir to the throne Constantine walking behind.
The Assassination: A King’s Final Walk
The assassination of King George I is vividly described by historian Georgios Ventiris in his work Greece 1910–1920.
On that fateful evening, the 67-year-old king decided to take a walk through Thessaloniki’s streets, as was his habit. He strolled along Agia Triada Street, accompanied only by his aide-de-camp, Colonel Frangoudis. Despite the city being filled with soldiers and tensions running high, George I insisted on minimal security.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. A single bullet struck the king from behind, piercing his heart. He collapsed instantly.
The shooter, Alexandros Schinas, was immediately apprehended. Witnesses described him as a disturbed and impoverished man with radical ideas. The dying king was placed on a stretcher, but he did not survive the journey to the hospital.
Who Was Alexandros Schinas? Conspiracy or Madness?
Little was known about Schinas before that day. He was described as an eccentric drifter, sometimes begging on the streets, sometimes speaking of socialist ideals and the abolition of class divisions. Some reports suggested he had once studied medicine in Athens, though there is no record of him ever graduating.
Theories about his motives quickly surfaced. Was he a deranged loner, as the authorities claimed? Or was he an agent of a larger conspiracy?
Some suspected Bulgarian involvement, as tensions between Greece and Bulgaria over control of Macedonia were at a peak. Others believed Schinas was a pawn of German interests, aiming to remove the pro-British George I and replace him with his German-leaning son, Crown Prince Constantine.
Whatever the truth, Schinas would not live long enough to reveal it. Weeks after his arrest, he mysteriously “fell” from a police station window and died. His death only fueled the speculation that powerful forces wanted him silenced.
Cretan gendarmes transport Alexandros Schinas, who assassinated King George I at close range in Thessaloniki.
The Legacy of a Murdered Monarch
King George I had reigned for half a century—longer than any other Greek monarch. His reign had seen Greece grow, modernize, and assert itself on the Balkan stage. While not a visionary ruler, he had the wisdom to recognize great leaders like Venizelos and to support Greece’s democratic evolution.
Had he lived, could he have prevented the deep national divide that tore Greece apart during World War I? Some historians believe so. His assassination left the throne to his son, Constantine I, whose pro-German stance during the war would plunge Greece into political turmoil, leading to what became known as the “National Schism.”
George I’s murder was more than just the death of a king—it was the prelude to one of Greece’s most turbulent political eras.
