George's reign of almost 50 years (the longest in modern Greek history) was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre–World War I Europe.

The French favored Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, while the British proposed Queen Victoria's brother-in-law Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her nephew Prince Leiningen, and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, among others.

18 March] 1863 by the Greek National Assembly under the regnal name of George I. Paradoxically, he ascended a royal throne before his father,[12] who became King of Denmark on 15 November the same year.

[13] George's ceremonial enthronement in Copenhagen on 6 June was attended by a delegation of Greeks led by First Admiral and Prime Minister Konstantinos Kanaris.

[14] The new 17-year-old king toured Saint Petersburg, London and Paris before departing for Greece from the French port of Toulon on 22 October aboard the Greek flagship Hellas.

[19] He also sought to ensure that he was not seen as too influenced by his Danish advisers, ultimately sending his uncle, Prince Julius, back to Denmark with the words, I will not allow any interference with the conduct of my government.

[20] Another adviser, Count Wilhelm Sponneck, became unpopular for advocating a policy of disarmament and tactlessly questioning the descent of modern Greeks from classical antecedents.

On 19 October 1864, he sent the Assembly a demand, countersigned by Konstantinos Kanaris, explaining that he had accepted the crown on the understanding that a new constitution would be finalized, and that if it was not he would feel himself at perfect liberty to adopt such measures as the disappointment of my hopes may suggest.

On 28 November 1864, George took the oath to defend the new constitution, which created a unicameral assembly (Vouli) with representatives elected by direct, secret, universal male suffrage, a first in modern Europe.

[25] Internationally, George maintained a strong relationship with his brother-in-law the Prince of Wales, who in 1901 became King Edward VII, and sought his help in defusing the recurring and contentious issue of Crete, an overwhelmingly Greek island that remained under Ottoman Turk control.

[26] During the Cretan Revolt (1866–1869), the Prince of Wales unsuccessfully sought the support of the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Derby, to intervene in Crete on behalf of Greece.

[28] George first met Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia in 1863, when she was 12 years old, on a visit to the court of Tsar Alexander II between his election to the Greek throne and his arrival in Athens.

They met for a second time in April 1867, when George went to the Russian Empire to visit his sister Dagmar, who had married the Tsar's heir, Tsarevich Alexander.

[31] Over the next twenty years, they had eight children: As a marriage gift, the Tsar gave George a group of islands in the Petalioi Gulf, which the family visited on the royal yacht Amphitrite.

George later purchased a country estate, Tatoi, north of Athens, and on Corfu he built a summer villa called Mon Repos.

[33] Intent on not letting his subjects know that he missed Denmark, he discreetly maintained a dairy at his palace at Tatoi, which was managed by native Danes and served as a bucolic reminder of his homeland.

[34] Queen Olga was far less careful in hiding her nostalgia for her native Russia, often visiting Russian ships at Piraeus two or three times before they weighed anchor.

[37] The King was related by marriage to the British, Russian and Prussian monarchs, maintaining a particularly strong attachment to the Prince and Princess of Wales, who visited Athens in 1869.

Their visit occurred despite continued lawlessness which culminated in the kidnap of a party of British and Italian tourists, including Lord and Lady Muncaster.

[41] In July 1874, Charilaos Trikoupis, a member of the Greek Parliament, wrote an anonymous article in the newspaper Kairoi blaming King George and his advisors for the continuing political crisis caused by the lack of stable governments.

A coincident change of government in France, the resignation of Charles de Freycinet and his replacement with Jules Ferry, led to disputes among the Great Powers and, despite British support for a more pro-Greek settlement, the Turks subsequently granted Greece all of Thessaly but only the part of Epirus around Arta.

[48] Jubilee events in the week of 30 October included balls, galas, parades, a thanksgiving service at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, and a lunch for 500 invited guests in a blue and white tent on the Acropolis.

[53] The Great Powers refused to allow the expansion of Greece, and on 25 February 1897 announced that Crete would be under an autonomous administration and ordered the Greek and Ottoman Turk militias to withdraw.

The announcement that Greece was finally at war with the Turks was greeted by delirious displays of patriotism and spontaneous parades in honor of the King in Athens.

[51] The death of Britain's Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901 left King George as the second-longest-reigning monarch in Europe, behind only Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

George was on vacation in Denmark, so he immediately returned to Greece via Vienna, arriving in Athens to be met by a large and enthusiastic crowd on the evening of 9 October.

Three days later King George rode in triumph through the streets of Thessaloniki, the second-largest Greek city, accompanied by the Crown Prince and Venizelos.

[74] As he approached the fiftieth anniversary of his accession, the King made plans to abdicate in favor of his son Constantine immediately after the celebration of his golden jubilee in October 1913.

While out on an afternoon walk near the White Tower on 18 March 1913, he was shot at close range in the back by Alexandros Schinas, who was said to belong to a Socialist organization and declared when arrested that he had killed the King because he refused to give him money.

[81] For three days the coffin of the King, draped in the Danish and Greek flags, lay in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens before his body was committed to a tomb at his palace in Tatoi.