OPINION

November 27, 1957

PRINCE GEORGE: Paris, 25 – Prince George of Greece died early this morning of heart failure at the age of 88 after a long illness. On Saturday, his condition had slightly improved, but his doctors held out no hope for his recovery… Prince George, the son of King George I and Queen Olga, was born on June 12, 1869, in Corfu. After graduating from the Copenhagen Naval Academy, he became an officer in the Greek Navy… As commander of the torpedo boat fleet, he took part in the blockade of Crete in 1897. When the Great Powers made Crete a semi-independent state under Turkish suzerainty, Prince George was appointed high commissioner of the island for three years. He was then promoted to vice admiral and in 1898 arrived in Hania on the French flagship, as the Grand Porte had objected to his arriving on a Greek ship. The people of Crete welcomed him… as it was the first time they had known freedom. The organization of the Cretan Republic began… but although all went well initially, disagreements arose between Prince George and the advisers of Eleftherios Venizelos. These disagreements resulted in Prince George resigning from his post in 1906.

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