Editing George II of Greece (section)

===World War I===
{{See also|Greece in World War I}}
On 18 March [<nowiki/>Old Style: 5 March] 1913, George's grandfather and the reigning king, George I, was assassinated while taking his daily walk in Thessaloniki. Crown Prince Constantine, whose popularity had grown due to Greece's successes in the First Balkan War, acceded to the throne as King Constantine I.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=74–75}} George thus became the [[Crown Prince of Greece]] at age 23. In the early weeks of being crown prince, George and his family moved to their new residence, where George developed a close friendship with his uncle, [[Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark|Prince Christopher]], who was only two years older than him.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=81}} On 30 June [<nowiki/>Old Style: 17 June] 1913, the [[Second Balkan War]] broke out between Bulgaria and its former allies, which included Greece. Relations between Greece and many of its Balkan allies grew during the war, notably with Romania, which paved the way towards the marriage between George and his future wife, [[Elisabeth of Romania]], the daughter of [[King Ferdinand I of Romania|King Ferdinand I]] and [[Queen Marie of Romania]].{{sfn|Driault|Lhéritier|1926|p=152}}{{sfn|Regina Maria a Romaniei|2006|p=61}} When Greece and its allies won the war in August 1913, George and his family resumed their European trips. George accompanied his father on a state visit to Berlin and received the [[Order of the Red Eagle]] from his uncle, [[Wilhelm II]], the German Kaiser. The following summer, George travelled to the United Kingdom with Christopher and was in London when he heard of the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] of Austria on 28 June 1914.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=87}}

The assassination sparked the outbreak of [[World War I]], in which Constantine wished to maintain Greece's neutrality. Constantine believed that Greece was unready to fight after its involvement in the Balkan Wars and also feared displeasing his brother-in-law, Wilhelm II. Opposition soon accused Constantine of supporting the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]], made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and relations between him and Venizelos, who believed that Greece should side with the [[Triple Entente]], made up of Great Britain, France and Russia, quickly deteriorated. The entire Greek government, supported by the French government, soon declared in October 1916 that siding with the Entente was their preferred option. Central Greece was occupied by the [[Allies of World War I|Western Allies]], an extension of the Triple Entente, and a [[National Schism]] between supporters of Constantine and supporters of Venizelos broke out.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=89–101}} Constantine refused to alter his opinion and his popularity heavily decreased. A fire in Tatoi Palace broke out on 14 July [<nowiki/>Old Style: 1 July] 1916 and French agents were blamed for it. Multiple members of the royal family were close fatalities of it. Though George was not present at the time, his younger sister, [[Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark|Princess Katherine]], who was only three years old, was carried into the palace woods for two kilometres to be saved. Between sixteen and eighteen people, made up of firefighters and palace staff, died.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=96–98}}{{sfn|Mateos Sáinz de Medrano|2004|p=88}}

On 19 June [<nowiki/>Old Style: 6 June] 1917, French politician and leader of the Entente [[Charles Jonnart]] ordered George's father, Constantine, to abdicate.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=106}} Due to worry of the impending Allied invasion at [[Piraeus]], Constantine agreed to be placed in exile without having to abdicate. The Allies were against establishing a republic in Greece and thus looked for a replacement. George's name was put forward, but the Allies perceived him as a [[germanophile]], like his father, due to his links to the Prussian army and German imperial family.{{sfn|Mavrogordatos|2016|p=111}} George's uncle, [[Prince George of Greece and Denmark|Prince George]], was offered the position, but he refused out of loyalty to Constantine.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=107}}{{sfn|Mateos Sáinz de Medrano|2004|p=183}}{{sfn|Vickers|2000|pages=122, 148}} Ultimately, George's younger brother, Alexander, was chosen by Venizelos and the Entente to replace Constantine.{{sfn|Bertin|1982|p=220}}{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=107}}

On 10 June [<nowiki/>Old Style: 28 May] 1917, Alexander officially ascended to the throne in a small ceremony that was only attended by George and former prime minister [[Alexandros Zaimis]]. In addition, {{Interlanguage link|Theocletus I of Athens{{!}}Theocletus I|el|3=Αρχιεπίσκοπος Θεόκλητος Α΄}}, the [[Archbishop of Athens and All Greece]], did not attend. The ceremony is kept secret from the public and there are no state celebrations that occur. Alexander, who was only 23 years old, was described as having a "broken voice" and teary eyes when he took the oath of loyalty to the constitution. Historians, such as Van der Kiste, argue that he was fearful of dealing with his opponents and the fact that his reign was illegitimate according to succession laws. Neither Constantine nor George had renounced their rights to the throne, and Constantine told Alexander that he viewed him as the country's regent, not monarch.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pages=107–08}} On the evening of the ceremony, Alexander moved from the future presidential mansion in inner Athens to Tatoi. George and all other members of the royal family had planned to leave for exile, however crowds of people protested outside the mansion to prevent them from leaving, so they had to escape in secret the following day. They reached the port of [[Oropos]] and fled the country due to the war.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pp=110–11}} This was the final time that George had contact with his brother, Alexander.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=117}}