9. In a rather undignified end, Alexander I of Greece died of a monkey bite after doctors hesitated in amputating a septic limb without explicit prior permission
Alexander I, not to be confused with “the Great”, was King of Greece between 1917 and 1920. Ascending to the throne in the aftermath of World War I, with his father, Constantine I, and elder brother, the Crown Prince George, forced into exile by the Entente Powers, George possessed limited political experience or acumen. Reduced to the status of a ceremonial puppet, George was stripped of his royal powers by Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and virtually imprisoned within his palace. Despite this, George presided over a period of expansion for Greece, with the victory of the Entente in World War I and early acquisitions in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.
On October 2, 1920, whilst walking through the grounds of the Tatois royal estate, his German Shepard, Fritz, got into a fight with a Barbary macaque. In attempting to separate the two animals, the monkey turned on the monarch, biting him deeply on the legs and torso. Although not considering the injuries serious, the wounds, which were not suitably cauterized, rapidly became infected and George fell into a state of delirium. However, no doctor wished to take personal responsibility for the amputation of the king’s leg without authorization. As a result of this medical inaction, the king died of sepsis on October 25.