9. Monkey Business Dooms a King
King Alexander of Greece’s greatest oops moment led to his death at the hands (and teeth) of a monkey. Not Alexander the Great, mind, but a more recent King Alexander (1893 – 1920). Less imposing than the ancient’ world’s great conqueror, this Alexander, who reigned from 1917 until killed by a monkey three years later, is better known for the undignified manner of his death than for anything he did in life.
Alexander ascended the throne during WWI, in 1917, after the Entente forced his father to abdicate because he was too pro-German. Once Alexander ascended the throne in his father’s place, the pro-Entente Eleutherios Venizelos became Greek premier. He dominated the young king and his government, and got Greece to join the war on the Entente’s side.