In 1862, Greece revolted against their king, King Otto, and deposed him. Wanting a closer allegiance to Great Britain, the Greek National Assembly held a vote. The Greek population, also desired closer ties to Great Britain, and voted Prince Alfred (son of the queen) as their King by an overwhelming margin.
What the Greeks didn’t know was that Great Britain had made it law that no member of the royal family could be king of Greece. So despite his overwhelming victory, Prince Alfred could not accept the throne.
After considering many candidates, Greece and Great Britain came to the decision that Prince William of Denmark would be a suitable king. The funny thing about that is that during the vote in 1862, he received only 6 votes! Nevertheless, Prince William became King George I of the Hellenes and ruled for 50 years.
