Cretan State / Πρίγκηψ Γεώργιος της Ελλάδος (Prince George of Greece)

Prince George of Greece and Denmark (Modern Greek: Πρίγκιπας Γεώργιος της Ελλάδας, contemporary Greek: Πρίγκηψ Γεώργιος της Ελλάδος) was the second son of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of the future Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II in 1891 during their visit to Japan together. He served as high commissioner of the Cretan State during its transition towards independence from Ottoman rule and union with Greece.

After a revolution in Crete, the Great Powers decided to restore order by governing the island temporarily through a committee of four admirals who remained in charge until the arrival of Prince George of Greece as the first High Commissioner (Greek: Ὕπατος Ἁρμοστής, Hýpatos Harmostēs) of an autonomous Crete, effectively detached from the Ottoman Empire, on 9 December 1898. Although technically just a representative of the Powers and not a monarch, the effigy and legend of Prince George appeared on Cretan coinage in 1901.

At the end of September 1906 Prince George was replaced as High Commissioner by the former Greek prime minister Alexandros Zaimis and left the island.