by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
source: Wikipedia
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was born on December 16, 1888, in Cetinje, Montenegro. He was the fourth child of the future King Peter I of Serbia and Princess Zorka of Montenegro.
Alexander had four siblings:
- Princess Jelena of Serbia (1884 – 1962) – married Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, had issue; Ioann was executed by the Bolsheviks on July 18, 1918, along with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and four other Romanovs. See Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Five Other Romanovs
- Princess Milena of Serbia (1886 – 1887) – died in infancy
- Prince George, Crown Prince of Serbia (1887 – 1972) – renounced his rights to succession in 1909; married at the age of 60 to Radmila Radonjić, no issue
- Prince Andrew of Serbia (1890) – died at birth along with his mother
When Alexander was only two-years-old, his mother died giving birth to her fifth child who also died. After Zorka’s death, the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland. Alexander and his elder brother George attended the Imperial Page Corps in St. Petersburg, Russia. During this time, in 1903, a coup took place in Serbia, and Alexander’s father was proclaimed King. Alexander and his brother returned to Serbia to continue their education.
Crown Prince Alexander. source: Royal Family of Serbia
In 1909, his elder brother George renounced his rights to the throne, and Alexander became the Crown Prince. Alexander served in the Serbian military, commanding the First Army during the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In 1914, he became Regent when his father turned over his royal prerogatives, and just days later, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria led to the onset of World War I. Alexander continued to lead his troops, attaining several important victories over the Austrian forces before being forced to retreat in 1915. He and his father led the forces through Montenegro and Albania, eventually reaching the Greek island of Corfu.
Alexander and Maria on their wedding day. photo from the George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress; source: Wikipedia
Alexander’s father died on August 16, 1921, and he took the throne as King Alexander I of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The following year, on June 8, 1922, he married Princess Maria of Romania, the daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh. The couple had three sons:
- King Peter II of Yugoslavia (1923 – 1970), married Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, had one son
- Prince Tomislav (1928 – 2000), married (1) Princess Margarita of Baden, had one son and one daughter, divorced (2) Linda Mary Bonney, had two sons
- Prince Andrej (1929 – 1990), married (1) Princess Christina Margarethe of Hesse, had one daughter and one son, divorced (2) Princess Kira of Leiningen, had two sons and one daughter, divorced (3) Eva Maria Andjelkovich, no children
On January 6, 1929, King Alexander abolished the Constitution and changed the name of the country to The Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He later ordered a new constitution that gave more power to the King and allowed him to personally appoint the upper house of the government.
Alexander and Maria, c.1933. source: Wikipedia/Bulgarian Archives State Agency
On October 9, 1934, while driving through the streets of Marseilles, France with the French Foreign Minister, King Alexander was killed when a gunman approached the car and shot him twice. The assassin was a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. The following day, his body was returned to Belgrade, where a state funeral was held. He is buried in the Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family beneath St. George’s Church, Oplenac in Topola, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now in Serbia.
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