by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
King Peter II of Yugoslavia – source: Wikipedia
King Peter II of Yugoslavia was the last King of Yugoslavia. He was born on September 6, 1923, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, now in Serbia, the eldest son of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria of Romania.
Peter had two younger siblings:
- 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
Peter as a child; source: Royal Family of Serbia
Peter was initially educated at the Royal Palace in Belgrade before attending the Sandroyd School in Wiltshire, England. Sadly, his father was assassinated on October 9, 1934, and the 11-year-old Peter ascended the throne as King Peter II. Because of his age, a Regency Council was established, led by his father’s cousin Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.
At the onset of World War II, Yugoslavia was surrounded by countries that had become allies of the Nazis. Prince Paul, against the advice of Peter and his advisers, decided in 1941 to enter into a non-aggression pact with Germany. This resulted in riots and protests in Yugoslavia and led to a coup, supported by the British. As a result, on March 27, 1941, 17-years-old, King Peter II was proclaimed of age and the Regency was ended.
Within weeks, Yugoslavia was occupied by Nazi forces forcing the government to surrender on April 17, 1941. King Peter went into exile with the government, first to Greece, then to Jerusalem, and to Cairo. In June 1941, King Peter went to the United Kingdom, where he finished his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air Force.
King Peter and Princess Alexandra on their wedding day, with King George VI of the United Kingdom (l) and King George II of the Hellenes (r). source: Royal Family of Serbia
While in London, he met Princess Alexandra of Greece, the daughter of King Alexander I of the Hellenes and Aspasia Manos. The couple married on March 20, 1944, at the Yugoslav Embassy in London. Guests at their wedding included King George VI of the United Kingdom, King George II of the Hellenes, King Haakon VII of Norway, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
Peter and Alexandra had one son:
- Crown Prince Alexander (born 1945), married (1) Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans Bragança, had three sons. divorced (2) Katherine Clairy Batis (Crown Princess Katherine), no children
Peter and Alexandra with Prince Alexander, 1945. source: Royal Family of Serbia
Back in Yugoslavia, two rival resistance groups had been born during the Nazi invasion. The first loyalist group was led by Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic who served as Minister of Defense for the Yugoslav government in exile. The other group, the Partisans, was led by the communist party leader Josip Broz – later known as Tito. Following the German occupation, civil war broke out between the two groups. Despite initially supporting Mihailovic, the Allies soon began to support Tito. In 1944, the Partisans entered Belgrade and established a Communist government. The following year, in November 1945, the new government abolished the monarchy and formally deposed King Peter II. This was, however, done without any referendum and the King never abdicated. Yugoslavia would remain a communist state for over 40 years.
After the war, Peter and Alexandra left London and lived in France and Switzerland before settling in the United States in 1949. The marriage suffered from the strain of Peter’s numerous affairs and the constant struggle to find sources of income. Eventually, they went their separate ways. King Peter settled permanently in the United States while Alexandra took her son and moved to Venice with her mother.
King Peter II, 1966; source: Royal Family of Serbia
Suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, King Peter II died on November 3, 1970, in Denver, Colorado, following a failed liver transplant. Per his wishes, he was interred at the Saint Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois. To date, he is the only European monarch to be buried in the United States. In January 2013, his remains were returned to Serbia and buried in the Royal Family Mausoleum beneath St. George’s Church at Oplenac.
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