|
King Peter II of Yugoslavia was the firstborn son of King Alexander I and
Queen Maria of Yugoslavia. King Peter II was born in Belgrade 6 September 1923
his Godparents were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother of
Great Britain). His education commenced at The Royal Palace after which he went
to Sandroyd School in England, which he left after his father's assassination in
1934. Since King Peter II was 11 years old and underage at the time of his
father’s assassination, a regency was formed consisting of three regents
including his great uncle Prince Paul Karadjordjevic.
In 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
found itself surrounded by countries that had joined the Axis as allies of Nazi
Germany. Prince Paul's decision in 1941 to sign a non-aggression pact with Nazi
Germany resulted in severe protests in the country and this led to a government
crisis and a coup d’état by Yugoslav officers on 27 March 1941. As a result of
the coup, King Peter II was proclaimed of age.
The Yugoslav Army was unprepared to resist the ensuing invasion by Nazi
Germany and Yugoslavia was occupied within eleven days. King Peter II was forced
to leave the country along with the Yugoslav Government - initially to Greece,
Palestine and then to Egypt. King Peter II joined other monarchs and leaders of
German occupied Europe in London in June 1941. There King Peter was regarded by
the people of Yugoslavia as the symbol of resistance against Nazism. King Peter
II completed his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air
Force.
Despite the collapse of the Yugoslav army two rival resistance entities were
formed. The first resistance entity was the loyalist one led by Yugoslav Army
Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic who was later promoted to General and made the
Minister of Defence of the Yugoslav government in exile. The other resistance
entity was that of the communist Partisans led by the communist party leader
Josip Broz - later known to the world as Tito. A bitter civil war followed
during the German occupation.
The Allies, having initially supported General Mihailovic later threw their
support behind Tito. The Partisans entered Belgrade in 1944 in the wake of
Soviet tank brigades and illegally established a communist Government. In
November 1945, the monarchy was illegally abolished without a referendum and
Yugoslavia remained a totalitarian single party state under the League of
Communists for more than four decades.
King Peter II never abdicated. Initially King Peter II lived in exile in
London with his wife (he married the Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark in
1944, she was the daughter of King Alexander of the Hellenes and Aspasia Manos)
and his son Crown Prince Alexander was born in 1945.
King Peter II spent the last years of his life in America. After a long and
grave illness, King Peter II died 3 November 1970 in Denver Hospital Colorado,
and he was buried at the St. Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville Illinois. He
is the only king buried in the United States. The King's remains will be
transferred to the Karadjordjevic dynasty Mausoleum of St. George in Oplenac,
Serbia where His Majesty will join other members of The Royal Family. |
