Photo: Ana Marija Ršumović
His Royal Highness Hereditary Prince Filip of Serbia and Yugoslavia was born on 15 January 1982 in Fairfax, Virginia, United States.
He is the son of HRH Crown Prince Alexander Karađorđević and HI&RH Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans and Braganza; grandson of HM King Peter II and HM Queen Alexandra; great-grandson of HM King Alexander I “the Unifier” and great-great-grandson of HM King Peter I“the Liberator”; and a direct descendant of HSH Prince Alexander and Supreme Leader (Vrhovni Vožd in Serbian) Karađorđe Petrović, leader of the First Serbian Uprising.
On his mother’s side, a direct ancestor of Hereditary Prince Filip was HM King João VI of Portugal, as well as his son HIM Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, and HIM Pedro II, the second (and last) Emperor of Brazil.
Hereditary Prince Filip’s maternal grandmother, María de la Esperanza, was born into the Royal House of Bourbon–Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Spanish Royal House that ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Southern Italy, itself of Capetian (French royal) origin.
Through his maternal male-line forebears, Prince Filip is a direct descendant of HM Louis-Philippe I, King of the French from 1830 to 1848, who belonged to the House of Bourbon, the French ruling dynasty.
Prince Filip is the twin brother of HRH Prince Alexander and, after his father, first in line to the Serbian Throne. Their elder brother is HRH Prince Peter. His godparents are HM the late King Constantine II of Greece,HM Queen Sophia of Spain, and HRH Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria.
Following his parents’ divorce, he lived with his brothers and mother in Seville, then moved to London to live with their father. He graduated from The King’s School, Canterbury (2000), earned a degree in Hispanic Studies at University College London (UCL), and pursued hotel management at École hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.
He began his career at Landsbanki in the City of London, later worked at IKOS (a global hedge fund) in Cyprus, and then as a financial analyst at Lazard Asset Management in London.
After 15 years’ experience in finance, he now focuses professionally on Bitcoin, which he views as a necessary upgrade to the legacy global financial system. In October 2022 he became Chief Strategy Officer of JAN3, a Bitcoin technology company expanding access to Bitcoin and financial freedom worldwide, providing tools for individuals, enterprises, and nation-states.
Prince Filip enjoys snowboarding, surfing, and football. He ran the Athens Marathon (2010), the Belgrade Half-Marathon (2011), and the London Marathon (2014). He speaks English, Serbian, Spanish, and French.
HRH Hereditary Prince Filip and HRH Princess Danica were married in the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade on 7 October 2017, in a ceremony officiated by His Holiness the late Serbian Patriarch Irinej. The maid of honour was HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden; the best man was HRH Prince Peter Karađorđević. It was the first royal wedding in Belgrade after the wedding of TM King Alexander I and Queen Maria, on 8 June 1922.
On 25 February 2018 Their Royal Highnesses welcomed their son, HRH Prince Stefan— the first descendant of Karađorđe born in Belgrade in 90 years. The family moved from London to Serbia on Vidovdan (28 June) 2020, living in Vračar, Belgrade. On 5 November 2023, their daughter, HRH Princess Marija, was born — the first female child in the hereditary line of the Karađorđević dynasty since Princess Jelena, daughter of HM King Peter Iand Princess Zorka. In September 2024, the family moved to the Thatched House within the Royal Compound in Belgrade.
Together, Their Royal Highnesses founded the “Foundation of Hereditary Prince Filip and Princess Danica of Serbia”, dedicated to preserving Serbian cultural and historical heritage and continuing the dynastic tradition — pairing moral and creative inspiration with innovation and contemporary ideas.