MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE LATE KING PETER II

Oplenac, 3 November 2006 - A memorial service for His Majesty the Late King Peter II of Yugoslavia took place today in the Church of Saint George at Oplenac, on the occasion of the anniversary of King Peter II's death.

The Memorial Service was served by the Clergy of the Oplenac Deanery of the Diocese of Sumadija and was attended by the General Manager of the King Peter I Endowment Mr. Miladin Gavrilovic, his associates and numerous citizens of Topola and nearby towns as well as other admirers of the late King Peter II.

King Peter II was born in Belgrade on 6 September 1923, he was as the first born son of Their Majesties King Alexander I and Queen Marie. His Godfather was King George VI of Great Britain and Godmother Queen Elizabeth. His education commenced at The Royal Palace, and then he went to Sandroyd School in England, which he left after his father's assassination in 1934. Since King Peter II was underage at the time a regency was proclaimed headed by his great uncle Prince Regent Paul Karadjordjevic.

In 1941 when Yugoslavia entered the war on the side of the Allies King Peter II left the country with the Yugoslav Government - initially for Greece, and to Palestine and Egypt. He came to England in June of 1941, where he was regarded as the symbol of resistance against Nazism. King Peter II completed his education at Cambridge University, and then joined the Royal Air Force.

King Peter II never abdicated. Initially King Peter II lived in exile in London with his wife, the Greek Princess Alexandra and his son Crown Prince Alexander II, who was born in 1945. King Peter II spent the last years of his life in the United States of America. After a long and grave illness King Peter II died in Denver Hospital Colorado 3 November 1970, and he was buried at the St. Sava Church in Libertyville, Illinois, and is the only king buried in the United States.

HRH Crown Prince Alexander II is planning to bring his father's remains to the homeland, where the late King Peter II will find peace in the Mausoleum Church of St. George at Oplenac.