MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR KING PETER II AT THE ROYAL CHURCH OF SAINT ANDREW THE FIRST CALLED IN THE PALACE COMPOUND

Belgrade, 3 November 2003 – Memorial service at The Royal Church of Saint Andrew the Firs Called was held today commemorating the thirty third anniversary of passing away of the late King Peter II. The service was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Lavrentije of Sabac and Valjevo with assistance of Father Vladan Perisic and the priests of Sabac and Valjevo Bishoprics. The service was attended by members of the advisory bodies of the Crown and media representatives.

After the commemoration His Grace Bishop Lavrentije of Sabac and Valjevo addressed all present and expressed his pleasure for remembering King Peter II today and his difficult life.

HRH Crown Prince Alexander II thanked to everybody who came today to pay their respect to his father the late King Peter II.

“He was only eleven when his father, King Alexander I was assassinated in Marseilles. Since then his life had been very difficult, but he always had a lot of love for our people in his heart. The news of my father’s death came to me in Germany were I was stationed and three days later heard the news on BBC Radio. Regrettably, Karadjordjevic family and myself as his son were the last who heard the news.

I know my father would have loved to see a better future for our country and our people not working against themselves. He was very loyal to his people and his country. That is why my aim is to return my father’s remains to homeland, in Oplenac, where they should be.

King Peter II is now buried in Libertyville, at the Monastery of St. Sava. My wife and I visited my father’s grave during our recent tour in the USA and His Most Eminent Grace Metropolitan Christopher was with us. We talked about the transfer of my father’s remains to Serbia “ – emphasized HRH Crown Prince Alexander II.

After the service in front of the church of St. Andrew The First Called, King Peter II’s friend Dr Ljubisa Kostic addressed all present. Dr Kostic who was the King’s companion from 1935 to 1941, recollected memories of that period. As a high school student he and his friends accompanied King Peter II in his gymnastics classes, and they also practiced other sports.

King Peter II took over his royal prerogatives on 27 March 1941 after the Coup d’état. After Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied, King Peter II and the Government were forced to first retreat inside the country, and then, accompanied by the high ranking officers they left from Montenegro – initially for Greece, and then to Palestine and Egypt, and eventually London. During the Second World War King Peter II performed his regular statesman’s activities and visits to Ally countries (USA), and later joined the Royal Air Forces.

In March 1945, under Allies’ pressure, after a long dissent and against his will King Peter II accepted to establish a tripartite Regency, who soon appointed Tito the Prime Minister. In November 1945, by the decision of the Constitutional Assembly that was elected under communist pressure in totally undemocratic circumstances, the monarchy was illegally abolished without a referendum. Yugoslavia remained a totalitarian single party state under absolute reign of the League of Communists for more than four decades. The Karadjordjevic Dynasty was deprived of Yugoslav citizenship, all rights and all of their property was confiscated by a special decree of 1947.

King Peter II who was illegally deposed never abdicated. Initially he lived in exile in London with his wife (he married the Greek Princess Alexandra in 1944) and his son Crown Prince Alexander born in 1945. King Peter spent the last years of his life in America, where he was joined by numerous associations of the members of the former Royal Army in Homeland and supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church Dioceses in his efforts to oppose to the communist reign in the country, advocating restoration of democracy and monarchy. He published his memoirs, “A King’s Heritage” in English in London, and they represent an important testimony about the period of his reign in the turbulent times of the Second World War.

After a long and grave illness King Peter died in Denver Hospital Colorado 3 November 1970, and he was buried in the presence of impressive number of the Diaspora Serbs at the St. Sava Church in Libertyville Illinois. His remains will be transferred to the Memorial Church of St. George in Oplenac in 2004.