Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia ( sr, Александар Карађорђевић, Престолонаследник Југославије; born 17 July 1945 in London), is the head of the

House of Karađorđević A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

, the former royal house of the defunct

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

and its predecessor the Kingdom of Serbia. Alexander is the only child of King Peter II and his wife,

Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark ( el, Αλεξάνδρα); – ), later known as Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia (russian: Алекса́ндра Гео́ргиевна), was a member of the Greek royal family and of the ...

. He held the position of

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

in the

Democratic Federal Yugoslavia Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, also known as Democratic Federative Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia or DFY), was a provisional state established during World War II on 29 November 1943 through the Second Session of the Anti-Fascist Council for the Nation ...

for the first four-and-a-half months of his life, from his birth until the declaration of the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

later in 1945. In public he is also claiming the crowned royal title of "Alexander II Karađorđević" ( sr-Cyrl, Александар II Карађорђевић / ''Aleksandar II Karađorđević'') although the kingdom was abolished. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, he enjoys close relationships with his relatives in the British royal family. His godparents were King George VI of the United Kingdom and his daughter, the then-Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II). Through his father, Alexander is a direct descendant of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, through his great-great-grandfather Prince

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was the sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from ...

, Victoria's second eldest son. Maternally, he is also a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, through his great-great-grandmother Victoria, Empress of Germany, Victoria's eldest daughter. Alexander is known for his support of

monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

and his humanitarian work.

Status at birth

As with many other European monarchs during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, King Peter II left his country to establish a government-in-exile. He left Yugoslavia in April 1941 and arrived in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in June 1941. The Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces capitulated in 18 April. After the

Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference ( codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embass ...

, the Allies shifted support from royalist Chetniks to communist-led Partisans.Fenyvesi (1981), p. 211 Commenting on the event and what happened to his father, Crown Prince Alexander said, "He eter IIwas too straight. He could not believe that his allies – the mighty American democracy and his relatives and friends in London – could do him in. But that's precisely what happened". In June 1944,

Ivan Šubašić Ivan Šubašić (; 7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Yugoslav Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and prime minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War. Early life He was born in Vuk ...

, the Royalist prime minister, and Josip Broz Tito, the Communist Partisan leader, signed an agreement that was an attempt to merge the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

government and communist movement. On 29 November 1943, AVNOJ (formed by the Partisans) declared themselves the sovereign communist government of Yugoslavia and announced that they would take away all legal rights from the Royal government. On 10 August 1945, less than a month after Alexander's birth, AVNOJ named the country

. On 29 November 1945, the country was declared a communist republic and changed its name to

People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

. In 1947, all members of Alexander's family except for his grand-uncle Prince George were deprived of their Yugoslav

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and their property was confiscated. As of 8 July 2015 the High Court in Belgrade found that decree 392, issued by the Presidency of the Presidium of the National Assembly on 3 August 1947, which deprived King Peter II and other members of the House of Karađorđević of their citizenship, was null and void from the moment of its adoption, in the parts pertaining to Crown Prince Alexander, and that all of its legal consequences are thus null and void.

Birth and childhood

Alexander was born in Suite 212 of

Claridge's Hotel Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Hote ...

in Brook Street, Mayfair,

. The British Government is said to have temporarily ceded sovereignty over the suite in which the birth occurred to Yugoslavia so that the crown prince would be born on Yugoslav territory, though the story may be apocryphal, as there exists no documentary record of this. Another part of the story says that a box of soil from the homeland was placed under the bed, so the Prince could be born on Yugoslav soil. He was the only child of King Peter II and Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia. He was christened on 24 October 1945 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. His godparents were members of the British royal family, King George VI and Princess Elizabeth, who later became Queen Elizabeth II. His parents were relatively unable to take care of him, due to their various health and financial problems, so Alexander was raised by his maternal grandmother, Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark. He was educated at Trinity School,

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the can ...

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is locate ...

, Millfield and

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cade ...

, Aldershot, and pursued a career in the British military.

Military service

Alexander graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1966 and was commissioned as an officer into the British Army's

16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 16th The Queen's Lancers and the 5th Royal Irish Lancers in 1922. The reason for the uniquely atypical regimental title (wi ...

regiment, rising to the rank of captain. His tours of duty included

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. After leaving the army in 1972, Alexander, who speaks several languages, pursued a career in international business.

Marriages

Royal Wedding Stockholm 2010-Lejonbacken-031

On 1 July 1972 at

Villamanrique de la Condesa Villamanrique de la Condesa is a city located in the province of Seville, Spain. Twin towns * Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (, lit.: "Saint Marys of the Sea"; Provençal Occitan: ''Li Santi Mario de la Mar'') is the cap ...

, near

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain, he married Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans-Bragança from the Brazilian imperial family. They are double 4th cousins once removed as both are descendants of

Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (28 March 1785 – 27 August 1851) was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and a general of cavalry in the Austrian Imperial and Royal Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite ...

(1785–1851) and his wife Princess Maria Antonia von Koháry (1797–1862), as well as of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil and his wife, Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria. They have three sons:

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(born 5 February 1980), and fraternal twins: Philip and

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(both born 15 January 1982). Alexander and Maria da Gloria divorced on 19 February 1985. Both of them married for the second time. Maria da Gloria married to Ignacio de Medina,

Duke of Segorbe Duke of Segorbe ( es, Duque de Segorbe) is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1469 by John II of Aragon to Enrique de Aragón, son of Infante Henry, Duke of Villena and Beatriz de ...

(b. 1947), while Crown Prince Alexander married Katherine Clairy Batis, the daughter of Robert Batis and his wife, Anna Dosti, civilly on 20 September 1985, and religiously the following day, at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Notting Hill, London. Since their marriage, she is known as Crown Princess Katherine, as per the royal family's website.

Return to Yugoslavia

Alexander first came to Yugoslavia in 1991. He actively worked with the opposition to Slobodan Milošević and moved to Yugoslavia after Milošević had been deposed in 2000. On 27 February 2001, the parliament of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

(FRY) passed legislation conferring citizenship on members of the Karađorđević family. The legislation may also have effectively annulled a decree stripping the family of its citizenship of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

(SFRY) in 1947. The annulment was the topic of some debate. Notably, the FRY was not the successor of the SFRY; rather the FRY was a new state (and was admitted to the United Nations as a new state on that basis). Therefore, the jurisdiction of a new state to annul an action of a different former state was questioned. In effect, the Karađorđević family had FRY citizenship conferred upon them, not "restored" as such. The FRY legislation also addresses restoration of property to the Karađorđević family. In March 2001, the property seized from his family, including royal palaces, was returned for residential purposes with property ownership to be decided by parliament at some later date. He has lived since 17 July 2001 in the Royal Palace (''Kraljevski Dvor'') in

Dedinje Dedinje ( sr-cyrl, Дедиње, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac. Dedinje is generally considered the wealthiest part of Belgrade, and is the site of numerous ...

, an exclusive area of Belgrade. The Palace, which was completed in 1929, is one of two royal residences in the Royal Compound; the other is the White Palace, which was completed in 1936.

Belief in constitutional monarchy

Alexander is a proponent of re-creating a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

in Serbia and sees himself as the rightful king. He believes that monarchy could give Serbia "stability, continuity and unity". A number of political parties and organizations support a constitutional parliamentary monarchy in Serbia. The Serbian Orthodox Church has openly supported the restoration of the monarchy. The assassinated former Serbian Prime Minister

Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđi� ...

was often seen in the company of the prince and his family, supporting their campaigns and projects, although his Democratic Party never publicly embraced monarchy. Crown Prince Alexander has vowed to stay out of politics. He and Princess Katherine spend considerable time engaging in humanitarian work. The Crown Prince has, however, increasingly participated in public functions alongside the leaders of Serbia, the former Yugoslav republics and members of the

diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ...

. On 11 May 2006, he hosted a reception at the Royal Palace for delegates attending a summit on Serbia and Montenegro. The reception was attended by the Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, as well as ambassadors and diplomats from

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Japan,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He later delivered a keynote speech in front of prime ministers

Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008. ...

and

Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister ...

. In the speech he spoke of prospective Serbian membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. He told delegates: Following

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

's successful independence referendum on 21 May 2006, the re-creation of the Serbian monarchy found its way into daily political debate. A monarchist proposal for the new Serbian constitution has been published alongside other proposals. The

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

approved in October 2006 is a republican one. The Serbian people have not had a chance to vote on the system of government. The Crown Prince raised the issue of a royal restoration in the immediate aftermath of the vote. In a press release issued on 24 May 2006 he stated: In 2011 an online

open access poll An open-access poll is a type of opinion poll in which a nonprobability sample of participants self-select into participation. The term includes call-in, mail-in, and some online polls. The most common examples of open-access polls ask people t ...

by Serbian middle-market tabloid newspaper Blic showed that 64% of Serbians support restoring the monarchy. Another poll in May 2013 had 39% of Serbians supporting the monarchy, with 32% against it. The public also had reservations with Alexander's apparent lack of knowledge of the Serbian language. On 27 July 2015, newspaper Blic published a poll "''Da li Srbija treba da bude monarhija?''" ("Should Serbia be a monarchy?"); 49.8% respondents expressed support in a reconstitution of monarchy, 44.6% were opposed and 5.5% were indifferent. On 16 December 2017, Alexander attended with his wife the state funeral of his first cousin once removed, King Michael of Romania in Bucharest, along with other heads of European royal families and invited guests. On 19 September 2022, Alexander and his wife attended the state funeral of his godmother Queen Elizabeth II.

Honours

: Sovereign of the Royal Order of Saint Prince Lazarus * House of Karađorđević: Sovereign of the Royal Order of Karađorđe's Star * House of Karađorđević: Sovereign of the Royal Order of the White Eagle * House of Karađorđević: Sovereign of the

Royal Order of the Crown The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 189 ...

* House of Karađorđević: Sovereign of the Royal Order of St. Sava * Brazilian Imperial Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross * Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus * Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius * Two Sicilian Royal Family: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

Foreign

* : Commander of the

National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

: Collar of the Order of Merit * :

Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace The Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace ( Slovak: ''Pamätná medaila Stromu pokoja'') is the second highest award awarded since 2020 by Servare et Manere, the Slovak non-governmental organization. The award was first awarded on September 28, 202 ...

, Special class with rubies * : Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf * : Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf * : Recipient of the General Service Medal

Ecclesiastical

* Order of Tsar Constantine ( Serbian Orthodox Church) * Order of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

) * Order of Saint Tsar Nicholas ( Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) * Order of Saint Sava (First Grade) (Serbian Orthodox Church) * Order of St. Prince Lazar (

Eparchy of Raška and Prizren Eparchy of Raška and Prizren, al, Eparkia Rashkë - Prizren. Also known as the Eparchy of Raška-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija ( sr, / ; sq, Eparkia Rashkë - Prizren). is one of the oldest eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church, featuring t ...

, Serbian Orthodox Church)

References

Books, letters and articles

* * * *Luxmoore, Jonathon
Serbian Orthodox Leader Calls For Monarchy To Be Reintroduced
Ecumenical News Daily Service (Belgrade), 8 December 2003

External links

Official Royal Family websiteRoyal Mausoleum Oplenac websiteCrown Prince Alexander II Foundation for EducationCrown Princess Katherine's Humanitarian Foundation

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Yugoslavia, Crown Prince 1945 births Living people Yugoslav princes Heirs apparent who never acceded Karađorđević dynasty Pretenders to the Serbian throne People educated at Gordonstoun People educated at Millfield Alumni of Institut Le Rosey Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Serbian people of Greek descent Serbian people of Danish descent Yugoslav anti-communists Serbian anti-communists Serbian monarchists Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown Culver Academies alumni Sons of kings