Serbia holds funeral for Yugoslavia's last king
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2013, Monday
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SERBIA held a funeral yesterday for Yugoslavia's last king, Peter II Karadjordjevic, who had fled the country at the start of World War II and died in the US in 1970.
The former king's remains, and those of his wife, mother and brother, were interred in the family tomb at St George church in Oplenac, central Serbia, in a ceremony aired live on the state television.
After fleeing Yugoslavia during its Nazi occupation, the former king never returned because Communists took over the country at the end of the war and abolished the monarchy.
He died in exile at the age of 47 and was buried at a Serbian Orthodox Church monastery in Illinois - the only European monarch laid to rest on US soil.
Peter was born into a royal family, and his godfather was Britain's King George VI, but his life was often tragic and chaotic.
He was only 11 years old when his father, King Alexander I, was assassinated in 1934 in France. For the next six years the boy's powers were in the hands of a three-man regency headed by his uncle, Prince Paul.
In March 1941, Prince Paul was overthrown in a military coup after signing a pact with Germany. Peter, then 17, was made the king by the Serb anti-fascists. But when Germany invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, Peter was forced to flee.
The former king's remains, and those of his wife, mother and brother, were interred in the family tomb at St George church in Oplenac, central Serbia, in a ceremony aired live on the state television.
After fleeing Yugoslavia during its Nazi occupation, the former king never returned because Communists took over the country at the end of the war and abolished the monarchy.
He died in exile at the age of 47 and was buried at a Serbian Orthodox Church monastery in Illinois - the only European monarch laid to rest on US soil.
Peter was born into a royal family, and his godfather was Britain's King George VI, but his life was often tragic and chaotic.
He was only 11 years old when his father, King Alexander I, was assassinated in 1934 in France. For the next six years the boy's powers were in the hands of a three-man regency headed by his uncle, Prince Paul.
In March 1941, Prince Paul was overthrown in a military coup after signing a pact with Germany. Peter, then 17, was made the king by the Serb anti-fascists. But when Germany invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, Peter was forced to flee.
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