Obeleženo 90 godina od rođenja Nj.V. Kralja Petra II - Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the birth of HM King Peter II

Канцеларија Њ.К.В. Престолонаследника Александра II

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The Office of H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander II

Njegovo Kraljevsko Visočanstvo Prestolonaslednik Aleksandar II u pratnji članova Krunskog saveta položio je danas venac na grob svog oca Njegovog Veličanstva Kralja Petra II u porodičnom mauzoleju Crkve Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu povodom 90 godina od rođenja blaženopočivšeg Kralja.

U Crkvi Svetog Đorđe na Oplencu, zadužbini dinastije Karađorđević služen je pomen za pokoj duše Nj.V. Kralja Petra II, nakon čega je Nj.K.V. Prestolonaslednik Aleksandar II položio venac na grob svog oca, blaženopočivšeg Kralja Petra II u porodičnoj kripti. U pratnji Nj.K.V. Prestolonaslednika Aleksandra II bili su i članovi Krunskog saveta: g-din Predrag Marković, Prof. dr Slobodan Marković i g-din Darko Spasić. Poštu Nj.V. Kralju Petru II odali su i članovi Udruženja Kraljevina Srbija zajedno sa građanima Topole.

Nj.V. Kralj Petar II bio je prvorođeni sin Kralja Aleksandra I i Kraljice Marije, Rođen je u Beogradu 6. septembra 1923. Kumovi na krštenju bili su mu  engleski Kralj Džordž VI i Kraljica Elizabeta (kasnije Kraljica Majka Velike Britanije). Posle osnovnog obrazovanja koje je stekao na Dvoru, pohađao je školu u Engleskoj, iz koje se vratio posle atentata na njegovog oca 1934. Pošto je tada bio maloletan i imao svega 11 godina, kraljevsko upravljanje zemljom preneto je na Namesništvo koje se sastojalo od tri regenta, među kojima je bio i njegov stric Knez Pavle Karađorđević.

Početak Drugog svetskog rata 1939. stavio je Kraljevinu Jugoslaviju pred tešku odluku: da li da pristupi Trojnom paktu (Nemačka – Italija – Japan) ili da se suprotstavi neuporedivo snažnijem neprijatelju. Odluka Princa Pavla da potpiše ponuđeni ugovor naišla je na žestoke proteste u zemlji, koji su 27. marta 1941. doveli do krize vlade i državnog udara. Prestolonaslednik Petar proglašen je punoletnim, i odmah preuzeo ovlašćenja od Namesništva.

Jugoslovenska vojska nije mogla da se odupre predstojećoj invaziji nacističke Nemačke koja je usledila: Jugoslavija je bila okupirana za 11 dana. Kralj Petar II bio je primoran da zajedno sa vladom emigrira, prvo u Grčku i Palestinu, a zatim u Egipat. U junu 1941. stigao je u Englesku, gde je prihvaćen kao simbol otpora nacizmu. Za vreme svog izbeglištva Kralj Petar II je dovršio školovanje u Kembridžu, nakon čega se pridružio engleskom Kraljevskom vazduhoplovstvu (RAF). 

Uprkos slomu jugoslovenske vojske u zemlji su oformljena dva suparniča pokreta otpora. Prvi je bio rojalistički na čelu sa generalom Dragoljubom (Dražom) Mihajlovićem, Ministrom odbrane vlade u izgnanstvu. Drugi je bio komunistički partizanski pokret, koji je vodio komunista Josip Broz - kasnije poznatiji kao Tito. Posledica je bio krvavi građanski rat.

Saveznici su najpre podržavali Mihajlovića, a onda su se preorijentisali na Tita. Godine 1944, u pratnji sovjetskih tenkovskih brigada, partizani su ušli u Beograd i oformili komunističku vladu. Naredne godine, u novembru, monarhija je nezakonito, bez referenduma ukinuta, a Jugoslavija se preobrazila i tokom više od četiri decenije ostala totalitarna jednopartijska država pod vlašću komunističke partije.

Kralj Petar II nikada nije abdicirao. Godine 1947. komunistička vlast je oduzela državljanstvo i konfiskovala imovinu Kraljevskoj Porodici. U izgnanstvu je prvo živeo u Londonu sa svojom suprugom, grčkom i danskom princezom Aleksandrom (od 1944. godine) i sinom Aleksandrom, rođenim 1945. godine. Poslednje godine života proveo je u Americi. Posle duge i teške bolesti umro je u denverskoj bolnici 3. novembra 1970, a sahranjen je u crkvi Svetog Save u Libertvilu. On je bio jedini kralj sahranjen u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama. 22. januara 2013. godine njegovi posmrtni ostaci preneti su u Kraljevsku kapelu na Dedinju, a 26. maja 2013. godine sahranjeni u zadužbinskoj Crkvi Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu tokom Državne sahrane zajedno sa njegovom suprugom Njenim Veličanstvom Kraljicom Aleksandrom, njegovom majkom Njenim Veličanstvom Kraljicom Marijom i bratom Njegovim Kraljevskim Visočanstvom Kraljevićem Andrejom.

Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the birth of HM King Peter II

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II accompanied by members of the Crown Council laid a wreath on the tomb of his father HM King Peter II at the family Mausoleum of St. George Church in Oplenac, commemorating the 90th anniversary of birth of the of His Majesty King Peter II.

The requiem for the late King was officiated at St. George Church in Oplenac, Endowment of the Karadjordjevic Dynasty, and afterwards HRH Crown Prince Alexander II laid a wreath on his father tomb in Family crypt. Accompanying HRH Crown Prince Alexander II were members of the Crown Council Mr. Predrag Markovic, Prof. Dr Slobodan Markovic, and Mr. Darko Spasic. Members of Kingdom of Serbia Association and citizens of Topola also paid respects to HM King Peter II.

King Peter II of Yugoslavia was the firstborn son of King Alexander I and Queen Maria of Yugoslavia. King Peter II was born in Belgrade 6 September 1923 his Godparents were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother of Great Britain). His education commenced at The Royal Palace after which he went to Sandroyd School in England, which he left after his father's assassination in 1934. Since King Peter II was 11 years old and underage at the time of his father’s assassination, a regency was formed consisting of three regents including his great uncle HRH Prince Paul Karadjordjevic.

In 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia found itself surrounded by countries that had joined the Axis as allies of Nazi Germany. Prince Paul's decision in 1941 to sign a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany resulted in severe protests in the country and this led to a government crisis and a coup d’état by Yugoslav officers on 27 March 1941. As a result of the coup, King Peter II was proclaimed of age.

The Yugoslav Army was unprepared to resist the ensuing invasion by Nazi Germany and Yugoslavia was occupied within eleven days. King Peter II was forced to leave the country along with the Yugoslav Government - initially to Greece, Palestine and then to Egypt. King Peter II joined other monarchs and leaders of German occupied Europe in London in June 1941. There King Peter was regarded by the people of Yugoslavia as the symbol of resistance against Nazism. King Peter II completed his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air Force.

Despite the collapse of the Yugoslav army two rival resistance entities were formed. The first resistance entity was the loyalist one led by Yugoslav Army Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic who was later promoted to General and made the Minister of Defence of the Yugoslav government in exile. The other resistance entity was that of the communist Partisans led by the communist party leader Josip Broz - later known to the world as Tito. A bitter civil war followed during the German occupation.

The Allies, having initially supported General Mihailovic later threw their support behind Tito. The Partisans entered Belgrade in 1944 in the wake of Soviet tank brigades and illegally established a communist Government. In November 1945, the monarchy was illegally abolished without a referendum and Yugoslavia remained a totalitarian single party state under the League of Communists for more than four decades.

King Peter II never abdicated. Initially King Peter II lived in exile in London with his wife (he married the Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark in 1944, she was the daughter of King Alexander of the Hellenes and Aspasia Manos) and their son Crown Prince Alexander was born in 1945.

HM King Peter II spent the last years of his life in America. After a long and grave illness, King Peter II died 3 November 1970 in Denver Hospital Colorado, and he was buried at the St. Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville Illinois. He was the only king buried in the United States. The King's remains were transferred to Royal Palace  Chapel on 22 January 2013 for a State Funeral that took place 26 May 2013 at the Karadjordjevic dynasty Mausoleum of St. George in Oplenac, Serbia where His Majesty joined his wife Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, his mother Her Majesty Queen Maria and his brother His Royal Highness Prince Andrej.

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Tel: +381 11 306 4000

Fax:+381 11 306 4040

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