Sunday Deposed Monarch Blogging; House of Karadjordje

In the late 17th century, the Ottoman Empire granted limited autonomy to Serbia, a province that had been under Turkish control since the victory at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389. Turkish weakness emboldened groups of Serbian rebels and bandits supported by the Hapsburg Empire. The brief period of autonomy ended in a brutal crackdown in 1801. By 1804 the Serbs had suffered enough, and a full scale revolt broke out. Led by Djordje Petrovic, also known as Karadjordje (Black George), who had been elected Supreme Leader by a gathering of Serbian chieftains, the Serbs drove the Turks out over the next four years. In 1808 Karadjordje, who had come from relatively modest origins, was declared hereditary Supreme Leader. Unfortunately, international developments allowed the Turks to concentrate against Serbia, quickly crushing the Serbian resistance and ending the brief experiment with independence. Karadjordje and his family fled Serbia for Austria and, eventually, Russia. Efforts to inspire a Russian liberation of Serbia failed, and Karadjordje was assassinated with the connivance of Turkey and a rival Serb family in 1817.

Another revolt in 1815 acheived de facto Serbian independence, although it was not internationally recognized until later in the 19th century. The Obrenovic family, bitter enemies of the Karadjordjes, let the second rebellion and ruled Serbia until 1842, when an internal rebellion led to the election of Aleksandar, youngest son of Karadjordje, as Prince. Aleksandar ruled until 1858, and was replaced by a member of the Obrenovic family, which remained in power until 1903. Upon the assassination of the last Obrenovic in 1903, Peter Karadjordje assumed power as King Peter I. Peter and the rest of the family were driven from Serbia during World War I, but returned in 1918 to become monarch of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which would become Yugoslavia in 1929. Peter’s successor, Alexander, was assassinated in France in 1934. The assassination was one of the first captured on film. Warning:Graphic scenes of regicide:

Alexander was succeeded by his eleven year old son, Peter II. Yugoslavia’s Regent and King Peter’s cousin Prince Paul decided in early 1941 that Yugoslavia would adhere to the Tripartite Pact, an alliance with Germany and Italy. King Peter II, then seventeen, bitterly disagreed with this policy and participated in a coup that overthrew Paul. In response to the coup the Germans decided to invade, forcing King Peter and the rest of the royal family to flee to the United Kingdom. Pro-monarchist partisans could not defeat Tito’s Communist partisans, and Yugoslavia abolished the monarchy shortly after World War II. Peter II moved to the United States, but refused to abdicate. He died during a liver transplant in 1970. His son, Alexander, first visited Yugoslavia in 1991 and moved there permanently in 2001.

A restoration of the monarchy appears unlikely, in spite of the continued efforts of Alexander to regain his throne. Through intermarriage the Karadjordje family has acquired royal blood (and, indeed, a link to the medieval Serbian royal line), and Alexander’s sons are 91st, 92nd, and 93rd in line to the British crown. Alexander’s efforts are not without support in Serbia, however, as several political parties have expressed sympathy to the project of creating a constitutional monarchy.

Trivia: Of the pre-eminent monarch of which House was it was once said “He thinks like a philosopher, but governs like a king?” (Answer in two weeks)

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that the video of the regicide noted above is, in fact, a tribute to the assassin. I am entertaining arguments that the video ought to be replaced with one less tolerant of the practice of regicide. Please indicate your preference in comments.