Alexandra of Yugoslavia

Alexandra (

Born Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, she was brought into a difficult environment. Five months before her birth, her father,

The last months of pregnancy of Aspasia are surrounded by intrigue. In the case that she gave birth to a boy (who would be named Philip, as the father of Alexander the Great),^[8] rumours soon assured that she was determined to place him on the throne after his birth.^[9][10] True or not, this possibility worried the Greek royal family, whose fears about the birth of a male child were exploited by the Venizelists to revive the succession crisis. The birth of a girl, on 25 March 1921, was a great relief for the dynasty,^[c] and both King Constantine I and his mother, Queen Dowager Olga, agreed to be the godparents of the newborn.^[12][13]

Integration into the royal family

Still, neither Alexandra nor Aspasia received more official recognition: from a legal point of view, they were commoners without any rights in the royal family. Things changed from July 1922 when, after the intervention of Queen Sophia, a law was passed which retroactively recognized marriages of members of the royal family, although on a non-dynastic basis; with this legal subterfuge, the princess obtained the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Greece and Denmark. Thus, Alexandra's birth became legitimate in the eyes of Greek law, but since the marriage was recognized on a 'non-dynastic basis', her royal status was tenuous at best and she remained ineligible for the throne; however, this belated recognition made it possible for her to later make an advantageous marriage, which would not have been possible if she were nothing more than the daughter of the King's morganatic spouse.^[14][15]

Aspasia, however, was not mentioned in the law and remained a

Penniless, Aspasia chose to take the path of exile with her daughter in early 1924. The two princesses found refuge with Queen Sophia, who had moved to the Villa Bobolina near Florence, shortly after the death of her husband on 11 January 1923. The now dowager queen, who loved Alexandra, was thrilled, even if her financial situation was also precarious.^[23][24] With her paternal grandmother, the princess spent a happy childhood with her aunts Crown Princess Helen of Romania, Princesses Irene and Katherine of Greece, and her cousins Prince Philip of Greece (the future Duke of Edinburgh) and Prince Michael of Romania, who were her playmates during holidays.^[25]

From London to Venice

In 1927, Alexandra and her mother moved to Ascot, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. They were greeted by Sir James Horlick, 4th Baronet, and his family, who harbored them in their Cowley Manor estate near the hippodrome.^[26] Now seven years old, Alexandra was enrolled in boarding schools in Westfield and Heathfield, as was the custom for the upper class. However, the Princess took very badly to this experience:^[10][27] separated from her mother, she stopped eating and eventually contracted tuberculosis. Alarmed, Aspasia thus moved her daughter to Switzerland for treatment.^[10] Later, Alexandra was educated in a Parisian finishing school, during which time she and her mother stayed at the Hotel Crillon.^[5][28]

Eventually, the two princesses settled on the island of Giudecca in Venice, where Aspasia acquired a small property with her savings and Horlick's financial support. The former home of Caroline Carry Eden (1837-1928), sister of the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and widow of Frederic Eden (1828-1916), relative of the future British Prime Minister Lord Anthony Eden, the villa and its 3.6 hectares of landscaped grounds were nicknamed the Garden of Eden, which delighted the Greek Princesses.^[29][30]

Restoration of the Greek monarchy

Between Greece and Venice

In 1935, the Second Hellenic Republic was abolished and King George II (Alexandra's uncle) was restored to the throne after a referendum organized by General Georgios Kondylis.^[31] Alexandra was then allowed to return to Greece, a country she had not seen since 1924. Although she continued to reside in Venice with her mother (who still suffered the ostracism of the royal family), the princess was invited to all the great ceremonies that punctuate the life of the dynasty. In 1936, she participated in the official ceremonies which marked the reburial in Tatoi of the remains of King Constantine I, Queen Sophia, and Dowager Queen Olga; all three died in exile in Italy. Two years later, in 1938, she was invited to the wedding of her uncle, Crown Prince Paul, with Princess Frederica of Hanover.^[32]

Despite her participation in the ceremonies of the Greek royal family, at that time Alexandra understood that she was not a full member of the European royalty. Her mother had to claim in her name the share of the inheritance of Alexandra's paternal grandparents. Also, the princess' mother had no site in the royal necropolis of Tatoi. During the 1936 ceremonies, a chapel was arranged in the park of the palace for the remains of King Constantine I and Queen Sophia. The remains of King Alexander − previously based in the gardens next to his grandfather King George I – were then transferred to this chapel, with no space reserved for Aspasia.^[32]

First marriage proposal

In 1936, the fifteen-years-old Princess received her first marriage proposal: King

However, it was not her cousin Philip whom Alexandra finally married. In 1942, the Princess met her third cousin,[d] King Peter II of Yugoslavia in an officers' gala at Grosvenor House. The 19-year-old sovereign had lived in exile in London since the invasion of his country by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941. Quickly, they fell in love with each other and considered marriage, which greatly delighted Princess Aspasia. However, the sharp opposition of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, Peter II's mother, and the Yugoslav government-in-exile, which deemed it indecent to celebrate a wedding while Yugoslavia was dismembered and occupied, prevented for a while the marital project. For two years, the lovers had only brief meetings in the residence of the Duchess of Kent.^[41][42]

After a brief stay of Peter II in

Now queen of Yugoslavia, Alexandra, however, had tenuous links with her new country, living under the Nazi occupation. In 1941, a large portion of the Yugoslav territory was annexed by the Axis powers. Crown Prince Michael of Montenegro refused to resurrect his ancient Kingdom under Italian and German protection and guidance, and thus the region of Montenegro had been transformed into a governorate by fascist Italy.^[46] Finally, the other two main parts of Yugoslavia were reduced to puppet states: the Serbia of General Milan Nedić and the Croatian Kingdom of the Ustaše.^[e] As all over occupied Europe, Yugoslav civilians suffered the abuses of the invaders and collaborators who supported them.^[47] Two groups emerged in the country: the Chetniks, led by monarchist General Draža Mihailović, and the Partisans, led by the communist Marshal Josip Broz Tito.^[48]

From London, the Yugoslav government-in-exile supported the struggle of the royalist forces and appointed General Mihailović as Chief Minister of War.^[49] However, the importance of the Partisans pushed the allied forces to trust the Communists and give increasingly limited help to Mihailović, who was accused of collaborating with the Axis powers to shoot communist guerrillas.^[50] After the Tehran Conference (1943), the Allies finally broke their ties with the Chetniks,^[51] forcing the Yugoslav government-in-exile to recognize the preeminence of the Partisans. In June 1944, Prime Minister Ivan Šubašić officially appointed Marshal Tito as the head of the Yugoslav resistance and Mihailović was dismissed.^[52] In October 1944, Churchill and Stalin concluded an agreement to split Yugoslavia into two occupation zones, but after the liberation of Belgrade by the Red Army and the Partisans, it became clear the Communists predominated in the country.^[53] A harsh treatment, which affected the monarchists, took place;^[53] at the request of Churchill, Tito agreed in March 1945 to recognize a Regency Council (which had almost no activity) but opposed the return of King Peter II,^[54] who had to remain in exile with Alexandra while a government coalition dominated by the Communists was constituted in Belgrade.^[55]

Birth of Crown Prince Alexander and Peter II's deposition

In this turbulent context, Alexandra gave birth to an heir, named

The festivities marking the birth of the crown prince, however, were short-lived. Less than eight months after joining the coalition government, Milan Grol and Ivan Šubašić resigned their offices of Vice-Prime Minister (18 August) and Foreign Minister (8 October), respectively, to mark their political disagreement with Marshal Tito. Faced with the rise of the Communists, King Peter II decided, to withdraw his confidence from the Regency Council and regain all his sovereign prerogatives in Yugoslavia (8 August). Tito responded by immediately depriving the Royal Family of the civil list, which was soon to have dramatic consequences in the lives of the royal couple. Especially, Tito ordered the organization of early elections to a Constituent Assembly. The campaign took place in an irregular way, in the middle of pressures and violence of all kinds, with the opposition deciding to boycott the poll.^[59] On 24 November 1945 a single list presented by the communists was proposed to voters: while there were hardly more than 10,000 Communists throughout Yugoslavia before the war, their candidates list obtained more than 90% of the votes in the referendum.^[60]

In their first meeting on 29 November 1945, the Constituent Assembly voted immediately to abolish the monarchy and proclaimed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.^[60] While no referendum accompanied this institutional change, the new regime was quickly recognized by virtually all of the international countries (except Francoist Spain).^[61]

Marital problems and suicide attempts

Financial and marital difficulties

Now without income and any prospect of returning to Yugoslavia, Peter II and Alexandra resolved to leave Claridge's Hotel and moved to a mansion in the Borough of Runnymede. Abandoned by the British government, they settled for a time in France, between Paris and Monte Carlo, then in Switzerland at St. Moritz. Increasingly penniless, they ended up leaving Europe and in 1949, they settled in New York City, where the former King hoped to complete a financial project. Still penniless, the couple was forced to sell Alexandra's necklace of emeralds and other pieces of her jewelry to pay their accumulated debts.^[56] In addition to these difficulties was the fact that they were unable to manage a budget. As Alexandra wrote in her autobiography, she had no idea of the value of things, and she quickly proved incapable of maintaining a home.^[62]

In the

The relations of the royal couple went from bad to worse. Thanks to the intervention of his maternal grandmother, the 4-year-old former Crown Prince Alexander was sent to Italy with the Count and Countess of Robilant, friends of the royal couple. The child then grew up in an atmosphere much more stable and loving, with only a few visits from his parents.[63]

Divorce attempt and reconciliation

The year 1952 was marked by further financial problems due to bad investments of Peter II. Alexandra also suffered a miscarriage. The couple returned to France, where the situation did not improve. In 1953, Alexandra made another suicide attempt in Paris, which she survived thanks to a phone call from her aunt, Queen Frederica of Greece.^[62] Tired of the poor mental health of his wife, Peter II finally launched a process of divorce in the French courts. The intervention of his son the crown prince and the king and queen of Greece convinced him, however, to abandon his intentions.^[64]

The couple reconciled and for a time they lived a second honeymoon. However, the need for money continued to be felt and Alexandra was persuaded by a British publisher to write her autobiography. With the help of the

For some time, the couple moved to Cannes, while Peter II maintained a chancellery in Monte Carlo. Considering himself still King of Yugoslavia, the former sovereign continued to award titles and decorations. Supported by some monarchists as the "Duke of Saint-Bar",^[68] he even maintained an embassy in Madrid.^[61] However, the reconciliation of the royal couple finally soured and Peter II returned to live in the United States while Alexandra moved with her mother to the Garden of Eden.^[68]

In 1963, on 1 September or before,^[69] Alexandra made another suicide attempt in Venice. Narrowly saved by her son former Crown Prince Alexander, she spent a long period of convalescence under the constant care of her sister-in-law, Princess Margarita of Baden (wife of Peter II's brother Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia).^[70] Once recovered, Alexandra reconciled again with Peter II and the couple returned to live in the French capital in 1967. But, as before, the reconciliation was temporary and soon Peter II returned to live permanently in the United States while Alexandra settled in her mother's residence.^[68]

Last years

Peter II died on 3 November 1970 in

One month later, on 7 August 1972, Alexandra's mother Princess Aspasia died.^[71] Now alone, she finally sold the Garden of Eden in 1979^[30] and returned to the United Kingdom because of her health problems. She died of cancer at Burgess Hill, West Sussex, on 30 January 1993.^[5][43][71]

The funeral of Alexandra was held in

On 26 May 2013, Alexandra's remains were transferred to Serbia for reburial in the crypt of the Royal Mausoleum at Oplenac. With her, the remains of her husband King Peter II, her mother-in-law Queen Mother Maria and brother-in-law Prince Andrew were also reburied at the same time in an official ceremony which was attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić and his government.^[74][75]

Honours

• Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia^[76]
• Order of the Star of Karađorđe^[77]
• House of Karađorđević: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle^[77]
• House of Karađorđević: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sava^[78]
• House of Karađorđević: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown

References

1. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 122–123.
2. ^ Palmer & Greece 1990, p. 63.
3. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 177.
4. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 119.
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Obituary: Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia". The Independent. 2 February 1993. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022.
6. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 124–126.
7. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 91,179.
8. ^ Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia (1956). For Love of a King. New York: Doubleday. p. 17.
9. ^ Marlene Eilers Koenig (25 March 2011). "A girl for Aspasia Manos". Royal Musings. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 402.
11. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 238.
12. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 125–128.
13. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 119.
14. ^ Diesbach, Ghislain de (1967). Secrets of the Gotha. translated from the French by Margaret Crosland. London: Chapman & Hall. p. 225.
15. ^ Valynseele, Joseph (1967). Les Prétendants aux trônes d'Europe (in French). Paris. p. 442.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
16. ^ ^{a b c} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 180.
17. ^ Gelardi 2006, p. 309–310.
18. ISBN 978-0-220-66222-6
    .
19. ^ Vickers 2000, p. 162–163.
20. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 137.
21. ^ Palmer & Greece 1990, p. 67.
22. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 144.
23. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 92, 180, 402.
24. ^ Gelardi 2006, p. 357.
25. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 403, 415–416.
26. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 180–181.
27. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 149.
28. ^ "Repatriation of HM Queen Alexandra Remains to Serbia". The Royal Family of Serbia. 9 May 2013.
29. ^ ^{a b} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 181.
30. ^ ^{a b} Jeff Cotton. "The Garden of Eden". fictionalcities.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
31. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 153.
32. ^ ^{a b} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 181,305,403.
33. ^ ^{a b} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 403.
34. ^ Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia, For Love of a King, New York, Doubleday, 1956, p. 52.
35. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 162.
36. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 111–113, 121.
37. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 162–164.
38. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 113.
39. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 305.
40. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 404.
41. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 404–406.
42. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 167.
43. ^ ^{a b} "Alexandra of Yugoslavia Is Dead; Queen Without a Throne Was 71". The New York Times. 1 February 1993.
44. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 406.
45. ^ "Wedding of HRH Princess Alexandra of Greece & Denmark to King Peter II of Yugoslavia. 20th March 1944, London". Flickr.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
46. ^ Antoine Sidoti, Le Monténégro et l'Italie durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : Histoire, mythes et réalités, CNRS Éditions, 2003, p. 64.
47. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 90.
48. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 93.
49. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 94.
50. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 101–104.
51. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 105.
52. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 108.
53. ^ ^{a b} Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 111.
54. ^ Walter R. Roberts, Tito, Mihailović, and the allies, 1941–1945, Duke University Press, 1987, pp. 312–313.
55. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 111–115.
56. ^ ^{a b} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 407.
57. ISBN 978-2-84343-855-4
    , p. 172.
58. ^ Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 121.
59. ISBN 0-521-77401-2
    , pp. 230–231.
60. ^ ^{a b} Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 115.
61. ^ ^{a b} Foran de Saint-Bar 1999, p. 116.
62. ^ ^{a b c} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 409.
63. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 408,411.
64. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 409–410.
65. OCLC 752753235
    .
66. ^ Alexandra de Grèce (1957). Pour l'Amour de mon Roi. Gallimard.
67. OCLC 752753242
    .
68. ^ ^{a b c d} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 410.
69. ^ "Yugoslavia's Former Queen Felled by Sleeping Pills". The New York Times. 2 September 1963.
70. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 410,445.
71. ^ ^{a b c} Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 411.
72. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 411,412.
73. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 182, 411.
74. ^ Mendick, Robert; Sawer, Patrick (28 April 2013). "Yugoslavia's exiled queen returns home at long last". The Daily Telegraph.
75. ^ Alexander, Harriet (26 May 2013). "Last King of Yugoslavia is reburied in Serbia". The Daily Telegraph.
76. ^ Royal Magazine
77. ^ ^{a b} [1] queen Alexandra wears the Star of Karađorđe on her right shoulder and star of the White Eagle on her right stomach
78. ^ Royal Family

Sources

• Van der Kiste, John (1994). Kings of the Hellenes: The Greek Kings, 1863-1974. Sutton Publishing.
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• Mateos Sainz de Medrano, Ricardo (2004). La Familia de la Reina Sofía: La Dinastía griega, la Casa de Hannover y los reales primos de Europa (in Spanish). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros.
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• Palmer, Alan; Greece, Michael of (1990). The Royal House of Greece. London: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated.
  OCLC 59773890
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• Gelardi, Julia P. (2006). Born to rule : granddaughters of Victoria, queens of Europe : Maud of Norway, Sophie of Greece, Alexandra of Russia, Marie of Romania, Victoria Eugenie of Spain. London: Review.
  ISBN 0-7553-1392-5
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• Eilers, Marlene A. (1987). Queen Victoria's descendants. Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co.
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• Vickers, Hugo (2000). Alice : Princess Andrew of Greece (1st ed.). Hamish Hamilton.
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• Foran de Saint-Bar, Thomas (1999). Les Karageorges rois de Serbie et de Yougoslavie : de l'assassinat de la monarchie et de la démocratie en Yougoslavie par Tito, avec l'aide de Staline, jusqu'à la guerre du Kosovo. Paris: Christian.
  ISBN 2-86496-077-X
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia.

• The Royal Family
• The Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family

Alexandra of Yugoslavia House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg Born: 25 March 1921 Died: 30 January 1993
Yugoslavian royalty
Vacant Title last held by Maria of Romania	Queen consort of Yugoslavia 20 March 1944 – 29 November 1945	Monarchy abolished
Titles in pretence
Loss of title Communist Republic declared	— TITULAR — Queen consort of Yugoslavia 29 November 1945 – 3 November 1970	Vacant Title next held by Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans-Braganza