75th Anniversary of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia’s Assassination

A memorial service was held today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia.

The ceremony was attended by members of the Yugoslavian (Serbian) Royal Family, including Crown Prince Alexander II, Crown Princess Katherine, Prince Philip, Prince Vladimir and Princess Brigitta. Also in attendance were Serbian President Boris Tadic and Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac. The remembrance service was followed by an exhibition dedicated to King Alexander, named “The path of King Alexander – a statesman and a warrior.”

Earlier today, Crown Prince Alexander II and Prince Philip, along with Serbian Foreign Minister and Serbian Ambassador to France Dusan Batakovic, attended a remembrance service for the late King and the late Monsieur Louis Barthou in Marseille, France. King Alexander I was assassinated in Marseille during a State Visit to France; Monsieur Louis Barthou, then French Foreign Minister, was killed alongside the King. The official state ceremony was organized by the French Government at exactly the same location the assassination took place.

After wreath laying ceremony, Crown Prince Alexander said it was a day of sorrow and mourning for him and for former Yugoslavia. Vuk Jeremic, Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, also paid his respects to the late King: “King Alexander was a victim of fascism and terrorism, bullets fired at him were fired at our country and European peace. King Alexander I was a Unifier, a man with deep respect for the history of his nation and profound vision of unity and integrations, which made him the first true European leader in our history.”

The assassination of King Alexander shocked Yugoslavia and the world. Alexander I was a much-loved Monarch. He led the country though times of turmoil, including the Balkan War and World War I, and was instrumental in the unification of Southern Slavs into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In recognition of his efforts, the National Parliament named him Knight-King Alexander the Unifier. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets along the funeral route to pay their respects.

For more information about Serbian (Yugoslavian) Royals, visit this thread.

Filed under Serbia/Yugoslavia
Tagged Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Assassination, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, Death, France, Memorial, Prince Philip of Yugoslavia.