King Peter II of Yugoslavia

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King Peter II of Yugoslavia was born on this day in 1923, exactly 95 years ago! The eldest son of King Alexander II of Yugoslavia and Princess Marie of Romania, he was the first cousin of King Michael of Romania. He succeeded to the Throne after the assassination in 1934, under the regency of his cousin, Prince Paul, who was toppled in a British-backed coup because of his neutrality policy during WWII, and King Peter and his government were forced into exile in London. In 1944, he married Princess Alexandra of Greece in London, and they had one son, Crown Prince Alexander. The Allied governments supported the Communist Government in Yugoslavia, who deposed the King in 1945 and banned him from returning to the country. Penniless, King Peter had a string of failed jobs and multiple affairs, which led to the couple separating.  They reconciled temporarily multiple times during the 1950s and 60s, with the King residing in the United States, where he passed away after a failed liver transplant in 1970. He was initially buried at the Saint Sava Monastery in Illinois before being reburied at the St. George’s Church in Oplenac, Serbia in 2013, after his son’s return to Serbia.

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