A memorial service took place today at the St. George Church at Oplenac to mark the 96th commemoration of HM King Peter I death.
On behalf of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander, the great grandson of HM King Peter I, Mr. Predrag Markovic, a member of the Crown Council, laid a wreath on the tomb of His Majesty King Peter I the Liberator. On behalf of the Government of Serbia a wreath was laid by Mr. Negovan Stanković, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.
King Peter I was the fifth child of Prince Alexander and Princess Persida (the daughter of Duke Jevrem Nenadovic), and a grandson of Karadjordje, the supreme leader of First Serbian uprising. He was born on St. Peter’s Day 11 July 1844. In the summer of 1883 he married Princess Ljubica-Zorka, the eldest daughter of the Montenegrin Prince Nikola in Cetinje, Montenegro. They had five children: two daughters Jelena and Milena and three sons Djordje (who renounced his right to the throne in 1909), Aleksandar and Andrija (died as a child).
On 28 May 1903, a group of Serbian army officers organized a Coup d’Etat and proclaimed Prince Peter Karadjordjevic, then living in Switzerland, the new King of Serbia. The National Parliament confirmed this on 15 June 1903. HM King Peter I died on 16 August 1921 in Belgrade and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum of St. George Church in Oplenac.
