HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine paid their respect to Supreme Leader George Petrovic – Karadjorjde on the 209th anniversary of his tragic death. His Royal Highness laid a wreath today in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family, Saint George’s Church in Oplenac as part of the State Ceremony of honouring the founder of the Royal Dynasty Karadjordjevic.
The Holy Liturgy and memorial service were officiated by priests from Topola, followed by an official ceremony which included the performance of the national anthem and wreath laying on the tomb of the founder of modern Serbia, while soldiers of the Army of Serbia kept a guard of honour at the Karadjordje’s grave.
“Karadjordje is a great historical figure of our people, one of those national heroes who were creating and building our Homeland, our statehood, the one who is today as well standing out as an inspiration and a guide to new generations, a prominent statesman and military leader, “Father of Serbia”, as another great man of our people, Bishop Petar Petrovic Njegos, called him.
His death was a great tragedy, but this sad act, together with everything that happened afterwards and all the consequences and subsequent divisions and conflicts it caused, should also be a reminder that we should never again allow the Serbian discords and quarrels between the members of our people to prevail. We must be and remain united, as it is also Karadjordje’s legacy. He was not the first who tried to bring freedom to Serbia during Ottoman rule, but he was the one who managed to unite our people to bring their dreams of liberty together and jointly fight, which was the starting point for free and independent Serbia in which we all live today”, stated HRH Crown Prince Alexander.
Together with the Royal Family, Nikola Vukelic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of Serbia, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Army of Serbia, Mr Dragan Reljic, Director of the Foundation of King Peter I in Oplenac, representatives of the Municipality of Topola, paid their respects to great Karadjordje.
After the fall of the First Serbian Uprising, Karadjordje with his family and the most prominent Serbian chieftains left the country, initially for Austria and later for Bessarabia (Russia). After attempts to persuade the Russian Tsar to go to war against Turkey failed, Karadjordje made contact with the Greek organisation “Heteria”, whose aim was the allied uprising of the Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians and the establishment of a great Balkan state. With the intention to start the struggle anew, Karadjordje secretly came to Serbia. Under orders of the Turkish Vizier and rival Serbian chieftain Milos Obrenovic, Karadjordje was assassinated in Radovanjski Lug near the city of Velika Plana, on the night of 24 July 1817. His body was later buried in the Mausoleum of St. George in Oplenac, built by King Peter I.
