Serbs Are Turning New Pages, Crown Prince Alexander Says
Despite the obvious trappings of privilege and heritage, Serbia’s historic Karađorđević family is not unlike many others who have to find their way in a modern world that dictates that children travel, study and marry beyond their usual borders. In that way, at least, Serbia’s Royal Family is like many others, with footholds in Belgrade, Britain and the United States.
While his son’s remain unmarried, Crown Prince Alexander II has seen them travel widely to establish successful lives and businesses. Eldest son Prince Peter lives and works as a graphic designer in Chicago, while Prince Philip works in the London financial world and his twin brother Alexander is in internet publishing in California.
“We are a very close family and the boys come here to the Palace often,’ he said. “But, with such a big family, it falls on me to ensure that the family remains together.”
But after living back in Belgrade for the past decade, Crown Prince Alexander is quick to point out that childhood memories, royal ties and lifelong friendships will ensure that Britain retains a strong feeling of home for his family.
In a private interview with W!LD RooSTeR at the Royal Palace in Belgrade, the Crown Prince spoke amiably about his bonds to the British Serbian community, his attendance at the wedding of Prince William, and his Godmother Queen Elizabeth II. In tougher tones, he expressed his anguish at the NATO bombing of Belgrade and his shock at witnessing such poverty on his return Serbia.
The Crown Prince was born at London’s Claridges Hotel on 17 July, 1945, while his family was living in exile from Tito’s regime. On the night of his birth, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill granted Serbian territorial status to the hotel’s Suite 212, to enable the birth to take place on Serbian soil and retain rights to the throne. Over the years, the royal family has used the rooms for various gatherings.
“It’s a suite that has a living room, bedroom, and a dining room and we still use it quite often, actually,’ the Prince said. “Occasionally we use it for dinners and we had some friends from Mexico who would use this apartment and they would invite us over for drinks or dinner. The family get together there often. For example, in February 2001, the Minister of the Interior, who was a future Prime Minister of Serbia, came and gave us back our Serbian nationality. There was a bill passed in Parliament here, with apologies, and that meeting took place in Suite 212. So there was a complete circle there.”
The Crown Prince, who went to school at Gordonstoun in Scotland and to the British military academy in Aldershot, is proud of the long and healthy ties that he still maintains with the British Serb community, stemming back to the time when Queen Maria set up home in a Kent farmhouse and his family began to live a relatively humble life in Britain.
“Our links go back many years,’ he said. “Unfortunately, many of our people came over to the United Kingdom as political refugees from the civil war in Yugoslavia and they were settled in camps like Bicester. I remember visiting these camps, particularly at Christmas. It was very sad to see these people, who were really good people, and their families.
“Eventually they integrated into British communities in places like Leicester, Manchester and Birmingham, and we used to visit them there, also. We had a church built in Birmingham on the Cadbury estate, and that was a great meeting point, a magnet for our people. My wife and I went there and, before that, the family used to go there very often. We always had strong ties with those communities. After that, the Church of England gave us the church in Lancaster Gate, near Notting Hill. That has been a focal point as our local church. We’ve had some lovely clergy there.”
The Crown Prince is keen to encourage the diaspora to behave as global ambassadors for Serbia. Maintaining regular links to Serbia would help to avoid the rose-tinted trap of second and third generation immigrants who can be tempted to adopt only select elements of their cultural heritage and be distanced from the modern reality of life in their homeland.
“I think it is not only important for the British Serbs but also for all Serbs in the world to maintain contact with their homeland,’ he said. “It is nice to come here for weddings and birthdays, and even for sad occasions like funerals, but it is very important that Serbs worldwide – in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Canada and Australia – also act as ambassadors and propagate the word around that we are a country that’s been through a lot but we are turning new pages.”
During the contentious NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999, the Serbian royal family was sitting out the conflict in London, forced to look on helplessly as NATO-led US planes bombed their homeland. “There wasn’t much we could do,’ said Crown Prince Alexander. “The bombing was an absolute criminal act, which was totally unwarranted. It’s called the Act of Aggression and every year we commemorate this great tragedy.
“There are still tremendous feelings because we were attacked by NATO. Certainly, NATO was not designed as an aggressor. It was designed as a protector.
“I was very critical of the bombing. It rallied everybody around the leader at the time, set us back democratically, and innocent people were killed. I think we could have done much better with other tactics in trying to find a negotiated solution – the pretext was Kosovo – and the infrastructure was damaged critically. We didn’t get a Marshall Plan gift, as one might say, to rebuild our infrastructure, so one should congratulate all these incredible, capable technicians who repaired everything as best as could be. It was quite amazing what happened.”
Despite the NATO attack on Serbia, the Crown Prince is supportive of Belgrade recently hosting a NATO conference, which brought thousands to the streets. “The protests were not so large but still you get bad feelings, people write about it to the papers, talk in the bars, things like that,’ he said. “I think it’s so important that we have good connections with everybody. That doesn’t mean that we will be a NATO member. That should be decided by the public if and when the government decides – and it’s their option, of course – that there will be a referendum or not. But the current feeling for NATO is very low – I think it’s only about 17 or 18% – and one must respect the people’s feelings.”
Even though the Crown Prince was kept well aware of the situation in his homeland, he was still shocked when confronted by the reality on his return to Serbia after the troubles. “I was shocked at the state of the country,’ he said. “There was a lot of poverty – and there still is – but there was a tremendous amount of poverty and a feeling of isolation. The people felt as if they were living in a ghetto, they couldn’t go anywhere. Prior to that, the Yugoslav passport was pretty valid and was accepted everywhere. Our young people didn’t see any future at all.
“Our first government had very fine ministers who went to universities abroad. They did pretty well in bringing a lot of investors here and we had a good privitisation programme, so the image changed a bit. But it was extremely sad to see how people felt let down. Ten years of utter madness in the whole of the former Yugoslavia, and then the blame being put all into one, all onto Serbia. Everybody was responsible in some form or another, with the leaders of the time, as we’ve all learned. Now you have parties who have reformed themselves, like the Socialist Party of Serbia, which has become a very acceptable party of very fine technocrats. So there is hope for everybody in all areas.”
Since making Serbia their home in 2001, the Royal Family has lived on the royal compound in Dedinje, Belgrade. Britain still plays a part in their lives and they return there quite regularly. Second son Prince Philip still works at a financial institution in London, while eldest son Peter is a graphic designer in the US. Most recently, the Crown Prince returned with his extended family for a memorial ceremony at Frogmore, near Windsor, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of his grandmother Queen Maria of Yugoslavia.
It was their previous visit that attracted more attention, when the Crown Prince and Princess were seen by millions of TV viewers as they attended the spring wedding of Britain’s Prince William and Catherine Middleton as part of the family party.
“It was the most amazing wedding,’ said the Crown Prince. “It was huge. I’ve never seen so many people on the streets of London. The weather was beautiful, too. We were very lucky. It was very much a family occasion. We’ve been to all the weddings and this one was particularly charming because the young couple are very close to the people.
“People love them, they like them because they are natural. They are not nervous. You see them walking around and people are happy to see them, shake their hands and things like that. So there was a big difference to the more formal occasions.
“This wedding was also different in the sense that we did not drive in cars to Westminster Abbey. We all went first to Lancaster House, where we were received by Nick Clegg and William Hague. In another room there was a delegation from the Commonwealth. Then we went in buses, which was unique. This was rather fun because we were in the buses discussing things and opposite us there was Prince Albert and the future Princess Charlene. We had a wonderful time and then she got a call from Djokovic – she’s a really sporty person – and so the whole place came alive.
“When we walked into the Abbey, the first thing we noticed, apart from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was beautifully decorated, were these trees. To see these huge trees in the Abbey was fascinating. It was great.”
Close connections to the British royal family have forged an indelible link to Britain. Queen Elizabeth II is Godmother to Crown Prince Alexander II and, before he married a roman catholic, the Prince was 97th in line to the British throne. Even now, his sons and family members are in the line of British succession.
“The Queen is fantastic, not only a great Godmother, but a wonderful person,’ he said. “I remember I was a young student when she became Queen. She was in Kenya, at the time. And I remember the coronation. In those times we didn’t have television but I remember seeing the film as a little boy. It was quite a memory.
“I have been so impressed at the conversations with her over the years. I go and see her, either for lunch or tea, and it’s great conversation. She is extremely knowledgeable. She knows so much and has the most amazing experience. She’s been around.”
Serbia’s royal family is determined to be in the UK to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne in 2012. They also hope to see Serbian sportspeople win medals at the London 2012 Olympics – if they can arrange tickets. “I think the Diamond Jubilee will be a very big thing,’ he said. “It’ll be quite something and, absolutely, I’ll be there. It’s huge. The whole thing is taking shape and from what I hear it’s going to be a great event.
“I hope to be at the Olympics, too, but I am a bit worried about the tickets. The news was really quite horrifying, that so many people tried to get tickets but they couldn’t. Whereas at the Athens Olympics, people still were able to get tickets just before the event. It’s very interesting. I would have thought that with the technology nowadays, it is so easy to organise these things. It can be done. It is pretty bad actually.
“When we fly to London we fly over the Olympic area and it looks very good. Every time it looks better and better. It’s a big job. Although, the traffic will be terrible of course…”
No comments yet.
Be first to leave your comment!