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Visit the Royal Palaces

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander II and Crown Princess Katherine are pleased to inform all interested citizens should they wish to visit the Royal Compound, that the organization of regular tours continues in cooperation with the Tourist Organization of Belgrade every weekend from April through October.

Visiting the Royal and White Palaces is organised so that visitors with professional tour guides will get acquainted with the history, art and culture in a nice two-hour walk through the Royal Compound. The tour includes the magnificent Royal and White Palaces and the Royal Chapel dedicated to the patron Saint of the Royal Family – St. Andrew the First Called.

Every Saturday and Sunday from April through October at two regular times 11 am and 2 pm, the Royal Compound will be open to the public. The entry ticket includes a round trip transfer tourist bus starting from Nikola Pasic Square in Belgrade; the Royal Compound is only a few minutes from the city centre. There is also a possibility to organize group tours during work days by previous appointment. For all information and reservations, visitors must visit the Tourist Information Centre, Knez Mihailova 5, 11000 Beograd

Tel: 011 2635 622; Fax: 011 2635 343

Contact person: Ms Sanja Pavlovic

Email: dvorskikompleks@tob.co.rs Website: www.tob.co.rs

The limit per group is up to 50 people.

Schools, students and pension associations interested in visiting the Royal Compound should call the Office of HRH Crown Prince Alexander directly at 011/306-4014 and or email: kancelarija@dvor.rs.

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46 years since the passing of King Peter II commemorated at Oplenac

03/11/2016

On the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the passing of HM King Peter II, a memorial service for the late King was held at the Royal Family Mausoleum of St. George in Oplenac, wreaths were laid at his tomb. On behalf of HRH Crown Prince Alexander a wreath was laid by Mr. Predrag Markovic, member of the Crown Council and Mr. Zoran Zivanovic, member of the Crown Cabinet.

King Peter II of Yugoslavia was born in Belgrade 6 September 1923 as the first born son of King Alexander I and Queen Maria of Yugoslavia. His Godparents were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother of Great Britain). His education commenced at The Royal Palace Belgrade he then went to Sandroyd School in England, he left after his father’s assassination in 1934. Since King Peter II was 11 years old and underage at the time of his father’s assassination, a regency was formed consisting of three regents including his great uncle Prince Paul Karadjordjevic.

The Second World War forced King Peter II to leave the country along with the Yugoslav Government – initially to Greece, Palestine and then to Egypt. King Peter II then joined other monarchs and leaders of German occupied Europe in London in June 1941. There King Peter was regarded by the people of Yugoslavia as the symbol of resistance against Nazism. King Peter II completed his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air Force.

King Peter II never abdicated. Initially King Peter II lived in exile in London with his wife Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark and their son Crown Prince Alexander who was born in 1945. He spent the last years of his life in America. After a long and grave illness, King Peter II died 3 November 1970 in Denver Hospital Colorado, and he was buried at the St. Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville Illinois. He was the only king buried in the United States. The King’s remains were transferred to the Royal Family Mausoleum of St. George in Oplenac 26 May 2013 when a State Funeral took place.

Vecernje Novosti: KING PETER DID NOT STEAL SERBIAN GOLD

04/11/2016

BOOK BY DUSAN BABAC AND ALEKSANDAR OGNJEVIC SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON SECRETS OF ROYAL TREASURE DISAPPEARANCE IN 1941





In April 1941 King Peter II Karadjordjevic fled the country and took with him the national gold – has been one of the most frequently used arguments against the royal family for the past 75 years. Starting from this claim, used for decades in post-communist historiography, Dusan Babac and Aleksandar Ognjevic wrote a book “Secrets of the Royal Treasures” in which they unmasked this decades-old myth and revealed that the fate of the gold and royal treasures were completely different.

After several years of research of domestic and foreign archives, the authors found out just how much gold the king and the government took in the evacuation, what was the fate of the treasures hidden in the monastery of Ostrog, what was the role of Germans, Italians, Americans, OZNA and UDBA in the dissemination of the treasure and what happened to the extremely valuable works of art and holy relics owned by the royal family.

- King Peter did not steal “the people’s” gold and did not live lavishly in exile. He had not exchanged one gram of gold! In the post-war years this story was systematically pushed by the opponents of monarchy and, like a mantra, transferred onto their descendants – says Dusan Babac.

- The Kingdom of Yugoslavia saw the beginning of the Second World War with stable reserves and just before the war planned how to keep the money and gold, and get them to safety. However, during the retreat towards Montenegro large emissions of banknotes had to be burned so that the money would not come into the hands of the occupiers. And it was a unique measure in the history of the monetary policy of a country.

The authors argue that everything that the king and other members of the royal family failed to take during the evacuation has been the subject of the occupiers’, and then organized state looting and pillage in the war and post-war years, to this day.

- The fact is that the members of the royal family were not particularly good keepers of their own heritage, so in the years of exile and destitution they were forced to sell almost everything they had – says Babac.

Between the covers of the book, “Secrets of the Royal Treasures” there is a much wider range of unknown data, which shed new light on historical events.

- Of the 204 crates of the National Bank branch office in Uzice gold, the Italians confiscated 179 with 8,393 kilograms of pure gold in April and May 1941 – says Babac.

- Of the remaining 25 crates, the Germans took four in the Ostrog monastery, eight was taken by the government, five by the General Headquarters, one was stolen, and five taken by OZNA after the war. After the Italian capitulation, the Germans seized the Yugoslav gold that was in Italy. In May 1945 American troops found it and confiscated it, but after the London Agreement returned it to Italy, and then all confiscated gold was returned to Yugoslavia on the basis of the Treaty of Peace.

After analysing the data which were obtained by the authors of the book, published by “Euro Book”, they claim that Yugoslavia after the war was returned the most gold, compared to all other European countries.

- Italy returned 8,393 kg, 2,172.87 kg was obtained from Germany, so the National Bank restituted 10,526.87 kilograms of monetary gold – say the authors.

- Not counting the gold from the London bank, about 11,000 kg, and what NBY sold for currency, about 20,000 kg, Yugoslavia had 41,666 kg of pure gold in the Federal Reserve in New York. But after the liberation, not all the gold was returned from New York.

The authors of “The Secret of the Royal Treasures”, reveal that the Americans conditioned the return of gold by paying compensation for the nationalized American property in Yugoslavia.

- Although socialist Yugoslavia reached agreements with many countries on compensation for nationalized property of their nationals in Yugoslavia, through many years of repayment instalments, the United States insisted on their enormous assessments of the nationalized estate of the Americans. It was many times larger than the socialist government assessment and amounted to 15,649.22 kilograms – explains Babac.

- The remaining 26 thousand kilograms was transported partly to Switzerland and partly to the NBY Treasury.

The governments in exile, led by General Simovic, Slobodan Jovanovic, Milos Trifunovic, Bozidar Puric and Ivan Subasic, according to the data acquired by Ognjevic and Babac, had spent about 28 million dollars. Of this money, during the war King Peter received an annual apanage of 30,000 pounds, Queen Maria 43,680, and Princes Tomislav and Andrej 12,000 pounds each.

- When monarchy was abolished in Yugoslavia, Peter II and the entire dynasty were deprived of all their rights. In the first years after the loss of the crown he lived off 40,000 pounds he received from his government and 30,000 of his savings. When these funds were exhausted in the early fifties, the king began to sell family treasures, some of which he brought out of the country – says Babac.

HRH Queen Maria with sons: Tomislav, Andrej and Peter

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CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER ATTENDS SAINT SAVA CATHEDRAL NEW YORK FUNDRAISING GALA DINNER

New York, USA, 6 November, 2016 – His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander was guest of honour last night at a fundraising gala dinner for the Saint Sava Cathedral in New York, which was tragically destroyed by fire and requires funds for reconstruction. His Majesty King Peter II (father of Crown Prince Alexander) and family would attend services at Saint Sava Cathedral when they lived in New York.

Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine is in Chicago attending the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation charity event as an honorary founding member.

Their Royal Highnesses were in Boston Sunday 5 June, 2016 at Luncheon at St. Sava Orthodox Church were the first event took place to raise funds for Saint Sava Cathedral in New York

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava in New York City is an architectural treasure listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City landmark, it was tragically destroyed by fire on Easter Sunday, May 1, 2016.

The tragic loss of this historic building leaves the Serbian Orthodox community without a single church within the city limits. A place of refuge and a vital resource for many people over decades, Saint Sava Cathedral served not only for New Yorkers, but the Serbian diaspora across the United States.

All the attendees at this important event joined in the renovation of this spiritual home under the leadership of the charismatic and deeply caring individual, His Grace Bishop Irinej, the recently elected Bishop of the Eastern American Diocese.

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PRINCESS KATHERINE AT CHICAGO HIPPOCRATIC CANCER RESEARCH INAUGURAL GALA – THE WINGS TO CURE

Cancer can be defeated if physicians, researchers and philanthropists work as a team

Chicago, USA, 6 November, 2016 – Last night on the invitation of Mrs. Eleni Bousis, Chair of the Founding Board of the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation (HCRF) http://cancer.northwestern.edu/hcrf/, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine is a Founding Committee member of the HCRF’s Inaugural Gala at the Hilton Chicago. This event raised vital funds to accelerate high-impact translational research at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Established in November 2015, the mission of the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation (HCRF) is to discover, develop and implement effective new treatments for patients with cancer by supporting groundbreaking research.

“Our goal — to eliminate cancer and save lives — is ambitious but achievable”, said Eleni Bousis, Chair of HCRF’s Founding Board. Over half of all men and one-third of all women in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetime and HCRF’s goal is to discover and implement new treatments in order to eliminate cancer and save lives.

The Foundation will support interdisciplinary research teams so that they can join forces and empower investigators to address the most urgent questions in the fields of cancer biology and oncology in daring and innovative ways. Through the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation, there is an opportunity to accelerate progress and heighten the impact of cancer research, particularly translational cancer research.

Also known as bench-to-bedside research, translational research requires an active interplay and collaboration between basic scientists in the laboratory and physician-scientists in the patient care setting. Working together to solve problems in cancer, these dedicated investigators harness new knowledge and discoveries generated through basic cancer research and translate these insights into new approaches to prevent cancer, as well as diagnose and treat patients living with cancer. In recent years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has made translational research a priority, forming centers of translational research at its institutes and launching the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program.

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The Office of H R H Crown Prince Alexander

Crown Prince congratulates Donald Trump

New York, 9 November, 2016 - Crown Prince Alexander congratulates Donald Trump on becoming United Sates President.

“I warmly congratulate Donald Trump on being elected the next President of the United States, following the hard fought campaign.“

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CROWN PRINCESS KATHERINE CELEBRATES HER BIRTHDAY



Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine will celebrate her birthday on Sunday, November 13th together with her family in New York.

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HRH CP ALEKSANDAR KARADJORDJEVIC, HRH PRINCESS KATARINA KARADJORDJEVIC WITH MR DONALD TRUMP AND MELANIJA TRUMP.

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CROWN PRINCESS KATHERINE AT UNITED NATIONS WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY IN NEW YORK

We need to raise awareness on the women’s entrepreneurship importance for the worldwide economy and social stability

New York, 18 November 2016 – Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine is a participant in the conference “Government and United Nations Policies and Programs to Support Female Economic Empowerment” in the United Nations.

As a person who inspired many women through her patronage of charitable and humanitarian organizations, including Lifeline organizations worldwide, and her work in improving the lives of women and children, Princess Katherine was invited to be a guest at the “Government and United Nations Policies and Programs to Support Female Economic Empowerment” conference at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) event on Friday, November 18, 2016 at the United Nations in New York.

“In Serbia, the employment rate for men is still significantly higher than the employment rate of women. Only 15% of housing is registered in women’s names. Women’s participation in politics and government, despite significant progress made for women's rights, remains limited. We need to raise awareness about women’s entrepreneurship importance for the worldwide economy and social stability”, the Crown Princess said in her address. She also added:

“I am proud that Lifeline Humanitarian Foundation consists mainly of women who also have inspired so many other women through their charitable and humanitarian work and by improving the lives of women and children. What we need to do in a meantime? We need to make an impact on our governments, on our business partners, on our daughters, on our friends. We all know that we are capable as men are, but let’s make this applicable. There are so many successful women’s businesses that should be the motivation for all other women. I hope by this time next year we will be here again, but with better statistics”.

Her Royal Highness also thanked the United Nations for recognizing her achievements and the global impact in humanitarian activities.

The high-level conference and luncheon was attended by an influential audience, including Change Makers, Social Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists, Major Fortune 500 C-Suite Executives, UN Senior Officials, Heads of International Organizations, Ambassadors to the UN, Civil Society Leaders, CEOs, Celebrities, and Representatives of Major Media Outlets.

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PRINCESS KATHERINE IS DELIVERING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND TV DEVICE TO UNIVERSITY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN TIRSOVA STREET

Belgrade, 22 November 2016 – Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine will deliver another valuable aid to the University Children’s Hospital in Tirsova Street on Thursday, November 24, at 10:00 AM.

Among all equipment there are respirator – high frequency oscillating fan, infusion pump, as well as TV device for making patients time in hospital even a little bit pleasant. Amount of donation is more than €40,000.

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Crown Princess Katherine at UNESCO conference in Athens "Promoting an Inclusive Urban Agenda for Refugees and Migrants"

Athens, Greece, November 23, 2016 – Crown Princess Katherine was invited by UNESCO, the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation and the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR) to be part of and to present achievements at the High-Level Conference on the theme “Welcoming Cities for Refugees: Promoting Inclusion and Protecting Rights”. Crown Princess Katherine and her foundation significantly helped children refugees in Greece, as well as in Serbia.

Crown Princess Katherine as Patron of Lifeline Hellas and Lifeline New York held a fund raising event in New York last June to support refugee children in Greece.

The Athens conference is linked to an ongoing partnership between UNESCO, the M.V. Vardinoyannis Foundation and ECCAR, launched last May. Drawing on ECCAR’s own commitment to an anti-racism welcoming culture, the initiative on “Welcoming Cities for Refugees” aims to promote a better understanding of current trends, approaches, obstacles and challenges and to empower municipal authorities and local governments to conceive and implement an inclusive urban agenda for refugees and migrants.

The Conference was graced by the presence of H.E. Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos President of the Hellenic Republic and Mrs Pavlopoulos, (also the best man of TRH’s son David, and godfather of their grandson Alexander) accompanied by his wife. The opening ceremony was featured by Ms Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mrs. Odeta Nishani, First Lady of Albania and Ms. Andri Anastasiadis, First Lady of Cyprus, and many others.

The conference was followed by two interactive panel sessions contrasting the realities of refugee and migrants reception by cities in Greece and elsewhere with the participation of Mayors from Greece (Lesbos and Maroussi), United Nations dignitaries, experts and civil society representatives. This part was introduced by Mr. Yannis Mouzalas, Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy of Greece, and the Right Honorable Adrianne Clarkson, former Governor Genral of Canada.

Only on Lesbos island more than 95.000 refugees came last year, there were days in Greece when daily there were more than 50.000 refugees in process of crossing, and it is assessed that there is around 244 million refugees all over the world.

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Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine paid tribute to Vasa Carapic

26/11/2016

On the occasion of 210 years since the death of Vasa Carapic, one of the most prominent fighters in the uprising against the Dahi, Their Royal Highnesses attended the memorial service and laying of wreaths at the monastery of Rakovica. After the church ceremony, Their Royal Highnesses, Andreja Mladenovic, Deputy Mayor of Belgrade and representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Army laid wreaths at the monument to Vasa Carapic in Francuska street.



The anniversary of the death of the great hero and defender of Belgrade was organized and visited by many members of the Carapic family from all over Serbia.

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“CHILDREN HELPING CHILDREN” PUPILS FROM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS GUESTS AT THE ROYAL PALACE

28/11/2016

Children from Belgrade international schools, together with their teachers, are in the visit to the Royal Palace today and the following two days. This educational and joyful visit is a part of the “Children Helping Children” charity campaign traditionally organized by Crown Princess Katherine Foundation for the forthcoming Christmas holidays.

The students from the Russian School, British International School of Belgrade (primary and secondary schools), Chartwell International School, Grammar school Milena Pavlovic Barili, Primary School Montesori, The International School of Belgrade – Lower School, Deutche Schule Belgrade are having the opportunity to listen to the professional tour guide who is telling them interesting facts about the history of the Palace and the works of art that adorn it, as part of the Royal Compound tour. The students have a chance to share the spirit of charity by donating gifts to their peers from Serbian orphanages. The idea is that the children learn about charitable activities and how to help their peers from homes for children without parental care, children with disabilities and Roma children.

The gifts that the students generously donated to their friends will be presented at the traditional Christmas receptions that Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine will organize at the White Palace on January 5th.

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine greeted the children and talked to them about the importance of giving, emphasizing that they are proud of them, because even being so young, they have awareness and compassion to help their peers and make their holidays great with many different types of toys, stressing that this compassion is a prerequisite to become good people when they grow up.

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ST. ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED – PATRON SAINT DAY OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

Belgrade, December 8, 2016 – Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine will celebrate the Patron Saint Day of the Royal Family, St. Andrew the First-Called, on Tuesday, December 13 at the Royal Palace in Dedinje.

On that day the Holy Liturgy in the Royal Chapel of Saint Andrew the First-Called will be officiated by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej and the Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church. After the Liturgy, at the Royal Palace in Dedinje, there will be cutting the Slava cake and Slava lunch.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016:

From 8:30 am to 10:15 am – Holy Liturgy at the Royal Chapel of Saint Andrew the First-Called.

Cutting the cake in the Blue Salon of the Royal Palace at 10:15 am. After that there will be Slava lunch (from 11:00 am) that is not open to the media.