King Simeon's Birthday will be a summit for the Balkan Royal Families

Their Majesties King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgarians

The third King of the Bulgarians, since gaining independence from the Ottomans, will celebrate his 80th birthday on 16th in his home country.

His Majesty Tsar Simeon II expects members of European Royal Families at the Vrana Palace. He also invited representatives of the Bulgarian administration and collaborators of the former parliamentary group of the NMSS (National Movement Simeon II, later renamed to National Movement for Stability and Prosperity), and the ministers from his government, which he headed between 2001 and 2005, public figures, former political partners, business representatives.

King Simeon II and Princess Maria Luisa of Bulgaria

Almost the whole family of Tsar Simeon and Queen Margarita will be present for the anniversary. The sister of the King, Princess Maria Luisa of Bulgaria, has already arrived from the United States. The King's children and grandchildren will arrive a day before the jubilee . The last time they gathered in Vrana was ten years ago, when the family celebrated the 70th birthday of Tsar Simeon II. Missing will be Prince Tirso - Prince Kubrat and Princess Karla's son, who will sit in exams when his grandfather turns 80. On the same day, their son Prince Lucas, who is a medical student, has an important test and will miss the family celebrations.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister and the US president

In January this year, His Majesty sent letters to the royal families in Europe, informing them that he had to limit the guest list for his birthday party. However, he invited he heads and heirs of the royal families in the Balkans. This is also due to the fact that the possible presence of royal couples of active monarchies would involve Bulgarian state bodies and require tightened security measures at the state level. Due to historic misfortunes the King's birthday reception has to be private. Unlike in Bulgaria's neighboring countries, where the royal families work together with the higher state institutions in such cases, and could expect police protection there is no such practice in today's Bulgaria.

Among the guests from abroad will be Crown Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, and Prince Radu of Romania, Crown Prince Alexander (II) of Serbia and Princess Katharina of Serbia, Prince Nikola of Montenegro, Crown Prince Leka II of the Albanians with his wife Princess Elijah, and Prince Osman Salahhdin Osmanoglu - a direct descendant of the Turkish sultans Murad V and Mehmed V.

From Spain, Queen Sofia and her sister Princess Irine of Greece and Denmark will take part. King Juan Carlos, who will also turn 80 years old in seven months, will not be able to attend. The Austrian Archduchess Elena will also join the celebrations the anniversary. Also expected is Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who is the dean of the extended Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family. He will fly in with a special plane directly from the German city of Coburg.

Among the guests will be Prince Tusun of Egypt, who was a classmate of Tsar Simeon II in the famous Victoria College in Alexandria. Prince Karel Schwarzenberg, who was foreign minister of the Czech Republic, will be absent.. He is the peer of the King and his close friend. Unfortunately, he will not be able to attend, due to the fact that on 16th June, national celebrations commence for the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Schwarzenberg dynasty in Bohemia. Their Majesties, King Harald V and Queen Sonia of Norway, who have visited all provinces in the country for their 80th anniversary earlier in 2017, have already sent their excuses.

Their Majesties King Simeon II and King Juan Carlos I

On 16th June, a church service of Thanksgiving will take place at the "St. Alexander Nevski" cathedral, headed by His Holiness Neophyte, the Patriarch of Bulgaria and the Highly Reputed Metropolitans of the Holy Synod.

Serbian Crown Prince Alexander II patron of the Album in Memory of our Ancestors in the Great War

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II accepted with great pleasure to be the patron of the project “Album in Memory of our Ancestors in the Great War,” that has been realised by the Association of the Descendants of Serbian Warriors 1912 – 1920.

“I am very happy that the Association of descendants of Serbian Warriors 1912 – 1920 initiated such a project during year when we mark beginning of the war that was remembered as the Great War, as a first war that was titled a World War, and that left tragic marks all around the world. History obliges us not to forget this cathartic experience, but to come to sense and start the restitution of general values: love, honour, of historic culture, creativity and above all – humanity. History calls upon us to take personal responsibility for the future of our ancestors, and this project is a great step forward on that path. As the great grandson of His Majesty King Peter I who went through Golgotha of the Great War together with his sons and his people, as my grandfather of HRH Regent Alexander (later His Majesty King Alexander I) who was supreme commander of Serbian Army in World War I, I had the obligation and pleasure to accept to be patron of this very important project”, Crown Prince Alexander emphasised.

French postcard in support of her Serbian ally.

The project “Album in Memory of our Ancestors in the Great War” has the main goal to increase visibility and sustainability of Serbian cultural heritage as an important part of the cultural heritage of European nations at the time of First World War. One of the primary goals is to empower citizens who chose to take part in it to give their personal touch by providing relevant documents and historic sources in marking the Centenary of the First World War.

The creation of this Album will give an opportunity for all to submit online scans of photographs of their ancestors, biographic texts, diaries, medals, letters of soldiers and other materials of importance for Serbian and world history. At the end of the project, 100 chosen photographs will be printed and exhibited at places of historic importance of this period.

Photos and other documents could be submitted via web site http://slavnim-precima.rs where all material collected so far could be seen.

A web portal and data base of materials will be put at the disposal of historians and other professionals for research and other purposes, and we will all have a lasting memory of our ancestors who fought honourably for their freedom.

General goal:

Promotion of European idea of conciliation, remembrance and devotion in the context of commemoration of the First World War. Preservation of Serbian culture and identity as part of European and World cultural heritage. Sustainability of historic and cultural heritage.

Specific goals:

Marking the centenary of the First World War through promotion of Serbian history, development of positive international image, promotion of freedom loving characteristics of Serbian people, and emphasising membership within the European family of nations;

Conciliation through trust building and cooperation with European Union accession process;

Raising awareness on national identity, tradition and Serbian cultural identity;

Encouraging interest among young people in Serbian history;

Promotion of family values;

Strengthening moral values in Serbia society;

Networking between young people in Serbia and their peers in the Diaspora;

Building an Internet data base of photos from the First World War;

Honouring King Pavlos I of the Hellenes

In the centre: H.M. King Constantine II of the Hellenes and his wife, H.M. Queen Anna-Maria of the Hellenes. On the extreme right, H.R.H. Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark and next to her, H.M. Queen Sofía of Spain.

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine attended the two day commemoration for the 50 years of the passing of His Majesty King Paul I of the Hellenes and published the following short report on the website of The Royal Family of Serbia.

A documentary “Pavlos No Ordinary King” about the life of His Majesty King Paul of the Hellenes was shown last night at the Gennadius Library, Kolonaki in Athens. HM Queen Sophia of Spain hosted a dinner for relatives after the documentary.

This morning a memorial service took place at the graveside located at Tatoi for His Majesty King Paul.

The Greek Royal Family was represented by Their Majesties King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie, Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess Marie Chantal and their children and Her Royal Highness Princess Irene. Also present were Her Majesty Queen Sophia of Spain, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, as well as His Majesty King Simeon of the Bulgarians.

King Paul was born in Athens 14 December 1901 and was the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. King Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover. King Paul’s brother was His Majesty King Alexander of the Hellenes grandfather of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia. King Paul died in Athens 6 March 1964.

His Majesty King Alexander of the Hellenes and Her Royal Highness Princess Aspasia (grandparents of Crown Prince Alexander) are buried in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi. Her Majesty Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia was buried in the cemetery and was transferred last year to the Royal Family Crypt in the Mausoleum at Oplenac, Serbia.

HRH Crown Prince Alexander II lays wreath on the tomb of HM King Paul of the Hellenes, commemorating the 50 years of his passing, Tatoi cemetery, Athens, March 6, 2014.

Serbia: Nearly 40 p.c. in favour of the Monarchy

According to an opinion poll done by Belgrade-based SAS Intelligence agency 39.7 percent of the Serbians believe that a renewal of a parliamentary monarchy would be a good idea. 32.2 percent of those who replied were strongly against the monarchy while 27.4 percent did not have an opinion on the issue.

Youth Radio Broadcasting B92 attended a press conference, where SAS Intelligence Executive Director Miljan Premović explained the poll which was carried out between 11th and 16th April: a total of 1,615 people in 16 Serbian towns, Kosovo excluded, had participated in it. He said that the poll had been carried out in all regions, in both urban and rural areas and that it covered both sexes and citizens of various aged and that it had a 95 percent trust interval “which makes it good enough for scientific publications”.

“The main person who inspired us to conduct the poll was in fact world’s leading nation-branding expert Simon Anholt who believes that Serbia is one of the countries with the highest chance to renew the monarchy. Therefore we decided to give the public an insight into one of the social topics that have not been researched and show the mood regarding the renewal of monarchy. The question resembles a possible referendum question: Should Serbia be a parliamentary monarchy?”

The opinion poll was conducted before the repatriation of the remains of Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia (* 25th March 1921 in Athens - + 30th January 1993 in East Sussex, U.K.). 


At the Tatoi Palace Royal Cemetery the Remains of HM Queen Alexandra were seen off by representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church His Eminence Metropolitan Athinogoras and Archimandrite Patrikio.


On 9th May the remains of  Queen Alexandra were disinterred at the Tatoi Palace Royal Cemetery in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine, HRH Princess Irene of Greece, Mr. Vassilis Koutsavlis, President of Friends of Tatoi, together with Their Excellences Ambassador of Serbia Mr. Dragan Zupanjevac, Ambassadors of Montenegro Mr. Ivo Armenko, Hungary Mr. Jaime Barberis, Jordan Mr. Saker Malkawi, Switzerland Mr. Lorenzo Amberg and Mrs. Christiane Amberg, Ambassador Mr. Dionyssis Kodelas, Ambassador of Poland – Mr. Maciej Krych, Mr. Chronis and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyannis and other dignitaries.

A memorial service for HM Queen Alexandra was officiated by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia at the Royal Chapel of St Andrew the First Called at the Royal Compound in Dedinje. In his address afterwards, the Patriarch has emphasized: “We are grateful to the Lord that time when they have been forbidden to come back to their country, and to have a final rest at the country that members of Karadjordjevic Royal Family lived for is finally over. The huge injustice has been rectified, praise the Lord!”

HRH Crown Prince Alexander gave a moving speech: ”Thank you all for gathering here today to pay respect to my mother, HM Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia. I wish to express my special gratitude to His Holiness Patriarch Irinej for being here today and for all his prayers. My mother got married to my father King Peter II while he was in exile during World War II. She shared with him the tragedy of being torn away from his country and his people. Soon they will be together in their eternal place of rest in Oplenac, thus fulfilling my great-grandfather’s King Peter I legacy to have all the members of Karadjordjevic family buried there.

"We have brought the Queen to her country. Welcome home, mother! Eternal glory to her!“

Queen Alexandra was the daughter of HM King Alexander of the Hellenes and HRH Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark (née Aspasia Manos). Queen Alexandra was educated at Westfield, the junior school of Heathfield, then she went to Heathfield. Following schooling in England Queen Alexandra went to Mademoiselle Ozanne in Paris. The Queen was previously buried at Tatoi Palace Royal Cemetery near Athens.

HM King Peter II, HM Queen Alexandra and HM Queen Mother Maria will remain at The Royal Chapel of St. Andrew the First Called until the State Funeral on 26th May in the Church of St. George Royal Mausoleum in Oplenac.