Editing Alexander I of Serbia (section)

==Marriage==
In the summer of 1900, King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to [[Draga Mašin]], a disreputable widow of an obscure engineer.{{sfn|Ward|Prothero|Leathes|1920|p=412}}<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Christopher |title=The sleepwalkers : how Europe went to war in 1914 |date=2012 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780061146664 |page=8}}</ref> Alexander had met Draga in 1897 when she was serving as a maid of honor to his mother. Draga was nine years older than the king, unpopular with Belgrade society, well known for her allegedly numerous sexual liaisons, and widely believed to be infertile.<ref name="auto"/> Since Alexander was an only child, it was imperative to secure the succession by producing an heir. So intense was the opposition to Mašin among the political classes that the king found it impossible for a time to recruit suitable candidates for senior posts.<ref name="auto"/>
[[File:The Princess Alexandra of Schaumburg-Lippe, bride of Prince Eitel (second son of the Kaiser).jpg|thumb|Princess Alexandra Karoline of [[Schaumburg-Lippe]], member of the [[House of Lippe]], intended German royal bride for Alexander]]
Before making the announcement of his intended engagement, Alexander did not consult with his father, who had been on vacation in [[Karlovy Vary|Karlsbad]] and making arrangements to secure the hand of the suitable [[German nobility|German royal]], [[Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe#Personal life|Princess Alexandra Karoline of Schaumburg-Lippe]], member of an ancient [[House of Lippe]], sister of the [[Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe|Queen of Württemberg]], for his son. He neither consulted his [[Prime Minister of Serbia|Prime Minister]] Dr. [[Vladan Đorđević]], who was visiting the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Universal Exhibition]] in [[Paris]] at the time of the announcement.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abebooks.com/Memoiren-K%C3%B6nigs-Milan-Zehn-Kapitel-Leben/31141338460/bd | title=Die Memoiren des Königs Milan. Zehn Kapitel aus dem Leben des ersten Serbenkönigs by Milan:: Halbleinen, Frakturschrift (1902) &#124; Versandantiquariat Schäfer }}</ref> Both immediately resigned, and Alexander had difficulty in forming a new cabinet. Alexander's mother also opposed the marriage and was subsequently banished from the kingdom.

Opposition to the union seemed to subside somewhat for a time upon the publication of congratulations of [[Nicholas II of Russia]] to the king on his engagement and of his agreement to act as the principal witness at the wedding. The marriage duly took place in August 1900. Even so, the unpopularity of the union weakened the king's position in the eyes of the army and the country at large.{{sfn|Mijatovich|1911}}