Editing Alexander I of Serbia

{{Short description|King of Serbia from 1889 to 1903}}
{{For|other people with similar names|Alexander of Serbia (disambiguation)|Alexander of Yugoslavia (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Alexander I<br />{{nobold|Александар I Обреновић}}
| succession   = [[King of Serbia]]
| image        = AlejandroIDeSerbiaEn1900.jpg
| caption      = Alexander in 1900
| coronation   = 2 July 1889
| reign        = 6 March 1889{{snd}}11 June 1903
| predecessor  = [[Milan I of Serbia|Milan I]]
| successor    = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| regent       = ''[[Prime Minister of Serbia#Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918)|Full list]]''
| reg-type     = Prime&nbsp;ministers
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Draga Mašin]]|5 August 1900<!--|11 June 1903|end=their deaths-->}}
| house        = [[House of Obrenović|Obrenović]]
| father       = [[Milan I of Serbia]]
| mother       = [[Natalie of Serbia|Natalija Keşco]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1876|08|14|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Belgrade]], [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1903|06|11|1876|08|14|df=y}}
| death_place  = Belgrade, [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]]
| burial_place = [[St. Mark's Church, Belgrade]]
| religion     = [[Serbian Orthodox]]
}}
{{Infobox royal styles
|image      = [[File:Royal Monogram of King Alexander I of Serbia.svg|50px]]
|royal name = Alexander I of Serbia
|dipstyle   = [[Majesty|His Majesty]]
|offstyle   = Your Majesty
}}

'''Alexander I''' ({{langx|sr|Александар I Обреновић|translit=Aleksandar I Obrenović}}; 14 August 1876{{snd}}11 June 1903) was [[King of Serbia]] from 1889 until his death in 1903, when he and his wife, [[Draga Mašin]], were [[May Coup (Serbia)|assassinated]] by a group of [[Royal Serbian Army]] officers,<ref>{{cite book |last=Dorich |first=William |title=Kosovo |date=October 1992 |isbn=0-317-05074-5}}</ref> led by Captain [[Dragutin Dimitrijević]].

==Accession==
Alexander was born on 14 August 1876 to King [[Milan I of Serbia|Milan]] and Queen [[Natalie of Serbia]]. By birth, he was member of the [[Obrenović dynasty|House of Obrenović]], ruling dynasty of the [[Principality of Serbia]] and from 1882, the [[Kingdom of Serbia]].{{sfn|Kane|2014|p=12}}

In 1889, King Milan unexpectedly abdicated and withdrew to private life, proclaiming Alexander king of Serbia. Since the king was only thirteen, three regents were appointed, head among them [[Jovan Ristić]].{{sfn|Ward|Prothero|Leathes|1920|p=411}} His mother also became his regent.

Alexander ordered the arrest of the regents on April 13, 1893, proclaiming himself of age and dissolving national assembly. On May 21, he abolished his father's [[1888 Serbian constitution|liberal constitution of 1889]] and restored the [[1869 Serbian constitution|previous one]]. In 1894, the young King brought his father, Milan, back to Serbia and, in 1898, appointed him commander-in-chief of the army. During that time, Milan was regarded as the ''de facto'' ruler of the country.{{sfn|Mijatovich|1911}} In 1898 penalties were brought down upon the [[People's Radical Party|Radical]] and the [[Russophilia#Serbia|Russophil]] parties, which the court sought to tie to an attempted assassination of the former King Milan.{{sfn|Ward|Prothero|Leathes|1920|p=412}}

Alexander's attitude during the [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)]] was one of strict [[Neutral country|neutrality]].{{sfn|Mijatovich|1911}}

==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}}

==Politics and the constitution==
King Alexander tried to reconcile political parties by unveiling a [[classical liberalism|liberal]] [[constitution]] of his own initiative in 1901, introducing for the first time in the constitutional history of Serbia the system of two chambers (''[[National Assembly (Serbia)|skupština]]'' and ''[[senate]]''). This reconciled the political parties, but did not placate the army which, already dissatisfied with the king's marriage, became still more so at the rumours that one of the two unpopular brothers of [[Draga Mašin|Queen Draga]], [[Nikodije Lunjevica|Lieutenant Nikodije]], was to be proclaimed [[heir presumptive]] to the throne.{{sfn|Mijatovich|1911}}

Alexander's good relations and the country's growing dependence on Austria-Hungary were detested by the Serbian public.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bataković|first=Dušan|date=2017|title=On Parliamentary Democracy in Serbia 1903–1914 Political Parties, Elections, Political Freedoms|journal=Balcanica|issue=XLVIII|pages=123–142|doi=10.2298/BALC1748123B|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to [[Heinrich Berghaus]], more than two million [[Serbs]] lived in [[Austria-Hungary]], with another million in the [[Ottoman Empire]], although many migrated to Serbia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://redportal.pink.rs/vesti/11003/popisom-iz-1846.-na-prostoru-hrvatske-zivelo-skoro-2,5-miliona-srba | title=Popisom iz 1846. Na prostoru Hrvatske živelo skoro 2,5 miliona Srba }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=СРБИ У АУСТРОУГАРСКОЈ МОНАРХИЈИ |url=http://tspupin.org/online2903/I-9%20istorija%20bravari.pdf |access-date=September 15, 2024 |website=tspupin.org}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the independence of the senate and of the council of state caused increasing irritation to King Alexander. In March 1903, the king suspended the constitution for half an hour, time enough to publish decrees dismissing and replacing the old senators and Councillors of state. This arbitrary act increased dissatisfaction in the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scribd.com/document/96886325/Kralj-Aleksandar-Obrenovi%C4%87-seminarski-rad-10-03-2012 | title=Kralj Aleksandar Obrenović (Seminarski Rad) 10.03.2012. &#124; PDF }}</ref>

Attempting to appease the opposition, King Alexander granted an amnesty to the persecuted Radicals, and in 1901 issued a [[Constitution of Serbia#Constitutional history|moderately liberal constitution]]. A Council of State and a second chamber to parliament were instituted.{{sfn|Ward|Prothero|Leathes|1920|p=412}}

In 1902 Alexander's rival [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter Кarađorđević]] was proclaimed king by followers at [[Šabac]], and Alexander responded by organizing a military cabinet and suspending the constitution. Radicals began to plot the King's assassination.{{sfn|Ward|Prothero|Leathes|1920|p=412}}

==Assassination==
{{main|May Coup (Serbia)}}
The general impression was that, as much as the senate was packed with men devoted to the royal couple and the government obtained a large majority at the general elections, King Alexander would not hesitate any longer to proclaim Queen Draga's brother as the heir presumptive to the throne.{{sfn|Mijatovich|1911}} In spite of this, it had been agreed with the Serbian government that [[Prince Mirko of Montenegro]], who was married to [[Natalija Konstantinović]], the granddaughter of [[Princess Anka Obrenović]], an aunt of King Milan, would be proclaimed heir presumptive in the event that the marriage of King Alexander and Queen Draga was childless.<ref name="njeg">{{Cite web|last=Leroy |first=Pierre Olivier |url=http://www.njegoskij.org/menu_history/subArts_2006/subArtHI_05006.php#footnotes |title=Biography of Prince Mihajlo Petrovic Njegos |access-date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=The Njegoskij Fund Public Project |year=2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927034426/http://www.njegoskij.org/menu_history/subArts_2006/subArtHI_05006.php |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Apparently to prevent Queen Draga's brother being named heir presumptive, but in reality, to replace Alexander Obrenović with Prince [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter Karađorđević]], a conspiracy was organized by a group of army officers headed by Captain [[Dragutin Dimitrijević]], also known as "Apis", and Novak Perišić, a young Serbian Orthodox militant who was in the pay of the [[Russian Empire]],<ref>C. L. Sulzberger, ''The Fall of Eagles'', p. 202, Crown Publishers, New York, 1977</ref> as well as the leader of the [[Black Hand (Serbia)|Black Hand]] [[secret society]] which would assassinate [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] in 1914. Several politicians were also members of the conspiracy and allegedly included former Prime Minister [[Nikola Pašić]].<ref name="Sulzberger, p.202">Sulzberger, p. 202</ref> The royal couple's [[Stari dvor|palace]] was invaded and they hid in a wardrobe in the queen's bedroom.

The conspirators searched the palace and eventually discovered the royal couple and murdered them in the early morning of 11 June 1903. They were shot and their bodies mutilated and disembowelled, after which, according to eyewitness accounts, they were thrown from a second-floor window of the palace onto piles of garden manure.<ref name="Sulzberger, p.202"/> King Alexander and Queen Draga were buried in the crypt of [[St. Mark's Church, Belgrade]].

==Honours==
* {{flag|Kingdom of Serbia}}:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalhouseofobrenovic.org/en/orders-and-medals/|title=Orders and Medals|website=The Royal House of Obrenovic|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>
** Founder of the [[Order of St. Prince Lazar]], ''28 June 1889''
** Founder of the [[Order of Miloš the Great]], ''1898''
* {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary|Order of St. Stephen]], ''1891''<ref>[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{flag|Baden}}:<ref>''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1878737 pp. 63], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1878751 77]</ref>
** Knight of the [[House Order of Fidelity]], ''1894''
** Knight of the [[Order of Berthold the First]], ''1894''
* {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}: Knight of the [[Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|Order of the Annunciation]], ''25 November 1896''<ref name="dell'interno1898">{{cite book|author=Italia : Ministero dell'interno|title=Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dnhcmSJ6FcC&pg=PP5|year=1898|publisher=Unione tipografico-editrice|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=0dnhcmSJ6FcC&pg=PA54 54]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Portugal}}: Grand Cross of the [[Sash of the Three Orders]], ''5 August 1893''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oliviera|first1=Humberto Nuno de|date=2010|title=Subsídio para a história das relações bilaterais entre Portugal ea Sérvia|url=http://revistas.lis.ulusiada.pt/index.php/lh/article/download/1550/1663|trans-title=Subsidy for the History of Bilateral relations between Portugal and Serbia|journal=Lusíada História |volume=2 |number=7 |page=449 |issn=0873-1330 |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref>
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}: Knight of the [[Order of St. Andrew]]<ref name = "Almanach">{{cite book|author=Justus Perthes|year=1902|volume=139|title=Almanach de Gotha|lang=fr|page=[https://archive.org/details/almanachdegotha00unse_83/page/n133/mode/2up 96]}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Charles III]], with Collar, ''24 September 1897''<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000976079&search=&lang=es|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1900|access-date=7 May 2020|page=170|language=es}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Divlad Milán szerb király 1888-32.jpg|Young Alexander with his father King [[Milan I of Serbia|Milan]] in 1888 less than a year before Milan abdicated the throne in favour of his underage son
File:King Alexander I Obrenović of Serbia and Queen Draga, ca. 1900.jpg|King Alexander and Queen Draga
File:AleksandarObrenovic.jpg|Portrait of King Alexander by [[Vlaho Bukovac]], 1900
File:Obrenoviceva vila u Smederevu.jpg|The [[Obrenović Villa]], summer residence of King Alexander in [[Smederevo]]
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Alexander I Obrenović of Serbia}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Alexander (king of Servia)|display=Alexander|first=Chedomille|last=Mijatovich|author-link=Čedomilj Mijatović|volume=1|pages=563–564}}
*{{cite book |date=1920 |editor-last=Ward |editor-first=A.W. |editor-last2=Prothero |editor-first2=G.W. |editor-last3=Leathes |editor-first3=Stanely |title=The Cambridge Modern History |publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=12 |isbn=}}
* {{cite book |last=Dorich |first=William |title=Kosovo |publisher=Kosovo Charity Fund |location=Alhambra, CA |date=October 1992 |isbn=0-317-05074-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gilbert |title=A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume One: 1900–1933 |year=1997 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |chapter=1903 |pages=75–77 |isbn=0-688-10064-3}}
*{{cite book| last = Kane| first = Robert B.| editor-last = Hall| editor-first = Richard C.| year = 2014| title = War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia| chapter = Alexander Obrenović, King of Serbia (1876–1903)| publisher = ABC-CLIO| location = Santa Barbara, California| isbn = 978-1-61069-031-7| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wy3TBAAAQBAJ}}
{{refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Obrenović]]|24 August|1876|11 June|1903}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Milan I of Serbia|Milan I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Serbia]]|years=6 March 1889{{snd}}11 June 1903}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Serbian monarchs}}
{{Heads of state of Serbia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 01 Of Serbia}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1903 deaths]]
[[Category:Kings of Serbia]]
[[Category:People from Belgrade]]
[[Category:19th-century Serbian monarchs]]
[[Category:20th-century Serbian monarchs]]
[[Category:Obrenović dynasty]]
[[Category:Murdered Serbian monarchs]]
[[Category:Assassinated Serbian people]]
[[Category:Executed Serbian people]]
[[Category:Child monarchs from Europe]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Sava]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of St. Sava]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)|3]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz|3]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint James of the Sword|3]]
[[Category:People murdered in Serbia]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Mark's Church, Belgrade]]
[[Category:20th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:People murdered in 1903]]
[[Category:Assassinated heads of state in Europe]]
[[Category:Sons of princes regnant]]