Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia

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Alexander Karađorđević, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, is the head of the House of Karađorđević and a claimant to the former Yugoslav throne. He was born on 17 July 1945 in Claridge’s Hotel, London, to King Peter II and Queen Alexandra of Greece and Denmark. The Yugoslav monarchy was abolished later that year, so he is a pretender to a throne that no longer exists. He has often used the title Alexander II Karadjordjevic in public.

Raised in the United Kingdom, he was educated in Europe and the UK and trained as a soldier. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1966 and served as a captain in the British Army’s 16th/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers, with postings in West Germany, Italy, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland.

In 1972 he married Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans-Braganza of Brazil. They had three sons: Peter (born 1980) and twins Philip and Alexander (born 1982). The couple divorced in 1985. He later married Katherine Clairy Batis in 1985, who is known as Crown Princess Katherine.

Serbia restored citizenship to the Karađorđević family and returned some property in 2001, and since then he has lived at the Royal Palace in Belgrade. He supports a constitutional monarchy for Serbia and works on humanitarian causes, maintaining ties with the British royal family. He has attended major royal events, such as the state funerals of King Michael of Romania (2017) and Queen Elizabeth II (2022).

In February 2024 he revealed that he had been treated for early-stage prostate cancer in December 2023. Public opinion on restoring the monarchy in Serbia is divided, though he remains a prominent figure for monarchist supporters.