Prince Alexis Karageorgevich

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Prince Alexis Karageorgevich
Prince Alexis Karageorgevich

Prince Alexis Karageorgevich (10 June 1859 - 15 February 1920) was the head of the senior branch of the House of Karageorgevich and a claimant to the Serbian throne.[1]

Prince Alexis was the great grandson of Karađorđe Petrović leader of the First Serbian Uprising and founder of the House of Karageorgevich. He was born five months after his great uncle Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia had abdicated ending the rule of the Karageorgevich dynasty. His parents were Prince George Karageorgevich (1827-1884) and Sarka Anastasijevic (died 1931) and he had one younger brother Prince Bojidar Karageorgevitch. His grandfather Prince Alexa Karageorgevich (1801-1830) was the eldest son of Karađorđe Petrović and the older brother of Alexander Karađorđević. With the death of his father in 1884 Prince Alexis became head of the senior branch of the House of Karageorgevich.

In January 1902 there was reports in Serbia that King Alexander I from the rival House of Obrenovic was prepared to abdicate in favour of Prince Alexis or at the least he would be named Alexander's heir.[2] With the assassination of King Alexander in 1903 the son of Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia and head of the younger branch of the family, Prince Peter Karageorgevich was elected the new king of Serbia. As a result Prince Alexis abandoned his claim to the throne.[3]

Prince Alexis served in the Serbian Army and saw action during the First Balkan War at the Battle of Kumanovo.[4] During the First World War he had to escape Serbia through Albania arriving in Rome on Christmas eve 1915 after Serbia was being conquered by the Austrian, German and Bulgarian Armies.[5]

At one point Prince Alexis was reported to be engaged to Mabelle Swift a daughter of Gustavus Franklin Swift.[6] He did marry an American women though as on 11 June 1913 in Paris he married Myra Abigail Pratt (nee. Pankhurst) the widow of Huger Pratt.[7]

With his death the elder branch of the Karageorgevich dynasty became extinct.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Intense Family Bitterness", New York Times, 1903-06-13, pp. 2. 
  2. ^ "Servia's King may abdicate", New York Times, 1902-01-20, pp. 1. 
  3. ^ New York Times: 2, 1913-06-11 
  4. ^ "MME. Pratt weds Prince", New York Times, 1913-06-13, pp. 2. 
  5. ^ "Big battle raging in Mid Albania", New York Times, 1915-12-25, pp. 8. 
  6. ^ "American to wed Prince", New York Times, 1899-09-22, pp. 2. 
  7. ^ "Mrs Pratt weds a Prince", New York Times, 1913-06-12, pp. 2.