For the unenlightened, could you briefly describe the nature of the family bicker which has lead to the anomosity between the two branches of the Yugosalvian/Serbian Royal Family.
Is is Yogosalvian or Serbian now?
TampaBay
You have to realize for starters that the two branches are not closely related. The late KIng Alexander and Prince Paul were first cousins. Prince Paul was the wealthier of the two, thanks to money from his mother's family, the Demidovs. There was certainly a lot of tension within the family - as Alexander consolidated his power (Serbia was a dictatorship.) He married a Roumanian princess not long after signing a treaty with the country .. and Paul married Olga of Greece (a year or so after her engagement to Frederik of Denmark ended) They were the far more cultured couple - they collected art works that lined their home in Belgrade (the White Palace, which was on loan from Alexander. For a time, Paul could not leave the country as Alexander did not trust him as Paul was more popular outside Yugoslavia, and he had good connections in the UK (none of which helped him later.)
After Alexander's tragic assassination, Paul was one of three regents for the minor King Peter - and Paul found himself stuck between a rock and hard place - the rock was tumbling toward him and it was called Germany. That Paul cozied up to the Nazis is not in doubt - but one has to realize that he didn't have much of a choice considering the situation. However, as Yugoslavia and Germany moved toward a mutual pact, the Yugoslavs were not thrilled and neither was the young King Peter, who shortly before he reached his majority age, he ended the regency and the pact they had made with Germany. This proved dire for the family. Within weeks, Germany had moved into Yugoslavia, and the family went into exile. Peter first to Egypt and then to England. Paul and family eventually ended up in Kenya where they were under house arrest by the British. When the Duke of Kent was killed in the plane crash, the British govt arranged for Olga to come and spend time with Marina (and Olga was villified in the papers and in Parliament.)
I recommend Neil Balfour and Sally Mackay's Paul of Yugoslavia (1980) .... Paul got a bad rap for his decisions - but Germany was going to invade no matter what.
