The last king who carried Yugoslavia’s royal legitimacy into exile
On 27 March 1941, Dušan Simović told him: "Your Majesty, from this moment you will exercise your full sovereign power."
Peter II became king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as a child after the assassination of his father, Alexander I, and was its last monarch. The 27 March 1941 coup ended the regency and declared him of age, but the Axis invasion soon forced him to lead a government in exile from London. His crown represented state continuity against occupation, yet the exile government’s divisions and the Partisans’ military and political victory stripped it of an effective base of power. After the monarchy was abolished in 1945, his permanent exile left unresolved the question of Yugoslavia’s political legitimacy.
Activities and affiliations
- 1934–1945 Monarchs and royalty · Yugoslavia
Career Timeline
- 1934Acceded as king under a regency
- 1934–1941Nominal king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- 1941.03.27Declared of age after the coup
- 1941.04–06Went into exile with the government after the Axis invasion
- 1941–1945Head of state of the Yugoslav royal government-in-exile in London
- 1944.09Called on Yugoslav forces to join Tito
- 1945Deposed when the monarchy was abolished
- 1945–1970Lived in exile in the United States
- 1970Died in Denver, United States
Related historical events
Accommodation with Tito and the end of the monarchy
Unable to control the resistance forces inside Yugoslavia, Peter II’s government-in-exile depended on Allied recognition, while the Partisans built a rival power base at home. In early 1944, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressed Peter to replace the cabinet of Božidar Purić and sever his ties with Draža Mihailović. On 1 June, Peter appointed Ivan Šubašić prime minister; Šubašić negotiated with Tito to bring the government-in-exile and the Partisan movement into a coalition. A July 1944 report by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services relayed Tito’s view that the agreement was controversial within the Partisan movement and that the exile government’s authority rested on Allied diplomatic recognition rather than domestic popular support. Since the report conveyed remarks through Tito’s associate, it should be read as one contemporary account of Partisan opinion.\n\nŠubašić informed Peter of his agreement with Tito without consulting him beforehand, and on 12 September 1944 Peter appealed on the BBC for his people to support Tito. Even after the war, Peter was not permitted to return. A regency council began governing in Belgrade in March 1945; Peter and royalist officials objected that its members had been nominated by Tito. On 29 November, the Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy and proclaimed a republic. In a 1946 letter to the U.S. secretary of state, Peter said that the end of Yugoslav state support left him unable to maintain his family and royal household. This contemporary appeal records how the loss of the crown also weakened his financial means in exile.