He took the regency on October 9, 1934 after King Alexander's assassination in Marseille and ruled the country until he decided to sign the Tripartite Pact in Vienna on March 25, 1941. Because of his decision, massive demonstrations took place in Belgrade and, after this, his nephew, together with a group of pro-English officers and middle class politicians, made a coup d'état on March 27, 1941. Dušan Simović became prime minister and Yugoslavia backed out of the Axis sphere in all but name.
Although the new rulers opposed Germany, they also feared that if Hitler attacked Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom was not in any real position to help. For the safety of the country, they declared that Yugoslavia would adhere to the Tripartite Pact. However, Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia anyways and the royal family escaped abroad, Prince Pavle included.
Karadjordjevic dynasty came to power for the third time in 1903, after the army officers' coup carried out by the organisation called the "Black Hand".
However, on March 27, 1941, prince Pavle and the royal government were overthrown by a military coup, and young king Petar II was proclaimed of age.
To the question of his future role and the destiny of the monarchy Aleksandar Karadjordjevic himself says that once he came home he would "let things go their own way" and repeated that he did not want revenge but reconciliation and integration of the country into the international community.
Prince Tomislav Karadjordjevic was born on January 19, 1928, in Belgrade, and died on July 12 this year in Topola.
King Petar I Karadjordjevic began the construction of the Church of Saint George in the central Serbian town of Oplenac in 1910.
His son Aleksandar Karadjordjevic finished it after World War I. 17 members of the royal family were buried in the crypt in the Church of Saint George.
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