The Assassination of the Serbian King Alexander I and Queen Draga

The assassination of Serbian King Alexander I and Queen Draga occurred on June 11, 1903, in what is known as the May Coup. It was a conspiracy led by a group of military officers who sought to remove the unpopular royal couple and establish a more constitutional monarchy in Serbia.

Dates and Details:

• The assassination occurred on June 11, 1903, in the royal palace in Belgrade, Serbia.
• The conspirators, a group of military officers led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević (also known as Apis), infiltrated the palace with the help of guards.
• The royal couple was discovered hiding in a secret room and were brutally murdered. Their bodies were then thrown from a palace window.

Details:

1. King Alexander I and Queen Draga were unpopular due to their perceived autocratic rule, the king’s alleged cruelty, and the queen’s controversial past.
2. Queen Draga was a former lady-in-waiting and had been married before, which caused scandal and disapproval among the Serbian public and nobility.
3. Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević, who led the assassination plot, was a founding member of the secret nationalist organization Black Hand, which was later implicated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
4. The assassination of King Alexander I and Queen Draga marked the end of the Obrenović dynasty, which had ruled Serbia intermittently since 1815.
5. The May Coup paved the way for the ascension of the rival Karađorđević dynasty to the Serbian throne, with Peter I becoming the new king.
6. The assassination was condemned by many European powers, leading to a temporary diplomatic isolation of Serbia.
7. The May Coup is considered a turning point in modern Serbian history, as it marked the beginning of a more stable constitutional monarchy and the country’s eventual involvement in the Balkan Wars and World War I.

Effects on Pop Culture:

• The assassination of King Alexander I and Queen Draga has been the subject of various novels, plays, and films in Serbia, often focusing on the turbulent reign of the royal couple and the political intrigue that led to their downfall.

Prominent People and Countries:

• Key figures in the assassination included King Alexander I and Queen Draga of Serbia and the conspirators led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević (Apis).
• The event occurred in Serbia, an independent kingdom at the time.
• European powers, such as Russia, Austria-Hungary, and France, were involved in the diplomatic fallout from the assassination as they sought to maintain stability in the Balkans and protect their own interests in the region.