Serbia needs a king - and Kostunica is a monarchist!
TUESDAY OCTOBER 10 2000
Serbia eases path to royal homecoming
BY DANIEL MCGRORY, MICHAEL BINYON AND ALAN HAMILTON
PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA yesterday opened the door to a return home for the Yugoslav Royal Family, exiled in Britain since the Second World War.
After the ignominy of being ousted from his job, Slobodan Milosevic now faces eviction from his official residence: his successor has insisted that the Belgrade mansion known as the White Palace be handed back to the Royal Family.
The country's new leader, a self-proclaimed monarchist, has let it be known that he wants a referendum on the return of the house of Karadjordjevik, which ruled Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1941 and were kings of Serbia before that. But aides have given warning that restoring the White Palace to the family would set a dangerous precedent, as many other families would demand the return of property seized by the State during the Second World War.
Crown Prince Alexander — whose father, King Peter, fled the Nazi invasion — said at his London home in Dover Street, off Piccadilly, yesterday that it had always been his dream to return to his homeland, but he would do so only in the proper way. He had not yet received an official invitation.
It must be done in a way that does not hurt the people, but is for the good of the people, the Crown Prince, 55, said, adding that the huge social problems and great poverty in Yugoslavia were far more pressing issues than the return of the monarchy.
The Crown Prince was born in Claridges Hotel in 1945 — in a room briefly declared Yugoslav territory — and has lived in Britain almost continuously ever since. He has been a longstanding opponent of Mr Milosevic and several years ago gave up his career as an international insurance broker to concentrate on ways of helping his homeland.
Over ten years I worked hard to get rid of that awful man, he said. In the past year he has organised several conferences inviting opposition leaders to discuss how to defeat Mr Milosevic. This did galvanise them, and the most important thing I tried to do was to ensure unity. Vojislav Kostunica has my full support. But what concerns me now is that the 18 members of the coalition stick together.
The Crown Prince, who is related both to the Queen through Queen Victoria and to the Duke of Edinburgh through the Greek Royal Family, last visited Serbia in July, for the funeral of his uncle Tomislav, who fled with the last King during the war to become an apple-grower in Kent.
Growing up to speak only halting Serbian, Prince Alexander first visited his homeland in 1991 after the death of Tito; half a million people lined the streets to greet him.
He opposed Nato's bombing of Yugoslavia last year, and spoke of a tragic turn of events which should never have been allowed to happen. Last year he flew with his wife, Princess Katherine, to Montenegro, where he held talks with President Djukanovic and political leaders.
Prince Alexander is cautious about the prospects of returning as King. He believes a constitutional monarchy would be a good way of holding Yugoslavia together, but there is little support among his potential subjects for the idea.
thetimes.co.uk |
