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Friday, October 10, 2008

Alexander's final return to Yugoslavia

October 10, 1934.

Only twenty-four hours ago, the Yugoslav warship Dubrovnik steamed into Marseilles' harbor. King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, making his first state visit to France, stepped off the ship and was met by French officials, including Foreign Minister Barthou, and by cheering grounds
The king and Barthou got into a car, and within minutes, both were dead, killed by an assassin's bullets.
Now, the King begins his final journey home. Today the crowds were "stunned and silent." Alexander's widow, Queen Marie, and the French president, were on hand to pay their respects as the two national anthems were played. The queen will not be accompanying her husband's body back to Belgrade. She is not well, and will be undergoing surgery in Paris. Marie will also be joining her son, the young King Peter, who has already arrived in Paris with his maternal grandmother, Queen Marie of Roumania.

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