Peter wins blessing for marriage

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 July 30, 1943

Nineteen-year-old King Peter II of Yugoslavia has won his battle to marry Princess Alexandra of Greece, who is three years his senior.

Last May, the exiled ruler "threw one Cabinet into turmoil" when he asked for permission to marry the princess, who is the daughter of the late King Alexander of the Hellenes. Today, Prime Minister Milos Trifunovich officially announced King Peter's engagement, although the young king has been engaged to the "attractive" princess for more than a year.

According to the Prime Minister, there would no state events to celebrate the engagement, "due to the great sufferings of the peoples in the homeland."
When Peter originally asked for permission to wed, his Cabinet was split on a decision. Several members said that he should not marry until the Axis armies "had been driven from the soils of both countries." Other members felt that the marriage would strengthen King Peter's prestige and "result in favorable diplomatic relations between the nations."

King Peter has since reorganized his Cabinet, and mamed Trifunovich as Prime Minister.