PRAYER FOR HEALTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CROWN PRINCE ON HIS 80th BIRTHDAY

 Belgrade, 17 July 2025 – On the occasion of the jubilee 80th birthday of HRH Crown Prince Alexander, a Prayer Service for the health and well-being of the Head of the Royal Family of Serbia was held today in the Palace Church of Saint Andrew the First-Called. It was hosted by HRH Hereditary Prince Philip, who initiated this prayerful gathering in honour of his father, and as a celebration for his dedicated service to the Crown, our people, and Homeland.

The church service was officiated by His Grace Bishop Peter of Toplica, Vicar Bishop of His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, with the assistance of Father Mihailo Rapajic, the Palace’s chaplain, and Deacon Stevan Rapajic. It was also attended by TRH Princess Danica, Prince Stefan, Princess Marija, and Prince Alexander, as well as members of the Advisory Bodies of the Crown. TRH Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine, due to unavoidable obligations abroad, could not attend. Still, His Royal Highness is deeply grateful to his sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, as well as all friends of the Royal Family, for marking his birthday in such a thoughtful and meaningful way. 

The symbolism of raising a joint prayerful voice to the Lord for the health and blessings of the Crown Prince of Serbia, in his home, among his people, on the day of his birth, which is at the same time the day of Royal family’s final return to the land of ancestors after decades of forceful exile, honouring his long-standing service to the obliging legacy of the Karadjorjdevic Dynasty and the people of Serbia even through the times on uncertainty and difficulty, is remarkable.

“As my father, Crown Prince Alexander, turns eighty, I feel a deep duty to pay tribute to a man whose life is at the same time a testament of history, moral steadfastness, and a silent sacrifice in the name of honour, homeland, and of ancestors”, said HRH Hereditary Prince Philip. “My father is not just the keeper of the family history. He is a bridge between the past and the future. He is a symbol of values that outlive regimes: honour, patience, peace, service, and hope. At a time when many were looking for what they would get from Serbia, he gave himself unconditionally to Serbia. And he continues to give.

Today, when I look at my father, I look into the mirror of steadiness. In an example of how to love a country without hatred. How serving people is measured by silence, work, and constant insistence on a culture of remembrance and respect. He is not just the keeper of the Crown. He is the keeper of values. On his eightieth birthday, as a son, I am proud. As a citizen, I am grateful. And as a man, I am deeply moved that in a time when ideals were crumbling, he was a rock that did not give way”. 

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2025/07/hereditary-prince-philip-offers.html

As a reminder, in his birthday message, HRH Crown Prince Alexander said: “Years are just numbers, so I don’t give much attention to counting birthdays. However, over the past eight decades, I have witnessed a great deal. I have also noticed how much not being united causes problems and trouble, and how it can destroy a nation and its future. That is why my birthday wish is for the people of Serbia to come together and focus on shared values rather than their differences. The future can only be built on harmony, mutual respect, and joint efforts. Our ancestors have taught us that. We must be worthy successors of their work and heritage.” 

All photos courtesy of HRH Crown Prince Alexander.

Happy 80th birthday to HRH Crown Prince Alexander

 

Times July 18, 1945

A happy, happy birthday to someone I consider a friend: HRH Crown Prince Alexander, who celebrates his 80th birthday today.  The Crown Prince was born on July 17, 1945, in Suite 212 in Claridge's Hotel in London. The room was declared to be  Yugoslavian territory.

I met HRH when I was writing my book,  Queen Victoria's Descendants.  In the early 1980s, I traveled from my home in New Jersey to Washington, D.C., to conduct an interview with him.  At the time, few believed that the Soviet bloc would fall like a house of cards.  Yugoslavia was not a part of the Warsaw Pact, but it was a Communist dictatorship, nonetheless.

One of my final comments to the Prince was this: I believe you will live in a palace in Belgrade, and I expect a dinner invitation?"

Fast forward to 2001, when Alexander's citizenship was restored, and he and his wife, Crown Princess Katherine, along with his three sons from his first marriage to Princess Maria da Gloria of Orleans-Bragança, moved to the Royal Palace in Dedinje, Belgrade.

Four years later, Crown Prince Alexander celebrated his 60th birthday with a grand party.  The guests included the King and Queen of Sweden, as well as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Prince Serge and Princess Eleanor of Serbia, the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, Princess Chantal of France and her husband, Baron Axel de Samboucy, Princess Maria da Gloria of Orleans-Braganca, Prince Philippe and Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein, among others, and I.

Crown Prince Alexander said to me: You got your dinner invitation.  In 2010, I returned to Belgrade for the 25th wedding anniversary of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.  Three years later, I was a guest at the State Funerals for King Peter II, Queen Alexandra, Queen Marie, and Prince Andrej.

Trust me when I say: it is a privilege to know His Royal Highness.   When Queen Elizabeth II was in D.C. for a State visit in 1991.  The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were invited to the Garden Party at the British Embassy.  I also received an invitation, and I found myself standing next to them when the Queen stopped in front of us.   Crown Prince Alexander spoke to the Queen, addressing her as "Lilibet."   She was his godmother.

@Marlene A Eilers Koenig

@Marlene A Eilers Koenig

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2020/07/happy-75th-birthday-to-crown-prince.html

The Crown Prince's office issued a press release yesterday.

CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER’S 80th BIRTHDAY

Belgrade, 16 July 2025 – Tomorrow, on 17 July 2025, HRH Crown Prince Alexander will celebrate his 80th birthday. Born in exile, stigmatised as the enemy of the state when he was barely two years old, he overcame difficult obstacles on his path, one that was set for him to continue by his ancestors, members of the Karadjordjevic Dynasty. 

As often said, being a Royalty is not measured in power, but in purpose.

His Royal Highness extends his gratitude to everyone who will share the joy of this day with him and shares his birthday message: “Years are just numbers, so I don’t give much attention to counting birthdays. However, over the past eight decades, I have witnessed a great deal. I have also noticed how much not being united causes problems and trouble, and how it can destroy a nation and its future. That is why my birthday wish is for the people of Serbia to come together and focus on shared values rather than their differences. The future can only be built on harmony, mutual respect, and joint efforts. Our ancestors have taught us that. We must be worthy successors of their work and heritage.”

Crown Prince Alexander’s life story serves as a reminder of a person dedicated to serving the people and homeland, regardless of the difficulties and challenges that lay ahead. Part of this legacy is documented by a short biographical film, titled “On the Trail of Kings’ Heritage”. 

His Royal Highness invites everyone to watch the premiere on the Royal Family's YouTube channel, as well as on social media, on Thursday, 17 July at 11:00 AM (Serbian time).

As the viewers will see in the film, serving the people of Serbia and our country with dedication to a better future is the destiny and the highest obligation of each Karadjordjevic. Crown Prince Alexander will continue this path, which has also been taken by all his ancestors, as his highest duty in the years to come.

The birthday film will be premiered on the following links:

Serbian version – https://youtu.be/ofeNwlTcFxY 

English version – https://youtu.be/F2gvKRlHLtQ 

 

Accompanying photos – screenshots from the film

 

Hereditary Prince Philip offers birthday greetings to his dad

HRH Hereditary Prince Filip Karađorđević, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of His Royal Highness Alexander II, titular King of Serbia

Now, as my father, Crown Prince Alexander, turns eighty, I feel a deep duty to pay tribute to a man whose life is at the same time a testament of history, moral steadfastness, and a silent sacrifice in the name of honour, homeland, and of ancestors.

Few people have taken such a symbolic first breath. Born on 17 July 1945, in London, at the Claridges Hotel, in a suite that, at the personal request of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was declared Yugoslav territory, he cam to this world as a legitimate Heir to the Throne at the moment when his homeland was already in the hands of those who had declared the Royal family as enemies of the state. His baptism in Westminster Abbey, with King George VI and the future young Queen Elizabeth II as godparents, was an act of profound symbolism. Dignity and legitimacy cannot be banished.

My grandfather, His Majesty King Peter II, never abdicated. He was violently deprived of his right to return, and in 1947, the communist government stripped him of his citizenship and confiscated his family property. My father grew up in the shadow of injustice, but also in the light of responsibility.

Raised in a spirit of duty and service, he was educated in Switzerland, the United States, and Great Britain, where he graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. As an officer in the British Army, he served in the 16th/5th Royal Lancers regiment, in the Middle East, Germany, Italy, and Northern Ireland. As a captain, he was crowned the British Army’s skiing champion and left an impression of a man of discipline, honour, and courage.

Although with the death of my grandfather, he became the titular King of Serbia and Yugoslavia, my father consciously renounced the public use of that title. Not out of fear. Not out of weakness. But out of modesty. As a man of peace and national unity, he did not want to add another division to an unfortunate and divided nation. His silence was a cry for unity.

In the humanitarian aspect, Crown Prince Alexander contributed several million euros in aid to Serbia, with the support of the Serbian diaspora and friends from around the world, supporting hospitals, schools, homes, families and individuals. For this reason, in 2015, he was awarded the highest French order, the Legion of Honour in the rank of Commander, an order also worn by his great-grandfather, the famous liberator, King Peter I. This symbolism is not accidental. It testifies to the permanence of a lineage that, even when far from the throne, remains close to the people.

It is particularly valuable information that Crown Prince Alexander is the first in the history of the Royal Family Karađorđević to welcome the birth of his grandchildren, Prince Stefan and Princess Marija. Thanks to him, for the first time in history, three generations of descendants of Supreme Leader Karađorđe live in Serbia today. This is not just a joy for the family; it is a hope and a testimony of renewal.

In addition to being “kum” (in Serbian, referring to families who were godparents at baptism as well as witnesses at weddings) of His Majesty King Charles III, they were also schoolmates in Scotland at Gordonstoun. My father cherishes deep friendships with numerous European Royal houses. It is precisely thanks to his reputation and dignity that members of many Royal and noble families have visited Serbia in recent decades. He is the one who has restored international respect for Serbia through personal relationships, consistency, and honour.

In 1989, he began his active contribution to the democratic changes in Yugoslavia. He organized opposition meetings in Budapest, Banja Luka, Athens, and at Harvard University. These gatherings helped build trust among democratic participants and contributed to the crucial victory in 2000.

Since 17 July 2001, he has lived in the Royal Palace in Belgrade, a home built with their own funds by his grandfather, King Alexander I, and grandmother, Queen Maria. He entered the Palace not as a vanquisher, but as a host. Not as a master, but as a servant of the people. He did not return because of a title, but because of an obligation.

Through his efforts, his father, mother, grandmother, and uncle were rehabilitated and buried with dignity in Oplenac. The mortal remains of King Peter II, Queen Alexandra, Queen Maria, and Prince Andrew were returned from exile and laid to rest in the crypt of St. George’s Church. By doing so, he fulfilled the vow of his great-grandfather, King Peter I, that all the Karađorđevićs would rest together in his foundation in Oplenac. It was not just an act of family loyalty, but an act of historical dignity and national reconciliation.

My father is not just the keeper of a family history. He is a bridge between the past and the future. He is a symbol of values that outlive regimes: honour, patience, peace, service, and hope. At a time when many were looking for what they would get from Serbia, he gave himself unconditionally to Serbia. And he continues to provide.

Today, when I look at my father, I see myself reflected in the mirror of steadiness. In an example of how to love a country without hatred. How serving people is measured by silence, work, and constant insistence on a culture of remembrance and respect. As a grandfather to my children, Stefan and Marija, he is gentle and loyal. As a man, consistent.

His life was not easy, but it was right. His biography is not written in the splendour of the Palace, but in the silence of loyalty and the long walk to return. He is not just the keeper of the Crown. He is the keeper of values.

On his eightieth birthday, as a son, I am proud. As a citizen, I am grateful. And as a man, I am deeply moved that in a time when ideals were crumbling, he was a rock that did not give way.

Happy birthday, my father!

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria introduce Kira

 

all pbotos @Alexey Maslov

Proud papa!!

Princess Kira knows she is going to be spoiled by her grandmother!

@Alexey Maslov

Thank you to HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna for allowing me to use the photos.  The copyright holder is Alexey Maslov.

The baptism of Princess Kira Georgievna Romanov

 

Oksana Hoffman Girey, HRH Prince Emauele Filiberto of Savoy, Princess Victoria holding Princess Kira, Grand Duke George with Prince Alexander and HI & RH Archduke Maximilian of Austria @Alexey Maslov

Princess Kira Leonida Romanov, the second child of Grand Duke George Mikhailovitch and Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanov, was received into the Russian Orthodox Church on July 13.

The baptism took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

According to Russian Orthodox tradition, Kira's baptismal ceremony took place 40 days after her birth.  She was born on June 2, 2025, in Moscow.

@Alexey Maslov

HRH Prince Emanuele Filiberto and Oksana Hoffman Girey @Alexey Maslov

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2025/06/its-princess.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2025/06/her-serene-highness-princess-kira.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2022/10/it-is-boy-for-grand-duke-george-and.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2022/12/christening-of-hsh-prince-alexander.html

The infant princess's godparents are HRH Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, HRH Prince Boris of Bulgaria.Artem Kozhin (the Russian Ambassador to the Seychelles, and his wife, Elena Kozhina, Oksana Hoffman Girey, and HSH Prince David Bagration- Bulgaria, HI & RH Archduke Maximilian of Austria, HRH Prince David Bagration-Mukhransky. Girey is also one of Prince Alexander's godparents.

HRH Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Princess Victoria, Grand Duke George holding Princess Kira and
HI & RH Archduke Maximilian @Alexey Maslov

@Alexey Maslov

Prince Boris and Prince David were unable to attend the ceremony.  Prince David and Grand Duke George are second cousins.   

My thanks to HSH Princess Victoria for allowing me to use these photos.  

The marriage of Count Johann von Wilczek and Anna-Livia Guggenberg von Riedhofen

 

Anna-Livia Guggenberg von Riedhofen and  Count Johann Wilczek were married on June 21st at St Martin's Church on Giran, South Tyrol.

The bride, 28, is the daughter of Clemens Guggenberg von Riedhofen and his former wife, Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria, and the 30-year-old groom is the son of Count Hans Christian von Wilczek and Katharina von Hartig.

HSH Prince Josias of Waldeck und Pyrmont

Hereditary Prince Carl Philipp of Croy

Princess Joanna of Croy with her sister-in-law, Princess Anastasia of Croy

The guests included Heeditary Prince Carl Philipp of Croy, Princess Anastasia of Croy, Prince Heinrich and Princess Joana of Croy, Archduke Philipp of Austria, Prince Josias of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Count Ignaz of Toerring-Jettenbach with two of his daughters, Count Clemens Moy de Son and his wife, Duchess Katharina of Oldenburg, Princess Assunta of Waldburg zu Zeil (who was the official photographer), Marcus von Goess and his wife, Princess Fanny of Hohenlohe  Croy with sister Anastasia and brother Heinrich with wife Joana, Philipp von Habsburg, one of the Waldeck Pyrmont twins. I think, Josias, he came alone, Graf Ignaz von Toerring with two daughters, Herzogin Katharina von Oldenburg with husband Clemens Moy de Son, Assunta Waldburg Zeil,  Count Marrkus von Goëss-Saurau and his wife, Princess Franziska of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst,  and Kassian Goess-Enzenberg.

According to Bunte, the couple got engaged two years ago in Kenya.  The young count proposed to Anna-Livia with a "magnificent ring with a ruby and diamonds."

Count Ignaz of Toerring-Jettenbach with one of his daughters

Count Johann Wenzel with his parents, Countess Katharina and Count Hans Christian

The groom with his mother, and Count Hans Christian with the bride's mother, Archduchess Maria Christine

The reception was held at Zinneberg Manor, followed by a grand dinner at Schloss Freudenstein.  Guests partied into the wee hours of the next morning.  The bride's gown was made in Spain.  Her veil was held in place by a diamond tiara.

The new Countess was attended by ten flower girls, "dressed in adorable blue and white outfits." The witnesses were Count Georg von Wilczek, Sofia Guggenberg von Riedhofen, and Princess Marie Caroline of Liechtenstein.

HSH Princess Marie Caroline of Liechtenstein

Count Clemens de Moy Sons with his wife, Duchess Katharina of Oldenburg

Count Markus von Goess Sarau and his wife, Princess Fanny of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst.

Her father told Bunte: "After the engagement, Anna Livia came to me and said she had never been happier in her life, but at her wedding, she radiated even more."

https://www.bunte.de/royals/royals-weltweit/oesterreichischer-adel/anna-livia-guggenberg-von-riedhofen-johann-wenzel-von-wilczek-gaben-jawort.html

The bride and groom are fourth cousins once removed.

The copyright for these photos belongs to the photographer, a friend of mine.