"Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, who has died in Paris aged 91, encapsulated in his life both the advantages and the pitfalls of being born into a royal house at a time of intense political upheaval. In his early life, he lived partly in Belgrade, but was forced into exile with his family, finally settling in Paris. He was well connected to many royal houses in Europe with an ancestry both formidable and piratical. He was variously described as a gentleman of the old school and a playboy prince. Alexander was the elder son of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia who, following the assassination of King Alexander in 1934, was obliged to serve as Regent, when he would have preferred the life of connoisseur and patron of the arts. On his father’s side, he descended from the Karadjordjevics, Serbian peasants who rose to be princes and later kings. Alexander’s mother was Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, the beautiful if austere eldest daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Grand Duchess Helen of Russia. Princess Olga was a sister of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, which made Alexander a first cousin of the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael, and a first cousin once removed of the Duke of Edinburgh. Therein lay another problem. Prince Paul, being essentially a scholar, was frequently out of sympathy with his somewhat laid-back elder son, greatly preferring the younger son, Prince Nicholas, who was diligent and shared his artistic interests, while also not always on good terms with his occasionally tearaway daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Prince Alexander got on better with his cousin, King Alexander I: they shared a fondness for trouble-making. Following their marriage in 1923, Prince and Princess Paul were living in Belgrade, but keen to get away, with Prince Paul equally keen that their child be born in Britain. The Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) was a close friend of Prince Paul and offered them her then home, White Lodge in Richmond, for the summer. There Prince Alexander entered the world as a 9½lb baby on August 13 1924. Alexander found in his cousin King Peter a companion in his favourite pursuits of reckless driving, baiting tutors and picking up not entirely suitable girls He was christened at White Lodge under the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church, his godparents including the Duke of York (later George VI), King Alexander of Yugoslavia, and the Infanta Beatrice of Spain (a granddaughter of Queen Victoria). In the family, he was nicknamed “Quiss”. He soon began the peripatetic life which from now on would dominate. In October his parents had to vacate White Lodge; they took him to Claridge’s and then to the South of France. He then accompanied them on their travels to Serbia, Florence, Paris and back to London. Aged nine, he was sent to Ludgrove where, having been the source of much irritation to both parents owing to his cavalier approach to learning, they noted something of an improvement in his character. This was not sustained at Eton, where he was beaten for inattention. August 1939 found the family at Brdo in Serbia, hoping to have a holiday, but fearing war, Princess Olga sent them straight back to Britain with her sister, Princess Marina. The following year they were back in Serbia, where Alexander found in his cousin King Peter a companion in his favourite pursuits of reckless driving, baiting tutors and picking up not entirely suitable girls. When Prince Paul reluctantly allied himself with Germany and Italy, he was forced to leave Yugoslavia for a prolonged exile and his family went with him. They went to Kenya and South Africa, where Alexander was at first content to enjoy the outdoor life. But his ambition was to join the RAF and his father’s status in the eyes of the British looked likely to confound this. He was sent to an agricultural school, where he was bullied for being his father’s son. But he was rescued by his uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, who secured his entry into the RAF, where he served as Flight Lieutenant." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/18/prince-alexander-of-yugoslavia--obituary/
