House of Karađorđević

The House of Karađorđević or Karađorđević dynasty (Serbian Cyrillic: Династија Карађорђевић, romanized: Dinastija Karađorđević, pl. Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, pronounced [karad͡ʑǒːrd͡ʑeʋit͡ɕ]) is the name of the former ruling Serbian and deposed Yugoslav royal family.

The family was founded by Karađorđe Petrović (1768–1817), the Veliki Vožd (transl. Grand Leader) of Serbia during the First Serbian uprising of 1804–1813. In the course of the 19th century the relatively short-lived dynasty was supported by the Russian Empire and was opposed to the Austrian-supported House of Obrenović. The two houses subsequently vied for the throne for several generations.

Following the assassination of the Obrenović King Alexander I of Serbia in 1903, the Serbian Parliament chose Karađorđe's grandson, Peter I Karađorđević, then living in exile, to occupy the throne of the Kingdom of Serbia. He was duly crowned as King Peter I, and shortly before the end of World War I in 1918, representatives of the three peoples proclaimed a Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes with Peter I as sovereign. In 1929, the kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia, under Alexander I, the son of Peter I. In November 1945 the family lost their throne when the League of Communists of Yugoslavia seized power during the reign of Peter II.