page_title: Peter I of Serbia
section_title: Coronation
hierarchical_section_title: Peter I of Serbia / Reign / Coronation
context_page_description: Peter I reigned as the last King of Serbia and as the first King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Since he was the king of Serbia during a period of great Serbian military success, he was remembered by the Serbian people as King Peter the Liberator, and also known as Old King.
  Peter was Karađorđe's grandson and third son of Persida Nenadović and Prince Alexander Karađorđević, who was forced to abdicate. Peter lived with his family in exile. He fought with the French Foreign Legion in the Franco-Prussian War. He joined as volunteer under the alias Peter Mrkonjić in the Herzegovina Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
  He married Princess Zorka of Montenegro, daughter of King Nicholas, in 1883. She gave birth to his five children, including Prince Alexander. After the death of his father in 1885, Peter became head of the Karađorđević dynasty. After a military coup d'état and the murder of King Alexander I Obrenović in 1903, Peter became King of Serbia.
  As king, he advocated a constitutional setup for the country and was famous for his libertarian politics.
context_section_description: The royal couple's murder upset and shocked most of Europe, but was met enthusiastically at home. Russia immediately recognized the National Assembly's decision declaring Peter the next King of Serbia and expressed satisfaction that the inter-dynastic intrigues which had plagued the country since the early 19th century had been brought to an end. Austria-Hungary declared its neutrality on the matter, but privately, policymakers in Vienna expressed hope that Peter's accession would have a placating effect. The United Kingdom demanded that the chief conspirators be severely punished, and when the Royal Serbian Government neglected to carry out this request, the British severed all diplomatic ties. Several other European nations followed in the United Kingdom's footsteps and severed ties as well. Peter lacked the power or authority to punish the conspirators. He also felt a deep sense of obligation towards them, acknowledging that he would not have been able to assume the throne were it not for their actions.
   Peter was crowned in St. Michael's Cathedral in Belgrade, on 21 September [O.S. 8 September] 1904. The coronation ceremony, the first in Serbia's modern history, was intended to demonstrate that a new era had begun. The year-long interval between Peter's return to Serbia and his coronation was done deliberately, so that the ceremony would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising and to give European statesmen time to come to terms with the palace coup. Nevertheless, only representatives of Montenegro and Bulgaria were in attendance. New regalia, consisting of a crown, sceptre, orb and royal mantle, was commissioned specially for the occasion and made by the Parisian jewelers Falize Frères. King Peter's procession and a parade following the coronation were filmed by Arnold Muir Wilson, the honorary Serbian consul in Sheffield, and his cameraman, Frank Mottershaw. This is believed to the oldest surviving film recorded in Serbia. According to film historian Paul Smith, it is also likely the first newsreel in history.
caption: Karađorđević Crown
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