The Tragic Fate of Princess Karađorđević, Whose Unusual Name Few Remember Today

Among the names associated with the Karađorđević dynasty at Oplenac, one stands out: Cleopatra. The unusual name belongs to a princess whose short life unfolded at the center of Serbia’s court and dynastic politics.

Cleopatra was the second daughter of Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević and Princess Persida, and the sister of the future King Peter I. She was born in Wallachia in 1835, where the family was living at the time. They moved to Serbia in October 1839, after her father became an aide to Prince Mihailo Obrenović.

The family’s position changed dramatically in 1842, when constitutional defenders chose Aleksandar Karađorđević as prince of Serbia. Two years later, the family moved into the court, today known as the Old Palace, placing seven-year-old Cleopatra at the center of Serbia’s political and social life.

Her father wanted Cleopatra and her older sister, Poleksija, to receive more than the domestic training generally expected of girls from elite families. On the recommendations of Ilija Garašanin and Jovan Hadžić, Matija Ban, a highly educated Serb from Dubrovnik, became their private tutor and traveled from Constantinople to Serbia for the role. Cleopatra eventually became one of the most educated women in Serbia, while contemporaries described her as beautiful, quiet and reserved.

A particularly intriguing episode involved Prince Mihailo Obrenović. For her 15th birthday, the Czech composer and pianist Alojz Kalauz wrote the song “The Thoughts That Struggle Within Me,” using verses by Mihailo. Kornelije Stanković composed another setting in the mid-1850s, and the song was regularly performed at Belgrade balls during Mihailo’s second reign. The song, and the rivalry between the two dynasties, later fueled questions about whether Cleopatra and Mihailo shared a closer relationship.