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Prince Pavle of Yugoslavia (April 27 1893, Saint Petersburg, Russia - September 14 1976, Paris, France) of the Royal House of Karadjordjevic was regent of Yugoslavia for his nephew King Peter II.
He took the regency on October 9 1934 after King Alexander's assassination in Marseille and ruled the country until he decided to sign the Tripartite Pact in Vienna on March 25 1941. Because of his decision, massive demonstrations took place in Belgrade and, after this, his nephew, together with a group of pro-English officers and middle class politicians, made a coup d'état on March 27 1941. Dušan Simović became prime minister and Yugoslavia backed out of the Axis sphere in all but name.
Although the new rulers opposed Germany, they also feared that if Hitler attacked Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom was not in any real position to help. For the safety of the country, they declared that Yugoslavia would adhere to the Tripartite Pact. However, Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia anyways and the royal family escaped abroad, Prince Pavle included.
Prince Pavle is father of Princess Jelisaveta of Serbia Yugoslavia and grandfather of American actress Catherine Oxenberg.
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