Kralj Aleksandar Obrenović in kraljica Draga Mašin

Pod okriljem noči med 28. in 29. majem 1903 je skupina častnikov ubila kralja Aleksandra Obrenovića in kraljico Drago Mašin. Ko so zarotniki streljali na vladajoči par, so njihova telesa vlekli k oknu in jih vrgli na pločnik. To je bil najbolj brutalni atentat, ki ga je bil Beograd priča.

Še danes, 114 let po atentatu na kralja Aleksandra Obrenovića in kraljico Drago, ni povsem zanesljivih podatkov, ki bi razjasnili vse, kar se je zgodilo tiste usodne noči 29. maja (11. junija po novem koledarju).

Okoliščine, ki so privedle do kaznivega dejanja

Kralj Aleksander je s poroko z Dragom Mašinom, žensko brez "modre krvi", prišel v konflikt z očetom Milanom, takrat vrhovnim poveljnikom vojske, ki je obljubil, da ne bo stopil v Srbijo, medtem ko mu bosta vladala "norec in njegova 10-letna žena".

To poroko je obsodila tudi opozicija, zlasti radikalna stranka in celoten oficirski zbor.

V takih okoliščinah je kraljica Draga objavila novico o svoji nosečnosti. Ves stari svet je poslal darila in čestitke, ruski car Nikolaj Romanov pa je poslal tudi zlato zibelko, pa tudi zdravnike, ki bodo ugotovili, da je bila nosečnost lažna. Ugled zakonskega para v ljudeh in vojski po tem ni več obstajal.

Nato kraljica Aleksandru predlaga, naj se umakne iz javnosti in se poroči z deklico, ki bo lahko rodila njegovega dediča, a je kralj ni poslušal. Namesto tega je ukazal, da se 4. konjeniški polk, ki je nosil ime njegovega očeta Milana, preimenuje v konjeniški polk kraljice Drage.

In ravno ta polk bo rojstni kraj zarote proti kraljevskemu paru. Zarota, ki bo imela svoj krvavi konec. Dva poveljnika, Radomir Aranđelovič in Milan Petrovič, sta bila skupaj z dvema poročnikoma Ani Antić in Dragutinom Dulićem prva pobudnika. Vse se je namreč začelo, ko je Antić svojim soborcem povedal, kako je med službovanjem v kraljevi straži nosil misel na uboj kralja, medtem ko ga je spremljal v stanovanje svoje zaročenke. Kot je dejal, bi to skrajšalo vsa nezadovoljstva in ponižanja. Tega ni storil, saj je menil, da takšno dejanje ne bi imelo namena brez podpore velikega števila ljudi, zlasti častnikov. Nato je prijateljem pokazal ruske časopise, v katerih je bila na prvi strani slika kraljičinega brata Nikodema z besedilom, ki je nakazovalo, da bo podedoval prestol.

Skupini se je takoj pridružil kapitan, čigar ime se bo zgodovina spominjala - Dragutin Dimitrijevič Apis, poveljnik pehotne podčastniške šole, ki je zagotavljala dvorne straže. Prvo srečanje zarotnikov je bilo 6. septembra 1901 v stanovanju poročnika Antića, nato pa sta se stvari pridružila poročniku Milanu Marinkoviću in poročnici Nikodiji Popović.

Umor je organiziral Dragutin Dimitrijevič. Šokantno je bilo, da so trupla oskrunili z nožem in se je vse maščevalo. Zarota je bila pravzaprav skovana od trenutka, ko mu je vojska obrnila hrbet.

To dejanje je pomenilo konec dinastije Obrenović in prihod Aleksandra Karađorđevića na oblast s sinovoma Đorđem in Aleksandrom.

For my friens

Under the cover of night between 28 and 29 May 1903, a group of officers killed King Aleksandar Obrenović and Queen Drago Mašin. When the conspirators shot at the ruling couple, their bodies were dragged to the window and thrown onto the sidewalk. This was the most brutal assassination Belgrade has witnessed.

Even today, 114 years after the assassination of King Aleksandar Obrenović and Queen Drago, there are no completely reliable data that would clarify everything that happened that fateful night on May 29 (June 11 according to the new calendar).

Circumstances that led to the crime

With his marriage to Drago Mašin, a woman without "blue blood", King Alexander came into conflict with his father Milan, then the commander-in-chief of the army, who promised not to enter Serbia while he was ruled by a "fool and his 10- year old woman ".

This marriage was also condemned by the opposition, especially the Radical Party and the entire officers' corps.

In such circumstances, Queen Draga published the news of her pregnancy. The whole old world sent gifts and congratulations, and Russian Tsar Nikolai Romanov also sent a golden cradle, as well as doctors who will find out that the pregnancy was fake. The reputation of the married couple in the people and the military no longer existed after that.

The queen then proposes to Alexander to withdraw from the public and marry a girl who will be able to give birth to his heir, but the king does not listen to her. Instead, he ordered the 4th Cavalry Regiment, named after his father Milan, to be renamed Queen Draga's Cavalry Regiment.

And it is this regiment that will be the birthplace of the conspiracy against the royal couple. A conspiracy that will have its bloody end. Two commanders, Radomir Aranđelovič and Milan Petrovič, together with two lieutenants Ana Antić and Dragutin Dulić, were the first initiators. It all started when Antić told his comrades-in-arms how, while serving in the royal guard, he carried the thought of killing the king while accompanying him to his fiancée's apartment. As he said, this would shorten all dissatisfaction and humiliation. He did not do so, as he believed that such an act would not have had its purpose without the support of a large number of people, especially officers. He then showed his friends Russian newspapers, in which there was a picture on the front page of the queen's brother Nicodemus with a text indicating that he would inherit the throne.

The group was immediately joined by a captain, whose name will be remembered by history - Dragutin Dimitrijevič Apis, commander of the infantry non-commissioned officer school, which provided court guards. The first meeting of the conspirators was on September 6, 1901, in the apartment of Lieutenant Antić, and then things joined Lieutenant Milan Marinković and Lieutenant Nikodija Popović.

On the night of May 28-29, police officers stormed the court, and when they found them, Draga threw herself at Alexander to protect him. The half-naked and slaughtered bodies of the king and queen were thrown out the window and left in the courtyard until morning. Only the next evening, writes Vasa Kazimirović, "at 11 o'clock they were transported by ordinary wagons accompanied by a detachment of gendarmes ... And after the funeral they were lowered into the tomb."

The murder was organized by Dragutin Dimitrijevic. It was shocking that the corpses were desecrated with a knife and everything took revenge. The conspiracy was actually forged from the moment the army turned its back on him.

This act marked the end of the Obrenović dynasty and the coming to power of Aleksandar Karađorđević with his sons Đorđe and Aleksandar.