Christina Oxenberg visited Serbia for the first time in 2014. This visit offered a profound change in her life that would lead to an inspired introduction to her own heritage - half American, half royal.
Christina is the younger daughter of the late Howard Oxenberg and Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, herself the daughter of the late Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark.
While her older sister, Catherine, focused on an acting career, Christina became a writer and published several books, including
Taxi and
Royal Blue. Now living in Key West, Florida, she has taken her wanderlust to a new dimension in her latest book,
Dynasty (Quartet Books: £20.00), a delightful tale, combined with the history of the Karageorgevich family and Christina's own life.
Prince Paul was the only child of Prince Arsene Karageoregivich and Countess Aurora Demidova, a Russian heiress. Prince Paul inherited his mother's fortune, including property in Italy. Arsene and Aurora's marriage soon collapsed and both parents largely abandoned their son and Paul was raised by the future King Peter I of Serbia, the father of Alexander III.
Arsene and his male-line descendants, however, do not have dynastic rights, according to the house law, established in the early 1930s.
Paul studied in Britain, became friends with members of the British royal family and aristocracy. He was a noted art collector and he was pro-British. He married a Greek princess, Olga, whose younger sister, Marina married the Duke of Kent, thus furthering the ties between the two royal houses.
In Serbia, Alexander married Princess Marie (Mignon) of Romania, the second daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, a British princess by birth. Paul's life changed inexorably in 1934 when Alexander was assassinated during a state visit to Marseilles. Alexander had prepared for the possibility that he could die before his eldest son, Peter, reached his majority, and, in his will, named Paul as one of three regents for Peter.
This is not a straightforward history of the Serbian royal house. Christina Oxenberg is taking readers through her journey as she learns about her family's history, embracing it with such delight.
At times, Christina repeats herself -- telling the same story in separate chapters -- and also leaves us hanging with a reference to Queen Marie's relationship with her eldest son without further elaboration.
I love that Christina quotes from her grandmother Princess Olga's diaries. [Christina, have you thought of editing your grandmother's diaries for publication?]
Paul's Regency ended abruptly when Peter, approaching his majority, took control. Within days the Germans marched in Yugoslavia and the royal family went into exile. In 1945, Marshal Tito ended the monarchy. The British government turned on Paul. He spent the war under house arrest in Kenya and South Africa. It took a lot of persuading for the British government to allow Olga to come to England to spend time with Marina after the death of the Duke of Kent in an air crash in 1942.
Thanks to the valiant fight of Christina's mother, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Paul's good name was restored.
I wish Christina had included footnotes for the many names in her book. I know who Lady Zia Werhner was, but will the average reader. The publisher should have made sure that the book was indexed allowing researchers to go straight back to a reference without having to spend time turning pages to find what the reference.
There are a few silly mistakes including saying Queen Marie was born in Bucharest. She was born in Gotha, where her mother, then Crown Princess Marie of Romania, was staying as she had been a naughty girl and King Carol had banished her from the court.
That said,
Dynasty is fascinating and an enjoyable read. I have been to Serbia three times as the guest of Crown Prince Alexander, who was very helpful to Christina as she embraced her own Serbian heritage. I appreciate Christina's inquisitive nature to learn more about Serbia, a stunningly beautiful country, and embrace her family's role as members of the royal family. She has no better advocate than her mother, Princess Elizabeth, who was the first to return to live in the country, and now lives in her parents' villa, which was returned to her several years ago. Elizabeth worked tirelessly for years to bring out the truth about her father, fighting to open British government records.
It suffices to say that Winston Churchill and others were rather open about smearing Paul's good name. Elizabeth succeeded in making this public and proving the British were wrong.
You will enjoy Christina's delightful journey, infused with history and family stories. May I recommend that readers continue your own journey to learn more about the Serbian royal family.
