Milan Obrenović, Prince of Serbia

Milan Obrenović II
Milan Obrenović II
Милан Обреновић II
Milan Obrenović II; Milan Obrenović II; Милан Обреновић II
Prince of Serbia
Reign	13 June 1839 – 8 July 1839
Predecessor	Miloš Obrenović I
Successor	Mihailo Obrenović III
Born	21 October 1819; Kragujevac, Serbia
Died	8 July 1839 (aged 19); Belgrade, Serbia
Burial	St. Mark's Church, Belgrade
House	House of Obrenović
Father	Miloš Obrenović
Mother	Ljubica Vukomanović
Religion	Serbian Orthodox
Signature

Milan Obrenović II (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Обреновић II, romanized: Milan Obrenović II) (21 October 1819 – 8 July 1839) was the ruling Prince of Serbia for just four weeks in 1839.^[1]

Early life

Milan Obrenović was the eldest son and heir of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia and his wife, Princess Ljubica. He was ill from his earliest childhood and his health was poor throughout his entire life from tuberculosis. He was a student of the Belgrade Higher School, modern-day University of Belgrade. He had a full curriculum of study, including French and German languages. In 1830, when Serbia obtained its autonomy, Milan Obrenović became the designated heir of his father.^[2]

Prince of Serbia

His father Miloš Obrenović I abdicated on 13 June 1839 in favour of Milan. However, by then, Milan was already gravely ill with tuberculosis.^[3] After his father's resignation, all the officials present went to congratulate him on becoming a Prince. It was published in the official newspaper of the Principality of Serbia. After that, Milan was visited by officers led by Ilija Garašanin. Garašanin introduced the officers to the new prince with the words: "My lord, the officers have come to bow to you, and to declare their loyalty and devotion to Your Highness." From his bed, Milan replied: "I thank the gentlemen officers for their loyalty, and I, for my part, assure the officers that I will make sure, in agreement with the Soviet, that the condition of the officers will improve. If God allows me to recover soon, I will invite you, gentlemen, to Topčider for lunch."^[4]

He died on 8 July 1839, having never regained consciousness. After his death, his younger brother Mihailo Obrenović succeeded to the throne. Later that year, the "first regency" was formed in Serbia. Since Prince Milan "ruled" for only 26 days, no public documents were issued under his name.

Burial

Milan II was buried in the church of Palilula, and later his grave was moved to St. Mark's Church, Belgrade.^[5]

References

^ Lars Ulwencreutz (November 2013). Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V. Lulu.com. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-1-304-58135-8.
^ Aleksandra Bogdanović (2016-02-17). "Zaboravljeni knez iz dinastije Obrenović: Vladar koji je imao NAJTRAGIČNIJU SUDBINU u Srbiji | Dnevno.rs". www.dnevno.rs (in Croatian). Retrieved 2019-07-09.
^ Dragnich, Alex N. (1978). The development of parliamentary government in Serbia. East European monographs. ISBN 9780914710370.
^ https://imus.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/z-394.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Vreme - 170 godina od smrti kneza Milana: Vladao Srbijom 26 dana". www.vreme.com. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 2019-07-09.

Regnal titles
Milan Obrenović, Prince of Serbia House of Obrenović Born: 21 October 1819 Died: 8 July 1839
Preceded by Miloš Obrenović I	Prince of Serbia 25 June 1839 – 8 July 1839	Succeeded by Mihailo Obrenović III