May Coup

The Serbian May Coup was a coup d'état carried out by Dragutin Dimitrijević and members of the Black Hand society on the night of June 10, 1903 (O.S. May 28). The goal of the coup was to dismantle the House of Obrenović, which had ruled the Kingdom of Serbia for much of the 19th century.

King Alexander Obrenović, Queen Draginja "Draga" Obrenović, and three other high-ranking officials were all assassinated in the coup.

Background

The House of Obrenović first gained rule over the Kingdom of Serbia in 1817. They lost power in 1842 to their rivals, the House of Karađorđević, but regained it in 1858, holding rule over Serbia for the rest of the 19th century.

King Alexander Obrenović was deeply unpopular with the Kingdom of Serbia, and his marriage to Draga was frowned upon by his father, King Milan Obrenović.

In 1901, colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, one of the attendees of King Alexander's wedding, formed a group that would later become known as the Black Hand, and were the perpetrators of the May Coup.

The Coup

On the night of May 28, 1903 (Old style), King Alexander had left the Royal Palace to attend a dinner, and at some point returned to the palace. Dimitrijevic and several other officers entered the property to search for the royal couple. Upon entering the courtyard, they captured the King's aide-de-camp, General Lazar Petrović. During their search, Dimitrijevic was severely wounded by one of the guards who shot him three times, and hid in the basement.

After their unsuccessful search, they demanded that Lazar Petrović reveal if there was a secret passageway within the palace. Petrović remained silent, and was subsequently killed.

Two high-ranking officials, Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and Milovan Pavlović were killed in the search. The group eventually discovered King Alexander and Queen Draga hiding in a closet. They were both killed instantly, and thrown out the window into the courtyard.