BOY KING PETER’S LIFE

Taranaki Daily News, 29 December 1934, Page 12 (Supplement)

BOY KING PETER’S LIFE

HJS PLAY AND EDUCATION. PREPARING FOR RESPONSIBILITY. From an intimate friend of the Royal family I have received a detailed account of the boy King Peter’s daily life since his return from his English school after the murder of his father, King Alexander, writes a Belgrade correspondent in the Daily Telegraph. His recall from England, under the Constitution, which obliges him to live in Yugoslavia except for the briefest absences, puts an end to the keen desire of his parents to give him a couple of years’ normal childhood before assuming the responsibilities of his Royal birth. Despite his father’s insistence that the Belgrade schoolboys, selected formerly to study with him at the Palace, should treat him as any other boy, King Alexander discovered that they involuntarily adopted an attitude of respect towards him. In consequence, he sent him to the Sussex school. Now the fates have obliged him to return to the old system of local education among selected Yugoslav scholars, who treat him with increaiSed deference because of his new dignity, “From earliest days Peter, whom his mother and brothers call Petrushka, had to work harder, under stricter discipline, with less time for amusement than other boys of his age,” said my informant. “Peter rises at 6.30 a.m. in a simple white-walled bedroom, which he now occupies alone, while his brothers Tomislav and Andrew, share a bedroom in comradeship. Etiquette' denies such a privilege to the young King. His English tutor sleeps in the next room. ENGLISH HABITS. “Following English habit, rarely ooserved in Yugoslavia, the boy King and his brothers sleep with their windows opto, winter and summer. Their rooms are not in the main building of the palace,, but in an annexe, specially built for the princes. Near Topola, close to the Royal mausoleum where King Alexander is buried, there is a summer residence for the princes—Topola Castle. “Peter takes breakfast generally with his brothers. It consists of tea, porridge, toast and marmalade, for which he acquired a taste in England, instead of Belgrade’s universal coffee and rolls. After breakfast he spends an hour riding his pony Susie, escorted by an adjutant—-an exceptionally tall guardsman, who towers above his Royal master. “From eight until noon Peter devotes all his time to his books, and follows precisely the curriculum laid down for the first form at any Yugoslav college. In addition to the school curriculum, however, Peter studies constitutional history, the prinWpies of State administration, the history of Yugoslavia In detail, the history of his Royal house, and military science. “Hi? teachers on the usual scnool subjects are selected masters from Belgrade high schools, who mostly come from the college which was established and maintained by King Alexander, and Is close to Dedine. For special subjects the teachers are professors of the Bel-

grade University and officers of the general staff. “Already at the age of 11 Peter hafc a good knowledge of five languages— Serbo-Croat, English, French, German and Russian. His English is excellent, because it is spoken almost qs much as Serbo-Croat by the Royal family. “His favourite studies are physics, mechanics and the history of Yugoslavia. “His mechanical bent is Some months ago, when something went wrong with the electric bells in the Prince’s annexe to the Palace of Dedine, an electrician was summoned, but before he had arrived Peter, to the dejignt of the late King, located the defect and set all the bells ringing again. “From noon until 1 p.m. Peter is fre». for walking and games. At 1 p.m. he sits at lunch with his mother and brothers—a simple meal in which vegetables and fruit are the principal items. “After luncheon he' rests, walks or plays games. During three afternoons weekly selected Belgrade schoolboys of the stole age come to the palace to join. Peter in gymnastics, according to the system of the Yugoslav nationalist gymnastic associations, of which Peter is chief. From 4 until 6 p.m. on other days he spends with his mother and brothers in the nursery, or out motoring. “Since her husband’s death Queen Marie devotes herself entirely to her children, and is often surprised by her ladies-in-waiting sitting on s the floor of the nursery playing favourite games with the king and the princes. “Peter’s favourite toy is a wonderful miniature electric railway, given him three years ago by the French Government “Following the example of his adult Royal neighbour, King Boris of Bulgaria, Peter insists on driving the engine himself through the park, though his brothers are welcome as passengers. HIS INTELLIGENCE. "Before supper he has to do an hour's study, followed by a light supper at 7.30. He goes to bed regularly at 9 p.m. There are no lessons on Sunday. Peter spends the day with his mother and brothers. “His teachers praise his intelligence and studiousness. He is rather old for his years, and has a serious turn Of mind, with a great liking for economy. “His younger brother, Tomislav, is a high-spirited youth, whose clothes are often badly torn after a romp in the park. Recently Peter took him gravely to task with the words: “ ‘Tommy, things can’t go on like this, you know. If you mess up your clothes so badly, how do you expect little Andrew to take them over when you have grown out of them?’ “Peter loves swimming, rowing, fishing and shooting. His father often took him shooting, and Peter has killed many hares, pheasants and partridges with a miniature double-barrelled gun made especially for him “Fishing is his great passion, however. He is content to sit hours angling in the blue waters of the Adriatic, and is becoming an expert in the difficult art of casting a fly to the fine trout in the mountain streams of Slovenia. “Towards his young brothers he adopts an almost paternal attitude. Towards his mother he is most chivalrous. Quiet and studious, he seems to have all the necessary qualities to make him ,as remarkable a ruler as was his father.”