БРИТАНСКЕ ДИПЛОМАТЕ У БЕОГРАДУ О ОДНОСИМА СРБИЈЕ И ЦРНЕ ГОРЕ 1878-1910. ГОДИНЕ
BRITISH DIPLOMATS IN BELGRADE ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO BETWEEN 1878 AND 1910

Summary/Abstract: British diplomats in Belgrade during the period from 1878 to 1910 had paid great attention to the development of political and dynastic relationships and ties between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Principality, and later Kingdom of Montenegro. It was a matter of one of the basic principles of the British foreign and Balkan policy to maintain status quo on the Balkan Peninsula. There were so many diplomatic and political reports which alluded to the troubles in the interstate and dynasty relations. Actually, in the last decade of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the relations between Serbia and Montenegro were fluctuating. The relations were particularly bad during the reign of King Milan Obrenovic who hated his colleague, Prince and latter King Nikola Petrovic Njegos, because he thought that Nikola Petrovic had political ambitions to remove him from Serbian throne and to became the new king of Serbia. His obsession with Prince Nikola was a lasting one, and in every contact with the British diplomats in Serbia he would emphasize his anxiety over the intentions of Prince Nikola to plot against him by the instructions of the Russian government. Furthermore, another step towards flaring the mutual hatred was the marriage between Prince Petar Karadjordjevic and Princess Zorka Petrovic. Moreover, Prince Nikola had no respect for King Milan, and was even deeply disappointed at the moment when Milan Obrenovic declared Serbia a Kingdom in 1882 and became the new Serbian king. During the reign of King Aleksandar Obrenovic, several efforts were made towards improving the mutual relations and dynastic ties. In that period, Serbia sent the first Minister Plenipotentiary to Cetinje and the two rulers visited each other. As for the relations during the reign of Petar Karadjordjevic, they were even worse than in the previous period. The worst decade in mutual relations was in 1907 during the so called Bombing affair, when the government of Montenegro accused the Serbian government of planning and supporting conspirators who intended to remove prince Nikola from the throne. It is interesting that British diplomats in Belgrade denied Serbian participation in the matter.

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