Peter II Yugoslavian Uniforms

[Lord Hobbers]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum, but I have some uniform queries and I thought that someone here might be able to help me out with some information on the uniforms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, specifically those worn by King Peter II.

 

As King of Yugoslavia, presumably King Peter II held commissions in all of the country’s military (in the same way that the British Royal Family do). So he would have been an officer in the army, navy and air force.

 

These are photos I’ve found of the king in military uniform, and from what I gather, this is the uniform of the Royal Yugoslav Army…

 

Pic 1

 

…and this the Yugoslav Air Force.

 

Pic 2

 

My first question, does anyone know what colour his Air Force uniform is? I’ve seen a colour photo of a Yugoslav Army uniform, but not the air force. Is it blue like the RAF?

 

This photo looks like an air force uniform, but he has a paler coloured jacket. Is this some sort of summer uniform?

 

Pic3

 

Secondly, these are photos of the king during the war when he was in exile. The photos I believe were taken around 1942 and 1943. Does anyone know what uniforms he is wearing in these photos?

 

Pic 4

 

Pic 5 

 

 

The last one is a darker shade of khaki than any other uniform I’ve seen him in.

 

My next question is about his rank. What rank did he actually hold in the forces? This photo of him from 19 August 1941 shows him in his air force uniform, with the rank insignia of captain…

 

Pic 6

 

…but this photo from c.1941 shows him with the rank of general…

 

Pic 7

 

Furthermore, this photo from June 1941 has him with the general rank stars, but without the eagle underneath. What does that mean?

 

Pic 8

 

Then his wedding photo from March 1944 he is wearing the braids of, if I’m not mistaken, a Lieutenant Colonel…

 

Pic 9

 

Also, he doesn’t appear to wear the gold epaulettes that other air force officers wear.

 

And finally, does anyone know what rank he is wearing on the later uniforms? Are they army ranks?

 

Pic 10

 

It’s all very confusing!

 

Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by Lord Hobbers
Photos didn't appear in original post

[paja]

Greetings and welcome to GMIC!

I believe the thing that's confusing you the most are uniforms he wore while in exile. Yugoslav volunteers of the Allied Forces didn't wore Royal Yugoslav uniforms instead they wore British and American uniforms with Yugoslav insignia (buttons with Yugoslav coat of arms, stars for shoulder boards, patch Jugoslavia or Yugoslavia). 
Here are couple of photos of Yugoslav Air Force uniforms (captain 1st class and lieutenant colonel) from some exhibition I found online. 

[paja]

This might be useful, Royal Yugoslav Air Force shoulder boards, sleeve ranks and insignia.

[Lord Hobbers]

Thank you!

Aha, yes; I suppose it makes sense that they would have worn British and American uniforms when in exile (after all, most other exiled Allied armies did too, didn't they?).

And thank you for those pictures. The air force uniform is a much darker shade of blue than I imagined. I thought it might be like the RAF blue, but it is a much darker shade.

Any clue about his changing rank insignia? I wonder if it is like Prince William (he held the rank of Lieutenant, but was also Colonel of Irish Guards, so he wore colonel rank insignia to his wedding, but  Lieutenant insignia on his day to day uniform). I wonder if Peter II was the same; he was working his way up through the ranks normally, but as king he also held the highest rank possible, so sometimes wore a general's insignia, and other times wore the insignia he had 'earned'. Would that sound feasible?

Many thanks

[paja]

I apologize for not replying sooner.
I'm not sure about the rank issue. Perhaps the solution lies in the fact that he was commissioned in the RAF.
So maybe he wore "three stars" as a Yugoslav king while he held a lower rank in the RAF.