YUGOSLAVIA: Peter’s Birthday

For years Peter Karageorgevitch had looked forward to his 18th birthday. It was the day he would constitutionally become King of Yugoslavia, a day of feasting and celebration around his Dedinje Palace near Belgrade.

Last week when his 18th birthday came, Peter was King already, had been since March when his regent uncle Prince Paul abdicated rather than fight the Nazis. There was no birthday fete in German-held Belgrade. Instead, exiled King Peter, a slim soft-spoken boy whose dearest wish is an R.A.F. commission, celebrated quietly in England, told reporters he thought the time was ripe for a British invasion of Italy.