Obrenović

Heraldry of the house through history

1. 1815–1819Prince Miloš

   The leader of the Second Serbian Uprising and first prince of restored Serbia used a seal before the state received arms. On Miloš's seal of 1819 a shield with a cross and four firesteels lies beneath a mantle, and above it, instead of a crown, stands a kalpak with a plume — the mark of a prince ruling within the Ottoman Empire. The prince's seal with the inscription “Милош Обреновић, први књаз српски” already bears the shield with cross and firesteels beneath a mantle and prince's crown, within a wreath. With the hatt-i sharifs of 1830 and 1833 Serbia gains autonomy, and the princely insignia their place.

   Coat of arms of Prince Miloš, after the seal of 1819.Seal of Prince Miloš
2. 1835Gospodar Jovan

   Miloš's brother, Gospodar Jovan Obrenović, displayed arms on the front of his residence in Čačak, built in 1835: a blue shield with a silver cross and four firesteels, beneath a crown, is supported by two gold lions, and above is a crescent with a star. It is a rare surviving record of the heraldry of members of the House outside the ruling line.

   Coat of arms of Gospodar Jovan, from the façade of the residence in Čačak
3. 1815–1882Princely house

   The arms of the Princely House of Obrenović, from the time when Serbia was a principality: beneath a prince's crown and a red mantle lined with ermine a red shield with a white cross and four firesteels, over which is an upright sword between the years 1389 and 1815, within a wreath; beneath the shield a ribbon with the motto. The years of the Battle of Kosovo and the Takovo Uprising were to become the lasting mark of the dynasty.

   Coat of arms of the Princely House of Obrenović
4. 1839–1868Prince Mihailo

   Prince Mihailo, who ruled in 1839–1842 and 1860–1868, bore personal arms derived from those of the state: on a red shield beneath a prince's crown a white cross with four firesteels, and the supporters are a gold lion with a sabre and a green serpent; beneath the shield hang decorations. The alliance arms of Prince Mihailo and Princess Julia Hunyady are preserved on the fireplace in the main hall of the mansion at Ivanka pri Dunaji, in present-day Slovakia — a combination of the Serbian arms with the arms of the Hungarian noble family Hunyady de Kéthely.

   Coat of arms of Prince MihailoCoats of arms of Prince Mihailo and Princess Julija, Ivanka pri Dunaji
5. 1868–1882Prince Milan IV

   The arms of Prince Milan Obrenović IV, who in 1882 was to be proclaimed King Milan I, record the mature princely heraldry: beneath a mantle and crown the shield with cross and firesteels, sword and the years 1389 and 1815, encircled by a green serpent biting its tail, and on the ribbon the motto TEMPUS ET MEUM JUS — “Time and my right”.

   Coat of arms of Prince Milan IV
6. 1882King Milan I

   With the proclamation of the kingdom in 1882 the House begins to use the lesser arms of the Royal House: on a red shield beneath the royal crown a white double-headed eagle, on whose breast is an oval escutcheon with a sword between the years 1389 and 1815, encircled by a gold serpent biting its tail. King Milan I was also a knight of the Swedish Order of the Seraphim, so his arms were also painted according to the rules of that order — a gold double-headed eagle on a red shield beneath the royal crown, surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Seraphim.

   Coat of arms of King Milan I as a Knight of the Order of the Seraphim
7. 1889–1903King Alexander

   The royal standard of Alexander Obrenović, the last ruler of the House, bore the greater arms beneath a mantle on a field in the Serbian tricolour, edged with a bordure of triangles. With the murder of King Alexander and Queen Draga in the May Coup of 1903 the dynasty became extinct.

   Royal standard of Aleksandar Obrenović