In the summer of 1900, King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to Draga Mašin, a disreputable widow of an obscure engineer.
Alexander had met Draga Mašin in 1897 when she was serving as a maid of honor to his mother.
Draga was ten years older than the king, unpopular with Belgrade society, well known for her allegedly numerous sexual liaisons, and widely believed to be infertile.
Since Alexander was an only child, it was imperative to secure the succession by producing an heir.
So intense was the opposition to Mašin among the political classes that the king found it impossible for a time to recruit suitable candidates into senior posts
Before making the announcement, Alexander did not consult with his father, who had been on vacation in Karlovy Vary and making arrangements to secure the hand of German Princess Alexandra Karoline zu Schaumburg-Lippe, sister of Queen Charlotte of Württemberg, for his son, or his Prime Minister Dr. Vladan Đorđević, who was visiting the Paris Universal Exhibition at the time of the announcement.
Both immediately resigned from their respective offices and Alexander had difficulty in forming a new cabinet.
Alexander's mother also opposed the marriage and was subsequently banished from the kingdom.

Opposition to the union seemed to subside somewhat for a time upon the publication of Tsar Nicholas II's congratulations to the king on his engagement and of his acceptance to act as the principal witness at the wedding.
The marriage duly took place in August 1900.
Even so, the unpopularity of the union weakened the King's position in the eyes of the army and of the country at large.
In the summer of 1900, King Alexander suddenly announced his engagement to Draga Mašin, a disreputable widow of an obscure engineer. Alexander had met Draga Mašin in 1897 when she was serving as a maid of honor to his mother. Draga was ten years older than the king, unpopular with Belgrade society, well known for her allegedly numerous sexual liaisons, and widely believed to be infertile. Since Alexander was an only child, it was imperative to secure the succession by producing an heir. So intense was the opposition to Mašin among the political classes that the king found it impossible for a time to recruit suitable candidates into senior posts
Before making the announcement, Alexander did not consult with his father, who had been on vacation in Karlovy Vary and making arrangements to secure the hand of German Princess Alexandra Karoline zu Schaumburg-Lippe, sister of Queen Charlotte of Württemberg, for his son, or his Prime Minister Dr. Vladan Đorđević, who was visiting the Paris Universal Exhibition at the time of the announcement. Both immediately resigned from their respective offices and Alexander had difficulty in forming a new cabinet. Alexander's mother also opposed the marriage and was subsequently banished from the kingdom.
Opposition to the union seemed to subside somewhat for a time upon the publication of Tsar Nicholas II's congratulations to the king on his engagement and of his acceptance to act as the principal witness at the wedding. The marriage duly took place in August 1900. Even so, the unpopularity of the union weakened the King's position in the eyes of the army and of the country at large.
Alexander I of Serbia