Persida Karađorđević née Nenadović (Serbian Cyrillic: Персида Ненадовић; 15 February 1813 – 29 March 1873) was the Princess of Serbia as the wife of Alexander Karađorđević, who ruled the Principality of Serbia from his election on 14 September 1842 until his abdication on 24 October 1858. She was the mother of ten children, including future king Peter I of Serbia, who succeeded to the throne after the assassination of King Alexander I, the last ruler of the Obrenović dynasty (the traditional rivals of the Karađorđevićs).
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Life
Persida was born on 15 February 1813 in Brankovina, Ottoman Empire (now Serbia), into Nenadović family, at that time the most powerful family in Serbia. She was the daughter of Voivode Jevrem Nenadović (1793–1867) and Jovanka Milovanović (1792–1880). Her paternal grandfather was Jakov Nenadović, the first Serbian Interior Minister of Revolutionary Serbia, while her maternal grandfather Mladen Milovanović was the first Minister of Defence.
On 1 June 1830 in Hotin, Bessarabia, at the age of 17, she married Alexander Karađorđević (1806-1885), the youngest son of Karađorđe Petrović and his wife, Jelena Jovanović (1771-1842). They moved to Serbia in 1839 and Alexander joined the Headquarters of the Serbian Army.
On 14 September 1842, Alexander was elected as Prince of Serbia, succeeding the deposed Prince Miloš Obrenović, and himself becoming the first Karađorđević ruler. From that date until his own abdication, Persida was styled Princess of Serbia, while in exile, she was styled Princess Karađorđević.
In 1858, Prince Alexander came into conflict with members of the Council, with the result that he was compelled to abdicate in favor of Miloš Obrenović, who returned to power for the second time. Following Alexander's abdication, she and her family retired to Timișoara. She gave birth to a total of 10 children, six of whom lived to adulthood.