The Duke and the Poet

The series covers the last days of Prince Mihailo Obrenović’s life, with flashbacks explaining some earlier events. The plot begins at the moment when he finally decided to marry his cousin Katarina Konstantinović, regardless of the reaction of the Church and important people of Serbia and foreign powerful states. However, Katarina’s former suitor, Colonel Milivoje Blaznavac (Mihailo’s half-brother, the illegitimate son of late Prince Miloš), now the Minister of War, receives messages from foreign powerful states interested in Mihailo’s disappearance from the political scene. Namely, the Prince is planning an alliance with other Balkan nations, to expel the Turks from the Balkans, with him, and thus Serbia, as the leader of that alliance. Apart from the Turks, that does not suit Austria either, so their diplomat Benjamin von Kallay is trying, in every way, to thwart Mihailo’s plan. The story follows the last days of Prince Mihailo, a man in love, who struggles with the sense of duty towards his people, while a fatal conspiracy is being hatched against him, as a light-motif of the story, we listen to the verses of his sad love song Can’t Stop My Raising Thoughts, which, although written years earlier, faithfully reflects his current state of mind. The series sheds new light on the life of Prince Mihailo, at the same time dealing with his assassination and the influence of powerful states on his rule.