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Princess Elena Petrović - Njegoš of Montenegro

Princess Elena Petrović - Njegoš of MontenegroPrincess Elena Petrović - Njegoš of Montenegro
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Princess Elena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) nicknamed "Jela" was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić. As wife of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, she was Queen of Italy from 1900 until 1946.

Children

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena had 5 children:

  1. Princess Yolanda Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria of Savoy (1901–1986), married to Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Count of Bergolo (it), (1887–1977);
  2. Princess Mafalda Maria Elisabetta Anna Romana of Savoy (1902–1944), married to Prince Philipp of Hesse (1896–1980) with issue;
  3. Prince Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, later Umberto II, King of Italy (1904–1983) married Princess Marie José of Belgium, with issue.
  4. Princess Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria of Savoy (1907–2000), married to Boris III, King of Bulgaria;
  5. Princess Maria Francesca Anna Romana of Savoy (1914–2001), who married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (1899–1967), with issue.

 

Biography

Early life

She was born in Cetinje as daughter of Montenegrin Prince and future King Nicholas I and his wife Milena. At the age of 10 she went to the Institute for young ladies in Sankt Petersburg (Russia). She was very talented at painting and architecture. She designed the monument for Prince-Bishop Danilo I.

Marriage

As the result of Elena's marriage to King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy on 24 October 1896, she converted to Catholicism and became Queen of Italy when her husband acceded to the throne in 1900. Her mother was so distressed with the fact that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome.

Due to the Fascist conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939, Queen Elena briefly used the claimed titles of Empress of Ethiopia and Queen of Albania; both titles were dropped when her husband formally renounced them in 1943.

She influenced her husband to lobby Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy, for the creation of the independent Kingdom of Montenegro in 1941. In 1943 she subsequently obtained the release from a German prison of her nephew, Prince Michael of Montenegro, and his wife, Geneviève. Prince Michael had been imprisoned after refusing to become King of Montenegro under the protection of Italy.

The Queen and the wars

On 29 July 1900, following his father's assassination, Victor Emmanuel ascended the Italian throne. Officially, Elena assumed her husband's whole titles: she became Queen of Italy, and with the birth of the Italian Colonial Empire she became Queen of Albania and Empress of Ethiopia.

On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake. Queen Elena helped with the rescuers, as some photographs show. This helped to increase her popularity within the country. During the First World War Elena worked as a nurse and, with the help of the Queen Mother, she turned Quirinal Palace and Villa Margherita into hospitals. To raise funds, she invented the "signed photograph", which was sold at the charity desks. At the end of the war, she proposed to sell the crown treasures in order to pay the war debts.

Elena was the first Inspector of the Voluntary Nurses for the Italian Red Cross from 1911 until 1921. She studied medicine and was able to obtain a laurea honoris causa. She financed charitable institutions for people with encephalitis, tubercolosis, former soldiers and poor mothers.

She was deeply involved in her fight against disease, and she promoted many efforts for the training of doctors, and for research against poliomyelitis, Parkinson's disease and cancer.

On 15 April 1937 Pope Pius XII gave her the Golden Rose of Christianity, the most important honour for a Catholic lady at the time. Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II for the queen's death, defined her a "Lady of charitable work".

In 1939, three months after the German invasion of Poland and the declaration of war by the United Kingdom and France, Elena wrote a letter to the six European queens still neutral (Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Queen Ioanna of Bulgaria and Queen Maria The Queen Mother of Yugoslavia) in order to avoid the great tragedy World War II would become.

On 25 July 1943 Victor Emmanuel III had Benito Mussolini arrested. The king left Rome on 9 September to flee to Brindisi with the help of the Allies and Elena followed her husband in his escape. In contrast, on 23 September their daughter Mafalda was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, where she died in 1944.

Following the war, on 9 May 1946 Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of his son Umberto. The former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo, and went into exile to Egypt with Elena.

Ursache: wikipedia.org

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        NameBeziehungGeburtTotBeschreibung
        1Никола I ПетровичНикола I ПетровичVater07.10.184101.03.1921
        2Милена Петрович-НегошМилена Петрович-НегошMutter27.04.184716.03.1923
        3Maria  Francesca of SavoyMaria Francesca of SavoyTochter26.12.191404.12.2001
        4Giovanna of  ItalyGiovanna of ItalyTochter13.11.190726.02.2000
        5Princess Mafalda of SavoyPrincess Mafalda of SavoyTochter02.11.190227.08.1944
        6Зорка ЧерногорскаяЗорка ЧерногорскаяSchwester23.12.186416.03.1890
        7Анна Петрович-НегошАнна Петрович-НегошSchwester18.08.187422.04.1971
        8Анастасия ЧерногорскаяАнастасия ЧерногорскаяSchwester23.12.186825.11.1935
        9Милица ЧерногорскаяМилица ЧерногорскаяSchwester26.07.186605.09.1951
        10Vittorio  Emanuele IIIVittorio Emanuele IIIEhemann11.11.186928.12.1947
        11Князь Роман ПетровичКнязь Роман ПетровичNeffe17.10.189623.10.1978
        12Марина  РомановаМарина РомановаNichte11.03.189215.05.1981
        13Elena von SerbienElena von SerbienNichte04.11.188416.10.1962
        14Надежда  РомановаНадежда РомановаNichte15.03.189821.04.1988
        15Boris III of BulgariaBoris III of BulgariaSchwiegersohn30.01.189428.08.1943
        16Prince PhilippPrince PhilippSchwiegersohn06.11.189625.10.1980
        17Великий князь Пётр НиколаевичВеликий князь Пётр НиколаевичSchwager10.01.186417.06.1931
        18князь Георгий Максимилианович Романовскийкнязь Георгий Максимилианович РомановскийSchwager29.02.185203.05.1912
        19Nikolai  Nikolajewitsch  RomanowNikolai Nikolajewitsch RomanowSchwager18.11.185605.01.1929
        20Мирко Петрович-НегошМирко Петрович-НегошGroßvater19.08.182020.07.1867
        21Moritz  of HesseMoritz of HesseEnkel06.08.192623.05.2013
        22Prince Heinrich of Hesse-KasselPrince Heinrich of Hesse-KasselEnkel30.11.192718.11.1999
        23Дмитрий  РомановДмитрий РомановEnkel17.05.192631.12.2016

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