Elena of Montenegro
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| Servant of God Elena of Montenegro | |||||
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| Queen consort of Italy | |||||
| Tenure | 29 July 1900 – 9 May 1946 | ||||
| Empress consort of Ethiopia | |||||
| Tenure | 9 May 1936 – 5 May 1941 | ||||
| Queen consort of the Albanians | |||||
| Tenure | 16 April 1939 – 8 September 1943 | ||||
| Born | 8 January 1873 Cetinje, Montenegro | ||||
| Died | 28 November 1952 (aged 79) Montpellier, France | ||||
| Burial | Sanctuary of Vicoforte, Italy | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Petrović-Njegoš | ||||
| Father | Nicholas I of Montenegro | ||||
| Mother | Milena Vukotić | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic prev. Serbian Orthodox Church | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Styles of Queen Elena | |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Princess Jelena of Montenegro, or more commonly known as Queen Elena of Italy (Serbian: Јелена Петровић Његош / Jelena Petrović Njegoš; 8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Queen Milena. She was Queen of Italy from 1900 until 1946 as wife of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.
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. With the opening of the case for her canonization, she was made Servant of God by the Catholic Church in 2001.
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 Smolny Institute for young ladies in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She was talented at painting and architecture, and she designed the monument for Prince Danilo I.
Marriage[]
As the result of Elena's marriage to Victor Emmanuel III of Italy on 24 October 1896, she converted to Catholicism from Orthodox Christianity and became Queen of Italy when her husband acceded to the throne in 1900. Her mother was so distressed by the fact that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome.
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.
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, tuberculosis, 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.
During World War I 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.
She influenced her husband to lobby Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy, for 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.
On 15 April 1937 Pope Pius XI gave her the Golden Rose, the most important honour given to a Catholic lady at the time. Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II upon the queen's death, defined her as 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 Mother Maria 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.
Exile and death[]
Following the war, on 9 May 1946, Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of their son Umberto, and the former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo. On 2 June 1946 a referendum resulted in 52 percent of voters favouring an Italian republic over the monarchy. The republic was formally proclaimed four days later, and the House of Savoy's reign over Italy formally ended on 12 June 1946. Elena and Victor Emmanuel III went to Egypt, where they were welcomed with great honor by King Farouk, but forced to live the rest of their lives in exile. Victor Emmanuel III died a year later of pulmonary congestion in Alexandria. Elena stayed in Egypt a short time before moving to France. There, in Montpellier, she was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer, and died in November 1952 while having surgery to treat it.[1]
65 years after her death, on 15 December 2017, the remains of Elena were repatriated from Montpellier, to the sanctuary of Vicoforte, near Turin. The remains of Victor Emmanuel III were transferred two days later from Alexandria, and interred alongside hers.[2]
Faith, Cause of beatification and canonization[]
In recognition of her great faith and the charitable activities she supported, Pope Pius XII bestowed on her the highest honour at that time for a woman, the Golden Rose of Christianity, twice, in 1930 and 1937. In 2001, on the occasion of the opening of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the death of Queen Elena, the bishop of Montpellier opened the diocesan process for her beatification process.[3]
With the opening of her cause, the late Queen has been accorded the title Servant of God.
Children[]
King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena had 5 children:
- Princess Yolanda Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria of Savoy (1901–1986), married to Giorgio Carlo, Count Calvi di Bergolo (1888–1978), with issue;
- Princess Mafalda Maria Elisabetta Anna Romana of Savoy (1902–1944), married to Prince Philipp of Hesse (1896–1980) with issue;
- 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 (1906-2001), with issue.
- Princess Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria of Savoy (1907–2000), married to Boris III, King of Bulgaria (1894-1943), with issue;
- Princess Maria Francesca Anna Romana of Savoy (1914–2001), who married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (1899–1967), with issue.
Princess Yolanda
Princess Mafalda
Umberto II of Italy as a child
Princess Giovanna
Princess María Francisca de Saboya 17 July 1917
Arms and monogram[]
Alliance Coat of Arms of King Victor Emanuel III and Queen Helena
Royal Monogram of Queen Helena of Italy.
Royal Monogram of Queen Helena of Italy.
Honours[]
National[]
House of Petrović-Njegoš: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I, Special Class[4]
House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[4][5]
Vatican
Holy See: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Golden Spur[4][6]- Holy See: Knight of the Decoration of Honour[7]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 1st Class[4][8]
Foreign[]
Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross, 1st Class[4][9][10]
Bavarian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Theresa[4]
Bulgarian Royal Family:
- Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Merit[4][11]
- Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Alexander, in Diamonds, 1933[12]
Nazi Germany: Grand Officer of the Order of Social Welfare, Special Class
Iran: Order of the Sun, 1st Class[13]
Empire of Japan: Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown, 11 June 1909[14]
Spanish Royal Family: 945th Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa[4]
Yugoslav Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Sava[15]- Holy See: Recipient of the Golden Rose (twice)[4]
References[]
- ^ Paolo Griseri (17 December 2017). "Il fascismo, le leggi razziali, la fuga". La Repubblica. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Nicole Winfield. "Remains of Exiled Italian King to be Returned after 70 years". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ "28 novembre - Serva di Dio Elena di Savoia, Regina d'Italia". forum.termometropolitico.it. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "SAVOIA". Genmarenostrum.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "König Vittorio Emanuele III. und Königin Elena von Italien, King and Queen of Italy". Flickr.com. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Official Visit Of The House Of Savoy To Pius Xi Pictures". Getty Images. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Imgc.allpostersimages.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Numismaticatrionfale.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Mussolini In Spotlight Over Affair Claims Pictures". Getty Images. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "The Glittering Casa Savoia, a selection of Italian royal pictures (4)". Angelfire.com. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2016.[self-published source][better source needed]
- ^ "The Glittering Casa Savoia, a selection of Italian royal pictures (6)". Angelfire.com. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2016.[self-published source][better source needed]
- ^ "Български: Азбучник на ордена "Свети Александър", 1912-1935 г., XIII том".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2016-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ 刑部芳則 (2017). 明治時代の勲章外交儀礼 (PDF) (in Japanese). 明治聖徳記念学会紀要. p. 157.
- ^ "The Royals Of Italy After A Reception On Campidoglio Pictures". Getty Images. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
External links[]
Media related to Elena of Montenegro at Wikimedia Commons
- The Njegoskij Fund Public Project : Private family archives-based digital documentary fund focused on history and culture of Royal Montenegro.
- Crnogorska princeza Jelena
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- 1871 births
- 1952 deaths
- Petrović-Njegoš dynasty
- House of Savoy
- Montenegrin princesses
- Italian queens consort
- Princesses of Piedmont
- Queen mothers
- Empresses and imperial consorts of Ethiopia
- Women inventors
- Female nurses in World War I
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
- Knights of Malta
- Grand Crosses of the Order of St. Sava
- Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown
- Italian Roman Catholics
- 19th-century Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Roman Catholics
- Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Montenegro
- 19th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians
- 20th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians
- Former Montenegrin Orthodox Christians
- Montenegrin Roman Catholics
- People from Cetinje
- Montenegrin women
- 19th-century Serbian people
- 20th-century Serbian people
- 19th-century Serbian women
- 20th-century Serbian women
- Serbian women
- Former Serbian Orthodox Christians
- Serbian Roman Catholics
- Serbian princesses
- Italian exiles