Maria of Yugoslavia
| Maria of Romania | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen consort of Yugoslavia | |
| Tenure | 3 October 1929 – 9 October 1934 |
| Queen consort of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes | |
| Tenure | 8 June 1922 – 3 October 1929 |
| Born | 6 January 1900 Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, German Empire |
| Died | 22 June 1961 (aged 61) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
| Father | Ferdinand I of Romania |
| Mother | Marie of Edinburgh |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Maria of Romania or Marie of Yugoslavia (6 January 1900 – 22 June 1961), known in Serbo-Croatian as Marija Karađorđević (Serbian Cyrillic: Марија Карађорђевић), was Queen of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Queen of Yugoslavia, as the wife of King Alexander from 1922 until his assassination in 1934. She was the mother of Peter II, the last Yugoslav monarch. Her citizenship was revoked and her property confiscated by the Yugoslav Communist regime in 1947, but she was "rehabilitated" in 2014.[1]
Early life[]
Maria was born on 6 January 1900, at Friedenstein Palace in Gotha, a town in Thuringia, in the German Empire.[2] She was named after her maternal grandmother, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, and was known as Mignon in the family to distinguish her from her mother. Her parents were Princess Marie of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. In 1914, after the death of Carol I, they became King and Queen of Romania. She had three brothers and two sisters: King Carol II of Romania; Prince Nicholas of Romania; Princess Elisabeth of Romania and future Queen of Greece; Princess Ileana of Romania and future Archduchess of Austria (Tuscan line); and another brother, Prince Mircea of Romania, who died at age three. Although plump, Maria was a noted beauty in her youth and resembled her sister Elisabeth.
During World War I, she worked as a nurse with her mother, along with her two sisters.
Marriage and children[]
Maria married Alexander I, second King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in Belgrade on 8 June 1922, and had three sons:
- King Peter II (1923–1970) ∞ Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark
- Prince Tomislav (1928–2000) ∞ Princess Margarita of Baden ∞ Linda Mary Bonney Van Dyke
- Prince Andrej (1929–1990) ∞ Princess Christina Margarethe of Hesse-Cassel ∞ Princess Kira Melita of Leiningen ∞ Princess Eva Marija Karadjordjevic
Following the assassination of her husband, King Alexander I, in Marseille in 1934, her oldest son, then only 11 became Peter II of Yugoslavia, the last reigning Yugoslav king. She was given the title Queen Mother of Yugoslavia in 1941.[citation needed] She moved[when?] to a farm in England and lived a relatively normal life without royal extravagance. Maria was well educated. She spoke several languages fluently and enjoyed painting and sculpting under the guidance of artist Iva Despić-Simonović. She also drove a car by herself, which was very unusual for royalty at the time.[3]
She died in exile in London on 22 June 1961 and was interred at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, which adjoins Windsor Castle. Her remains were transferred to Serbia in April 2013 and re-interred on 26 May 2013 in Oplenac, Serbia.[2][4]
Honours[]
Kingdom of Romania: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I- Kingdom of Romania: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania
Kingdom of Yugoslavia: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karađorđe (8 June 1922)- Kingdom of Yugoslavia: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown
France: Dame Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (1959)[5]
Kingdom of Bulgaria: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Alexander, in Diamonds (1934)[6]
Czechoslovakia: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion (4 April 1937)
Sources[]
- ^ Crnjanski Spasojević, V. "Rehabilitovana kraljica Marija Karađorđević". Večernje novosti. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "HM Queen Maria of Yugoslavia". Royal Family of Serbia. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "Yugoslavia's exiled queen". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Yugoslavia's exiled Queen returns home at long last
- ^ Fifty fifth memorial anniversary of HM Queen Maria at St. George Church in Oplenac
- ^ "Български: Азбучник на ордена "Свети Александър", 1912-1935 г., XIII том".
External links[]
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- 1900 births
- 1961 deaths
- People from Gotha (town)
- Romanian princesses
- Queen mothers
- Yugoslav queens consort
- Karađorđević dynasty
- Princesses of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
- Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church
- Burials at the Mausoleum of the Royal House of Karađorđević, Oplenac
- Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion