by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Maria of Romania, Queen of Yugoslavia – Photo: Wikipedia
Queen Maria of Yugoslavia was born Princess Marie of Romania on January 6, 1900, in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Thuringia, Germany. Marie, known in the family as Mignon, was the third child and second daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh (a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia).
Marie had five siblings:
- King Carol II of Romania (1893-1953), married (1) Ioana “Zizi” Lambrino, had issue; (2) Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, had issue; (3) Elena “Magda” Lupescu, no issue
- Princess Elisabeta, Queen of the Hellenes (1894-1956), married King George II of Greece, no issue
- Prince Nicholas (1903-1978), married (1) Ioana Doletti, no issue (2) Thereza Lisboa Figueira de Mello, no issue
- Princess Ileana, Archduchess of Austria (1909-1991) – married (1) Archduke Anton of Austria-Tuscany, had issue; (2) Dr. Stefan Issarescu, no issue
- Prince Mircea (1913-1916), died from typhoid fever at age 3
Marie was raised in Romania, where her father became King of Romania upon the death of his uncle King Carol I in 1914. Following the lead of her mother, Princess Marie worked as a nurse during World War I.
Wedding of Marie and King Alexander I of Yugoslavia; photo: Royal Family of Serbia
On June 8, 1922, in Belgrade, Princess Marie was married to King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (at the time King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes). Alexander was the son of King Peter I of Serbia and Princess Zorka of Montenegro.
The couple had three sons:
- King Peter II of Yugoslavia (1923 – 1970), married Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, had one son
- Prince Tomislav (1928 – 2000), married (1) Princess Margarita of Baden, had one son and one daughter, divorced (2) Linda Mary Bonney, had two sons
- Prince Andrej (1929 – 1990), married (1) Princess Christina Margarethe of Hesse, had one daughter and one son, divorced (2) Princess Kira of Leiningen, had two sons and one daughter, divorced (3) Eva Maria Andjelkovich, no children
King Alexander was assassinated in Marseilles, France on October 9, 1934. The couple’s eldest son Peter became King of Yugoslavia at the age of 11, and a regency was established, led by King Alexander’s cousin Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. In 1941, the family was forced into exile following the Axis invasion, and Queen Marie settled at a cottage in the countryside of England, where she remained for the rest of her life. In 1947, the Communist government of Yugoslavia formally revoked her Yugoslavian citizenship and confiscated all of her property and assets.
Queen Marie in later life; photo: Royal Family of Serbia
Marie lived a rather quiet life in England, pursuing her interests in painting and sculpting. The former Princess of Romania and Queen of Yugoslavia died in London, England on June 22, 1961. She was buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England.
In 2013, her remains were exhumed and repatriated to Serbia where they were reburied at the Royal Family Mausoleum at St. George’s Church at Oplenac, Serbia, along with the remains of her sons Prince Andrej and King Peter II and King Peter’s wife, Queen Alexandra.
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Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty