Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Her Highness Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, known as Princess Dagmar and called Minnie in her family, was born at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 26, 1847. She was the fourth child and the second daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1852, Prince Christian became heir to the Danish throne and in 1853 he was given the title Prince of Denmark and his children then became Princes and Princesses of Denmark. Christian succeeded to the Danish throne in 1863 and reigned as King Christian IX.

Minnie had five siblings:

Family of King Christian IX; Back Row: Frederik, King Christian, and William; Front Row: Dagmar, Valdemar, Queen Louise, Thyra, and Alexandra; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie grew up in a close and happy family environment. Her parents gave their children a simple upbringing but attached great importance to their royal duties. As adults, all their children were known for their ability to deal with people, their sense of duty, and their ability to represent their royal families. Minnie was closest to her elder sister Alexandra and the two had close ties to each other for life.

Minnie with her first fiancé Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor Alexander II of Russia was searching for a bride for his eldest son and heir Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich from countries other than the small German states that traditionally provided brides for the Romanovs. In 1864, Nicholas Alexandrovich went to Denmark and proposed to Minnie. Nicholas Alexandrovich suffered from poor health and died from meningitis on April 24, 1865. Reportedly, his last wish was for Minnie to marry his brother Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. Minnie had already started receiving instruction in the Russian language and preparing for her conversion to the Russian Orthodox religion.

Engagement Photo: Alexander and Minnie; Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1866, on a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, Alexander proposed to Minnie, his deceased brother’s fiancée. Minnie converted to Russian Orthodoxy and received the name Maria Feodorovna. Alexander and Minnie were married on November 9, 1866, in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. After the wedding festivities, the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg where they lived for the next 15 years. In addition, they spent time at their summer villa Livadia Palace in the Crimean Peninsula.

Wedding of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich & Maria Feodorovna by M.Zichy 1867, Hermitage; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander and Minnie had six children:

Alexander, Minnie and their children in 1888;  Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie was a popular member of the Russian Imperial Family. She rarely mingled in politics,  instead devoting herself to her family, charities, and social activities. Among the charities she worked with were the Russian Red Cross and several educational institutions, including the famous Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens.  Like her sister Alexandra, Princess of Wales, Minnie was anti-German because of the annexation of the previously Danish-owned Schleswig-Holstein duchies to Prussia in 1864. In the early years of their marriage, Minnie and Alexander settled into the huge Anichkov Palace on St. Petersburg’s main street, Nevsky Prospekt. The couple traveled around the Russian Empire and regularly attended family get-togethers in Denmark.

On March 13, 1881, Alexander’s father, Alexander II, was assassinated in St. Petersburg, a victim of a bombing by the underground organization, Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), and Alexander succeeded to the Russian throne. Security was tightened and Minnie and Alexander had to move out of St. Petersburg to Gatchina Palace, 28 miles away from St. Petersburg, which provided greater protection. Alexander and Minnie’s traditional coronation in the Kremlin in Moscow was held in strict security because a dangerous conspiracy had been discovered.

The Imperial Family was always heavily guarded, but Minnie often went to St. Petersburg to participate in and organize balls, receptions, and other things she had enjoyed doing as a Grand Duchess. Minnie supported Alexander in his extreme conservative ideas. She sought to encourage foreign policy that favored Denmark and not Germany. In addition, she tried to get Russia to develop relations with the United Kingdom, two countries that traditionally were not allied.

Alexander and Dagmar’s visits to Denmark were always big events. The couple enjoyed being in Denmark because the atmosphere was more relaxed and they were under less stringent security than they were accustomed to in Russia. In 1885, during a Danish royal family dinner at Fredensborg Palace, Alexander announced that he would like to have his own home in Fredensborg. He bought a house near the castle grounds called Svalereden and it became known as Kejserens Villa or Emperor’s Villa. Minnie held ownership of the home until she died in 1928 when her daughter Olga sold the house.

Family Get-Together at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark, 1889. (l-r): Top row: King Haakon VII of Norway; Emperor Nicholas II of Russia; Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark; Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia; Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom; King Christian X of Denmark; King Frederik VIII of Denmark; Queen Louise of Denmark; King Constantine I of Greece; Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia; Prince George of Greece and Denmark; Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; Emperor Alexander III of Russia; Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark; Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia; King Christian IX of Denmark; Prince Harald of Denmark; Queen Maud of Norway; Middle row sitting: Prince Andrew of Greece; Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia; Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia; Queen Louise of Denmark; King George I of Greece; Princess Alexandra of Greece; On their knees on the grass: Princess Thyra of Denmark and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Alexander became ill with nephritis, a kidney disease. Later that year, Alexander was on his way to the Greek isle of Corfu where he hoped to recuperate at Mon Repos, the villa of Minnie’s sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece. However, when Alexander reached Crimea, he was too ill to continue traveling and stayed at Livadia Palace, his home in Crimea. It was soon obvious that Alexander would not survive and various relatives came to the Crimea including Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, the fiancée of Alexander’s eldest son Nicholas. Insisting on receiving Princess Alix in his full dress uniform, Alexander gave her his blessing on October 21, 1894. Alexander’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49. His son Nicholas became the last Emperor of Russia. He married Princess Alix (Alexandra Feodorovna) on Minnie’s 47th birthday, November 26, 1894, just eight days after Emperor Alexander III was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg.

During the early years of her son’s reign, Emperor Nicholas II often sought his mother’s advice. For a time after his accession and his marriage, he lived with her in Anichkov Palace. According to Russian custom, Minnie was still the country’s first lady, and this caused some strain between Minnie and her daughter-in-law Empress Alexandra. The two never got close to each other, and their relationship was the subject of much gossip. Minnie was more popular than the daughter-in-law and enjoyed her continued role as the first lady.

Emperor Nicholas II and his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1896; Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie’s political views changed as discontent and revolutionary events increased in Russia. She thought that some autocratic political power should be transferred to a more democratic, representative government and that Russia should look more to the West. However, Nicholas II retained his absolute power and eventually, Minnie’s role as a political adviser to her son disappeared, and Nicholas leaned more on his wife.

When the Russian Revolution broke out during World War I in 1917, Minnie was in Kyiv (now in Ukraine). After Nicholas abdicated, she saw him one last time, and after some reflection, she went to the Crimea where members of the Imperial Family had several summer homes. Here she witnessed the October Revolution later that year, and then in 1918 came the news of the murder of her son and his family, which she did not believe. Being in Crimea became precarious due to food shortages, visits to the home by the Bolshevik officials, and the threat of being murdered by the Bolsheviks.

The Romanovs under house arrest in Crimea in 1918. Standing: Colonel Nikolai Kulikovsky, Mr. Fogel, Olga Konstantinovna Vasiljeva, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich. Seated: Mr. Orbeliani, Prince Nikita, Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Xenia, The Dowager Empress (Minnie), and Grand Duke Alexander. On the floor: Prince Vasili, Prince Rostislav, and Prince Dmitri

Although the monarchy was abolished by the Russian Revolution, Minnie did not initially leave Russia. She finally fled in 1919 to London when her nephew King George V of the United Kingdom sent the warship HMS Marlborough to retrieve his aunt when she could no longer stay in Crimea. Rescued along with Minnie were 25 other Romanovs and their relatives.

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich and Empress Maria Feodorovna escaping aboard the British battleship HMS Marlborough; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After a short stay in London, Minnie returned home to her native Denmark where she briefly lived with her nephew King Christian X in a wing of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Minnie then decided to live at Hvidøre, the holiday villa near Copenhagen, that she had purchased with her sister Alexandra in 1906.

Minnie and Alexandra at Hvidøre, circa 1910; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie’s last years were overshadowed by the many deaths in her immediate family and she still refused to believe in the massacre of her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Minnie died on October 13, 1928, at Hvidøre. Following services in Copenhagen’s Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, Minnie was interred in the crypt of the Christian IX Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark.

First burial place of Empress Maria Feodorovna in Roskilde Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Minnie had wished that at some point in time, she could be buried with her husband. In 2005, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed, along with their governments, that Minnie’s wish should be fulfilled. Minnie’s remains were transported to St. Petersburg. Following a service at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, she was interred next to her husband Emperor Alexander III on September 28, 2006 in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Tomb of Empress Maria Feodorovna; Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

The third child and second son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna), Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on March 10, 1845, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. He had seven siblings:

Since Alexander’s elder brother Nicholas Alexandrovich was the heir to the throne, Alexander received an education as befitted a Grand Duke and not a future Emperor. He had an abrupt and gruff personality and exhibited unusual physical strength. In the summer of 1864, Nicholas became engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and was a younger sister of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, wife of the heir to the British throne. However, events in early 1865 would change Alexander’s future. His brother Nicholas died from meningitis on April 24, 1865, at the age of 21. Alexander became the Tsesarevich of Russia, the heir to the Russian throne.

Alexander Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia in 1865; Credit – Wikipedia

After his brother’s death, Alexander began to receive instruction in law and political science from Konstantin Pobedonostsev, a professor of civil law at Moscow State University. Pobedonostsev was very conservative and denounced democracy, trial by jury, and freedom of the press. He had a profound influence on Alexander for the remainder of his life. Tsesarevich Alexander’s political philosophy was the opposite of his liberal father, Alexander II. Emperor Alexander II was the most reforming emperor since Peter the Great.  His foremost accomplishment was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.  In addition, Alexander II reorganized the judicial system, established local self-government called Zemstvo, instituted universal military service in which sons of the rich and the poor were required to serve, ended some of the privileges of the nobility, and promoted higher education in the universities.

Alexander Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia and Princess Dagmar of Denmark engagement postcard; Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1866, while on a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, Alexander proposed to his deceased brother’s fiancée, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, whose family nickname was Minnie. Minnie converted to Russian Orthodoxy and received the name Maria Feodorovna. Alexander and Minnie were married on November 9, 1866, in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. After the wedding festivities, the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg where they would live for the next 15 years. In addition, they spent time at their summer villa Livadia Palace in the Crimean Peninsula.

Wedding of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Feodorovna; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander and Minnie had six children:

Alexander, Minnie and their children in 1888, Credit – Wikipedia

On March 13, 1881, Alexander’s father, Alexander II, was assassinated in St. Petersburg, a victim of a bombing by the underground organization, Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), and Alexander succeeded to the Russian throne. On the day of his assassination, Alexander II had signed a proclamation creating a consulting group to advise the Emperor, which some considered a step towards constitutional monarchy. The new emperor, Alexander III, canceled the new policy before it was published.

Early in his reign, Alexander III weakened the power of the local self-government his father had created called Zemstvo and instituted the “May Laws”, which restricted the professions and free movement of the Jewish minority and led to the severe persecution of Russian Jews. Alexander felt that his empire would have been permeated by anarchist troublemakers and revolutionary agitators and in 1881, he created the Okhrana, the secret police, and started to imprison political opponents in the Siberian labor camp. Another problem Alexander saw was a foreign infiltration of Russian society and he launched a radical policy of Russification. No major wars were fought during Alexander’s reign and he was nicknamed “The Peacemaker.” Certainly one of the most important accomplishments during the 13-year reign of Alexander III was the planning and the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest railway in the world.

On October 29, 1888, Alexander and his family were returning from a trip to the Caucasus via train when an accident occurred. The train derailed and plunged down a slope. When the roof of the dining car threatened to crush the passengers, including Imperial Family members, Alexander raised the roof with his shoulders and held it there until all were safely rescued. In the opinion of his doctors, Alexander’s super-human effort left permanent damage to his internal organs.

Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Alexander became ill with nephritis, a kidney disorder. Alexander was on his way to the Greek isle of Corfu where he hoped to recuperate at Mon Repos, the villa of his wife’s sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece. However, when Alexander reached Crimea, he was too ill to continue traveling and stayed at Livadia Palace, his home in Crimea. It was soon obvious that Alexander would not survive and various relatives came to Crimea including Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, the fiancée of Alexander’s eldest son Nicholas. Insisting on receiving Princess Alix in his full dress uniform, Alexander gave her his blessing on October 21, 1894. Thereafter, Alexander’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49. His son Nicholas became the last Emperor of Russia and married Princess Alix (Alexandra Feodorova) on November 26, 1894, just eight days after Alexander III was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg.

Alexander III’s death in Livadia by M.Zichy (Hermitage); Credit – Wikipedia

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Tomb of Emperor Alexander III of Russia; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Bragança, first wife of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia

by Scott Mehl   © Unofficial Royalty 2016

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Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Bragança

Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Bragança was the first wife of Crown Prince Alexander II of Serbia. She was born Maria da Glória Henriqueta Dolores Lúcia Miguela Rafaela Gabriela Gonzaga of Orléans-Bragança on December 13, 1946, in Petrópolis, Brazil. She is the eldest daughter of Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Bragança and Princess Maria de la Esperanza Amalia Raniera Maria Rosario Luisa Gonzaga of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Maria da Glória has five siblings:

  • Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza (born 1945), married  (1) Rony Kuhn de Souza, had one son (2) Patricia Branscombe, had one son
  • Prince Alfonso of Orléans-Braganza (born 1948), married  (1) Maria Parejo Gurruchaga, had children, divorced  (2) Silvia-Amália Hungria de Silva Machado, no children
  • Prince Manuel of Orléans-Braganza (1949), married and divorced Margarita Haffner, had two children
  • Princess Cristina of Orléans-Braganza (born 1950), married and divorced Prince Jan Pavel Sapieha-Rozanski, had two children
  • Prince Francisco of Orléans-Braganza (born 1956), married  (1) Christina Schmidt-Pecanha, had one child, divorced  (2) Rita de Cássia Pires, had three children

Maria da Glória earned a degree in architecture from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

source: Pinterest

Maria da Glória  and Alexander on their wedding day; source: Pinterest

On July 1, 1972, in both Catholic and Orthodox services, Maria da Glória married Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (as he was known at the time) in Villamanrique de la Condesa, Seville, Spain. He is the only child of the former King Peter II of Yugoslavia and Princess Alexandra of Greece. They settled in the United States, living in Chicago, Illinois, and Fairfax, Virginia, and had three sons:

Maria da Glória with her daughters

Maria da Glória with her daughters

On October 24, 1985, Alexander and Maria da Glória divorced. Maria da Glória then married Ignacio de Medina y Fernández de Córdoba, 19th Duke of Segorbe on October 24, 1985. The couple had two daughters:

  • Sol María de la Blanca de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, 54th Countess de Ampurias (born 1986)
  • Ana Luna de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, 17th Countess de Ricla (born 1988)

Through her father, Maria da Glória is a direct descendant of King Pedro II of Brazil and King Francisco I of the Two Sicilies. Through her mother, she is directly descended from King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Through both parents, she is descended from King Louis Philippe I of the French. She is also a first cousin, through her mother, of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

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King Peter II of Yugoslavia

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Peter II of Yugoslavia – source: Wikipedia

King Peter II of Yugoslavia was the last King of Yugoslavia. He was born on September 6, 1923, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, now in Serbia, the eldest son of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria of Romania.

Peter had two younger siblings:

source: Royal Family of Serbia

Peter as a child; source: Royal Family of Serbia

Peter was initially educated at the Royal Palace in Belgrade before attending the Sandroyd School in Wiltshire, England. Sadly, his father was assassinated on October 9, 1934, and the 11-year-old Peter ascended the throne as King Peter II. Because of his age, a Regency Council was established, led by his father’s cousin Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.

At the onset of World War II, Yugoslavia was surrounded by countries that had become allies of the Nazis. Prince Paul, against the advice of Peter and his advisers, decided in 1941 to enter into a non-aggression pact with Germany. This resulted in riots and protests in Yugoslavia and led to a coup, supported by the British. As a result, on March 27, 1941, 17-years-old, King Peter II was proclaimed of age and the Regency was ended.

Within weeks, Yugoslavia was occupied by Nazi forces forcing the government to surrender on April 17, 1941. King Peter went into exile with the government, first to Greece, then to Jerusalem, and to Cairo. In June 1941, King Peter went to the United Kingdom, where he finished his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air Force.

King Peter and Princess Alexandra on their wedding day. source: Royal Family of Serbia

King Peter and Princess Alexandra on their wedding day, with King George VI of the United Kingdom (l) and King George II of the Hellenes (r). source: Royal Family of Serbia

While in London, he met Princess Alexandra of Greece, the daughter of King Alexander I of the Hellenes and Aspasia Manos. The couple married on March 20, 1944, at the Yugoslav Embassy in London. Guests at their wedding included King George VI of the United Kingdom, King George II of the Hellenes, King Haakon VII of Norway, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

Peter and Alexandra had one son:

Peter and Alexandra with Prince Alexander, 1945. source: Royal Family of Serbia

Peter and Alexandra with Prince Alexander, 1945. source: Royal Family of Serbia

Back in Yugoslavia, two rival resistance groups had been born during the Nazi invasion. The first loyalist group was led by Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic who served as Minister of Defense for the Yugoslav government in exile. The other group, the Partisans, was led by the communist party leader Josip Broz – later known as Tito. Following the German occupation, civil war broke out between the two groups. Despite initially supporting Mihailovic, the Allies soon began to support Tito. In 1944, the Partisans entered Belgrade and established a Communist government. The following year, in November 1945, the new government abolished the monarchy and formally deposed King Peter II. This was, however, done without any referendum and the King never abdicated. Yugoslavia would remain a communist state for over 40 years.

After the war, Peter and Alexandra left London and lived in France and Switzerland before settling in the United States in 1949. The marriage suffered from the strain of Peter’s numerous affairs and the constant struggle to find sources of income. Eventually, they went their separate ways. King Peter settled permanently in the United States while Alexandra took her son and moved to Venice with her mother.

King Peter II, 1966 source: Royal Family of Serbia

King Peter II, 1966; source: Royal Family of Serbia

Suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, King Peter II died on November 3, 1970, in Denver, Colorado, following a failed liver transplant. Per his wishes, he was interred at the Saint Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois. To date, he is the only European monarch to be buried in the United States. In January 2013, his remains were returned to Serbia and buried in the Royal Family Mausoleum beneath St. George’s Church at Oplenac.

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King Harald V of Norway: 25 Years on the Throne

Harald V_Sonja_Norway

Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja. Photo: Jørgen Gomnæs / The Royal Court http://www.royalcourt.no/

25 years ago, on January 17, 1991, King Olav V of Norway died and his son became King Harald V of Norway.  The 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne was celebrated in Oslo, Norway with a Winter Festival at the Palace Square and a gala performance in the University Hall attended by members of the Norwegian royal family and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
Royal House of Norway: Accession of the new monarch in 1991
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At the time of King Harald’s birth in 1937, his grandfather, King Haakon VII (born Prince Prince Carl of Denmark) was the monarch and his grandmother, Queen Maud (born Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) was his consort. King Harald is closely related to several European monarchs: King Philippe of Belgium and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are his first cousins once removed, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark are his second cousins, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is his second cousin once removed.  Harald’s mother Crown Princess Märtha, born a Swedish princess, died of cancer in 1954.  While Crown Prince, King Harald married a Norwegian commoner, Sonja Haraldsen.  The couple have two children and five grandchildren.

Read more about the Norwegian Family here.

King Alexander I of Yugoslavia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Alexander I of Yugoslavia – source: Wikipedia

King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was born on December 16, 1888, in Cetinje, Montenegro. He was the fourth child of the future King Peter I of Serbia and Princess Zorka of Montenegro.

Alexander had four siblings:

When Alexander was only two-years-old, his mother died giving birth to her fifth child who also died. After Zorka’s death, the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland.  Alexander and his elder brother George attended the Imperial Page Corps in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1903, a coup took place in Serbia, and Alexander’s father was proclaimed King. Alexander and his brother returned to Serbia to continue their education.

Crown Prince Alexander. source: Royal Family of Serbia

Crown Prince Alexander. source: Royal Family of Serbia

In 1909, his elder brother George renounced his rights to the throne, and Alexander became the Crown Prince. Alexander served in the Serbian military, commanding the First Army during the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In 1914, he became Regent when his father turned over his royal prerogatives. Just days later, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria led to the onset of World War I. Alexander continued to lead his troops, attaining several important victories over the Austrian forces before being forced to retreat in 1915. Alexander and his father led their forces through Montenegro and Albania, eventually reaching the Greek island of Corfu.

Alexander and Maria on their wedding day. photo from the George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress; source: Wikipedia

Alexander’s father died on August 16, 1921, and he took the throne as King Alexander I of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The following year, on June 8, 1922, he married Princess Maria of Romania, the daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

The couple had three sons:

On January 6, 1929, King Alexander abolished the Constitution and changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He later ordered a new constitution that gave more power to the King and allowed him to appoint the upper house of the government.

Alexander and Maria, c.1933. source: Wikipedia/Bulgarian Archives State Agency

On October 9, 1934, while driving through the streets of Marseilles, France with the French Foreign Minister, King Alexander was killed when a gunman approached the car and shot him twice. The assassin was a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. The following day, his body was returned to Belgrade, where a state funeral was held. He is buried in the Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family beneath St. George’s Church, Oplenac in Topola, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now in Serbia.

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Princess Zorka of Montenegro, Princess Zorka Karađorđević

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Zorka of Montenegro, Princess Zorka Karađorđević -source: Wikipedia

Princess Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (known as Zorka), who died before her husband became King of Serbia, was born on December 23, 1864, in Cetinje, Montenegro, the eldest child of the future King Nicholas I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotić.

Zorka had eleven younger siblings. Her two sisters Milicia and Anastasia, are best known for having introduced Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia to Grigori Rasputin in 1905.

Zorka’s siblings:

Raised in Cetinje, Zorka was privately educated before being sent to Russia in 1875 to attend the Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg, established by Catherine the Great in the 1760s to provide education for the daughters of the nobility.

After graduating in 1883, she returned to Montenegro and a marriage was arranged to Peter Karađorđević, son and heir of the former Prince of Serbia, Alexander, who had abdicated in 1858. Zorka and Peter were married on August 1, 1883, in Cetinje, where they settled and had five children:

Princess Zorka (center) holding her son George. Her daughter Jelena is standing next to her and her husband Peter is standing on the left (with his brother, Arsen, standing on the right). source: Wikipedia

On March 16, 1890, 25-year-old Princess Zorka died while giving birth to her youngest child Andrew who also died. She was initially buried in Cetinje, Montenegro at the Cetinje Monastery. In 1903, thirteen years after her death, her husband would return the Karađorđević dynasty to the Serbian throne as King Peter I. Her remains were later moved to the Mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family beneath St. George’s Church, Oplenac, Serbia.

Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

King Peter I of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Peter I of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes – source: Wikipedia

King Peter I of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was born on June 29, 1844, in Belgrade, Principality of Serbia, the fifth of ten children of Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia, and Persida Nenadović. His family was from the House of Karađorđević which vied for the Serbian throne with House of Obrenović.

Peter had nine siblings:

  • Poleksija (1833 – 1914), married  (1) Konstantin Nikolajević, Serbian Minister of the Interior, had issue  (2) Dr. Alexander Preshern
  • Kleopatra (1835 – 1855), married Milan Avram Petronijević, Serbian Ambassador to Russia
  • Aleksij (1836 – 1841), died in childhood
  • Svetozar (1841 – 1847), died in childhood
  • Jelena (1846 – 1867), married Đorđe Simić, Prime Minister of Serbia
  • Andrej (1848 – 1864), died in his teens
  • Jelisaveta (born and died 1850)
  • Đorđe (1856 – 1889)
  • Arsenije (1859 – 1938), married Princess and Countess Aurora Pavlovna Demidova, had two children including Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.

Peter’s father had been elected Sovereign Prince of Serbia (then a principality) in 1842. However, in 1858 he was forced to abdicate when the House of Obrenović took the throne and the family went into exile, settling in present-day Romania. Peter had attended primary and secondary schools in Belgrade and then attended the Venel-Olivier Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. After graduating, he went to Collège Sainte-Barbe for a year before enrolling in the elite École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in France (The Special Military School of Saint-Cyr), from which he graduated in 1864. During his schooling, along with strong interests in painting and photography, Peter developed his views on politics and democracy. In 1868, he published a translation of John Stuart Mill’s essay, On Liberty. This would later become the blueprint for his political program.

In 1870, he joined the French Foreign Legion, fighting in the Franco-Prussian War and being decorated with the Legion of Honour. Having been banned from Serbia in 1868 by the reigning Obronević dynasty, Peter used an assumed name to join the Bosnian Serb insurgents during the Great Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878. Following the conflict, he returned to his focus on politics and the possibility of returning the Karađorđevićs to the Serbian throne.

c.1875. source: Wikipedia

Peter moved to Cetinje, Montenegro, where he was appointed Honorary Senator in 1883. In what was more of a dynastic arrangement than an actual love match, he became engaged to Princess Zorka of Montenegro, the eldest daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotić. The couple were married in Cetinje on August 1, 1883, and had five children:

After briefly residing in Paris, Peter, Zorka and their children returned to Cetinje, Montenegro where they lived until after Zorka died in childbirth in 1890. Peter sold his home in Paris, and the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland.

King Peter I at his coronation, 1914. source: Wikipedia

Meanwhile, in Serbia, which had become a kingdom in 1882 under the House of Obrenović,  a group of army officers who supported Peter’s rival House of Karađorđević led a coup d’état known as The May Coup in which King Alexander I and Queen Draga of the House of Obrenović were brutally assassinated. The assassination resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović. Prince Peter Karađorđević was then proclaimed the new King of Serbia. In Geneva at the time, Peter returned to Serbia and on June 15, was formally elected King by the Serbian parliament. He was crowned at St. Michael’s Cathedral on September 21, 1904.

King Peter’s reign saw Austria’s annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the First and Second Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913. With his health deteriorating, on June 24, 1914, King Peter transferred most of his royal prerogatives to his son Crown Prince Alexander. Just days later, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, sparking events that quickly led to World War I when Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28.

During the war, the ailing King Peter made several visits to the trenches to help boost morale amongst the Serbian troops. In October 1915, following the invasion of Serbia by German, Austrian, and Bulgarian forces, King Peter led a massive exodus of troops and civilians through the mountains of Albania to the Adriatic Sea, where they were transported to Greece by Allied forces. King Peter remained in Greece for the duration of the war, making a triumphant return to Belgrade in July 1919. By then, he had been proclaimed King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

King Peter I died on August 16, 1921, in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia, at the age of 77. He is buried in St. George’s Church, Oplenac.

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Serbia/Yugoslavia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

The Year with the Swedish Royal Family (2015)

Swedish Royal Family, December 2015. Photo Jonas Ekströmer, The Swedish Royal Court.

Swedish Royal Family, December 2015. Photo Jonas Ekströmer, The Swedish Royal Court.

STV has released the documentary titled The Year with the Royal Family (2015). This is why a large number of men with ED also experience sexual desires levitra prescription https://www.unica-web.com/archive/2013/competition/films2013jury.pdf but aren’t able to express them through erection. With POTS’ drain acquisition de viagra on energy, simple tasks can become difficult. Men now a day are ready to talk about the tablet only, it taken only 40 minutes to relieve the condition in quite easy way. levitra generic cialis Oats, salmon, soy milk, citrus fruits, brown rice are the good bacteria that prescription for cialis promote healthy digestion and build immunity. Read more about the documentary at Hello: The Swedish royal family gets up close and personal in new documentary. The 58 minute documentary in Swedish can be viewed at STV: Året med kungafamiljen 2015.

Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2016

Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Catherine Dolgorukov in English, was first the mistress and then the second and morganatic wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.  A morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank which prevents the husband’s titles and privileges from being passed to the wife and any children born of the marriage.

Catherine was born on November 14, 1847, in Moscow, Russia, and came from the Russian princely House of Dolgorukov, noted for their service to the Russian tsars and emperors. Her parents were Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Dolgorukov and Vera Gavrilovna Vishnevskaya. Her father was the grandson of Prince Alexei Grigorievich Dolgorukov, known for his closeness to Peter II, Emperor of All Russia. Prince Alexei’s daughter Ekaterina Alekseyevna Dolgorukova was engaged to Peter II, but the wedding never took place because of Peter’s death from smallpox. Vera Gavrilovna’s great-grandfather, Colonel Vishnevsky, an important official in the court of Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia, found an impressive singer in a rural church and brought him back to the Russian court. Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky joined the court choir and caught the eye of Empress Elizabeth and he became her lover and eventually her morganatic husband.

In August 1857, ten-year-old Catherine first met Emperor Alexander II when a military maneuver was held at her family’s estate. When Catherine’s father went bankrupt, Alexander II took it upon himself to pay for the children’s education. The boys were sent to a military academy in St. Petersburg and the girls were sent to Smolny Institute, also in St. Petersburg. In 1865, filling in his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who was ill, Emperor Alexander II made an official visit to the Smolny Institute. He was immediately attracted to the now 17-year-old Catherine.

Catherine and Alexander began to meet in the gardens near the Winter Palace, and Catherine’s mother and the headmistress of the Smolny Institute encouraged her in her relationship with the emperor. Likely, Catherine and Alexander were first intimate on June 12, 1866, at the Belvedere Pavilion near the Peterhof Palace.  By the autumn of 1866, the couple was secretly meeting at the Winter Palace, and in 1867, their affair was public knowledge.

Catherine as a teenager; Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1867, Alexander II went to the 1867 World’s Fair in Paris where a Polish immigrant Antoni Berezowski shot at the carriage carrying Alexander II, two of his sons, and Emperor Napoleon III of France. Luckily, only a horse was hit. Shaken by the assassination attempt, Alexander II asked for Catherine to come to Paris. When they returned to St. Petersburg, Alexander II arranged for Catherine to live near the Winter Palace. Preserved letters show a sincere and passionate love for each other. Alexander II arranged for Catherine’s older sister to marry one of his adjutant generals, so Catherine could officially live with her sister.

Catherine and Alexander II had four children who were legitimized in 1880 and given the title Serene Highness Prince/Princess:

Alexander and Catherine with two of their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly before Alexander II’s wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna died, Alexander II moved Catherine and her children to the Winter Palace. This further exacerbated the hostile attitude many members of the Romanov family and the Russian court had toward Catherine. The court was divided into two factions: Dolgorukov supporters and supporters of the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander III. On June 3, 1880, Empress Maria Alexandrovna died from tuberculosis.

Six weeks later, on July 18, 1880, Alexander II made a morganatic marriage with Catherine. This marriage caused a scandal in the Imperial Family and violated Russian Orthodox rules regarding the waiting period for remarriage following the death of a spouse. Alexander granted his new wife the title of Princess Yurievskaya and legitimized their children who were then styled Prince/Princess (Knyaz/Knyaginya). On September 5, 1880, Alexander II deposited 3,302,910 gold rubles in an account at the State Bank for Catherine and her children.

The three surviving children of Catherine and Alexander; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 13, 1881, Emperor Alexander II fell victim to assassination when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. He asked to be returned to the Winter Palace to die. As the Imperial Family heard the news, they arrived at the Winter Palace. The sight that greeted them was grim. Alexander II’s face and body were intact, but his legs were gone up to his knees. The room began to get crowded as more family members arrived. Alexander II’s eldest son Alexander (the future Alexander III) and his Danish wife Dagmar (Maria Feodorovna) arrived. Dagmar was still wearing her skating costume and carrying her ice skates as she planned to go ice skating. Dagmar’s husband stood in disbelief and their eldest son 13-year-old Nicholas (the future Nicholas II) was clinging to a cousin for comfort. Catherine hysterically ran into the room, threw herself on her husband’s body, kissed his hands, and called out his name. For 45 minutes, those in the room watched as Alexander II’s life ebbed away. At 3:35 PM, he died, and as the Imperial Family knelt to pray, Catherine fainted and was carried from the room, her clothes drenched with his blood.

Catherine, circa 1872-1873

Shortly after Alexander’s funeral, Catherine left Russia forever. She moved to France and, in 1888, settled in Nice on the French Riviera. Catherine died on February 15, 1922, at the age of 74, forgotten and ignored, her obituary only three lines long. She was buried at the Cimetière orthodoxe de Caucade in Nice, France.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.