Biography of Elena of Montenegro
Princess Elena of Montenegro, or more commonly known as Queen Elena of Italy (Serbo-Croatian: Jelena Petrović Njegoš; 8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) 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 and Queen consort of the Albanians from 1939 until 1943. At the age of 10, she went to the Institute for young ladies in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She was very talented at painting and architecture, and she designed the monument for Prince-Bishop Danilo I.
As a result of Elena's marriage to King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy on 24 October 1896, she converted to Catholicism from Orthodoxy and became Queen of Italy when her husband ascended to the throne in 1900. Her mother was so distressed that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome.
On 29 July 1900 following his father's assassination, Vittorio Emanuele ascended the Italian throne.
On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake. Queen Elena helped with the rescues, increasing 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.
Due to the Fascist conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939, Queen Elena briefly claimed the 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 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. 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, as well as for 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 honor for a Catholic lady at the time. Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II at 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 the hope of avoiding the great tragedy World War II would become.
On 25 July 1943 Vittorio Emanuele III had Benito Mussolini arrested. As the Germans assumed control of Italy following Vittorio Emanuele's surrender on 3 September 1943, the king left Rome on 9 September to flee to Brindisi with the help of the Allies. Elena followed her husband in his escape.
Following the war, on 9 May 1946, Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in favor of his son Umberto. The former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo and went into exile in Egypt with Elena. On 2 June 1946 a referendum resulted in 52 percent of voters favoring 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 Vittorio Emanuele III went to Egypt, where they were welcomed with great honor by King Faruk, but forced to live the rest of their lives in exile. Vittorio Emanuel 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.
65 years after her death, on 15 December 2017, Elena's remains were repatriated from Montpellier to the sanctuary of Vicoforte, near Turin. Victor Emmanuel III's remains were transferred two days later from Alexandria and interred alongside hers.
Princess Elena of Montenegro, or more commonly known as Queen Elena of Italy (Serbo-Croatian: Jelena Petrović Njegoš; 8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) 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 and Queen consort of the Albanians from 1939 until 1943. At the age of 10, she went to the Institute for young ladies in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She was very talented at painting and architecture, and she designed the monument for Prince-Bishop Danilo I.
As a result of Elena's marriage to King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy on 24 October 1896, she converted to Catholicism from Orthodoxy and became Queen of Italy when her husband ascended to the throne in 1900. Her mother was so distressed that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome.
On 29 July 1900 following his father's assassination, Vittorio Emanuele ascended the Italian throne.
On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake. Queen Elena helped with the rescues, increasing 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.
Due to the Fascist conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939, Queen Elena briefly claimed the 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 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. 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, as well as for 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 honor for a Catholic lady at the time. Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II at 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 the hope of avoiding the great tragedy World War II would become.
On 25 July 1943 Vittorio Emanuele III had Benito Mussolini arrested. As the Germans assumed control of Italy following Vittorio Emanuele's surrender on 3 September 1943, the king left Rome on 9 September to flee to Brindisi with the help of the Allies. Elena followed her husband in his escape.
Following the war, on 9 May 1946, Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in favor of his son Umberto. The former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo and went into exile in Egypt with Elena. On 2 June 1946 a referendum resulted in 52 percent of voters favoring 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 Vittorio Emanuele III went to Egypt, where they were welcomed with great honor by King Faruk, but forced to live the rest of their lives in exile. Vittorio Emanuel 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.
65 years after her death, on 15 December 2017, Elena's remains were repatriated from Montpellier to the sanctuary of Vicoforte, near Turin. Victor Emmanuel III's remains were transferred two days later from Alexandria and interred alongside hers.