Xenia of Montenegro

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Xenia of Montenegro

Xenia Petrovic-Njegoš, Princess of Montenegro , also known as Princess Ksenija or Kseniya, (born April 22, 1881 in Cetinje in Montenegro , † March 10, 1960 in Paris ) was a member of the House of Petrović-Njegoš .

When Xenia was a young woman, never-ending rumors of suitors, engagements and weddings appeared in the contemporary newspapers. There was speculation about connections with Alexander I of Serbia , the Greek brothers Prince Nikolaus , Prince George and Prince Andreas as well as Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse .

Early life

Princess Xenia of Montenegro was born as the eighth daughter of Nikola I of Montenegro and his wife Milena Vukotic . Unlike her older sisters, Princess Xenia was not sent to Smolny in Russia to study. She and her younger sister Vera were brought up at home by private tutors in Cetinje. Xenia's sisters were best known for marrying in royal families, which earned their father, like his contemporary Christian IX of Denmark , the nickname "father-in-law of Europe". A source explains that these beneficial marriages did more for Montenegro than any valiant deeds of warriors of that nation, such as the marriages of princesses Militza , Anastasia and Elena to members of the royal families of Russia and Italy.

When Xenia was a young girl, her father hoped that she and her sister Vera would marry members of the Russian ruling house: specifically one of the sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinowitsch of Russia or one of the sons of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, as there were already two her older sisters had done.

In 1898, Princess Xenia, Princess Vera and Crown Prince Danilo traveled to Italy with their mother to visit the recently married Elena of Montenegro (she had married Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel of Italy ). They were warmly welcomed by the population in Naples as "the relatives of our princess". Later that year, arrangements were made for a connection between Xenia and Alexander I of Serbia . However, when Alexander traveled to the court of Cetinje to make claims to Xenia as his future wife, Xenia declared her "disgust and horror" about his appearance and manners. She refused to marry him, despite her father's pleading. This degraded and angered Alexander so much that diplomatic relations between Serbia and Montenegro were severed. However, Alexander's adoption of her brother Prince Mirko of Montenegro as heir to the throne in 1901, along with other accompanying circumstances, smoothed the relationship between them.

Rumors and connections

At the wedding of her brother Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro, with Jutta von Mecklenburg-Strelitz , Xenia met Prince Nikolaus of Greece , who represented his father Georg I of Greece . In 1899, Xenia's engagement to Prince Nicholas was announced. For reasons unknown, the relationship broke up and the couple did not get married. Nicholas later married Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. Further rumors claimed at different times that Xenia was engaged to the brothers of Nikolaus, Prince Georg and Prince Andreas .

In 1902 rumors spread again that Xenia was engaged to Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse , who had recently been divorced from Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . These rumors turned out to be false. They were created because Xenia had visited her sister Princess Anna of Montenegro in Darmstadt, where Ernst Ludwig had his residence. It was also rumored that Xenia would marry Grand Duke Kyrill Vladimirovich Romanov . His request for permission to marry Princess Victoria Melita was refused by the Tsar because of the princess's status as a divorced woman.

According to another rumor in 1904, Xenia was betrothed to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich , heir to the Russian throne. At this point in time, their innumerable engagements, conceivable weddings and other connections were already leading to new messages with such content no longer being believed. In the course of the following years it was claimed that Xenia was engaged to Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin, Luigi Amedeo di Savoia-Aosta , Ferdinand I of Bulgaria or to her widowed brother-in-law Peter I of Serbia . Without a doubt, the promised dowry of one million rubles, her family's reputation as a ruling family with "robust health" and contemporary reports about Princess Xenia personally about her "beautiful" appearance contributed to the circulating rumors about the princess. Princess Xenia was said to be "extremely healthy" and of "sunny disposition". She was known in Montenegro as well as outside the small country "both for her charity and for her involvement in athletic sports".

A single princess

Despite the countless rumors of their various upcoming engagements and marriages, Princess Xenia ultimately decided to remain unmarried. As Prince Nikolaus got older, Xenia served as the "subtle but biased State Councilor of his later years." In 1909, during some disagreement between Montenegro and Austria, Xenia assumed a prominent and leading role in the course of anti-Austrian protests in Cetinje. The Austrian government saw their actions as an insult and demanded an apology for them, as Prince Nikolaus owed a lot to Austria in the past, especially financial support. However, the prince was unsure of how to "punish" his daughter and finally decided to banish her to a temporary exile in France. Xenia consented and then enjoyed life in Paris, spending her time shopping, going to the theater and the opera, and enjoying herself in Parisian society.

Nicholas became King of Montenegro on August 28, 1910. During the Balkans Campaign of World War I, the king and his family fled to Italy after his country and Austria failed to reach an agreement on peace negotiations. The conditions offered by Austria were unacceptable for Montenegro. In collaboration with Alexander Devine, Princess Xenia and her sister Vera helped organize the liberation of interned Montenegrin prisoners in Austria.

Last years

Princess Xenia with her family in exile. Front: King and Queen. Back from left to right: Princess Vera, Princess Xenia, Princess Militza (wife of Prince Danilo), M. Miouchikovitch and Prince Danilo, in Lyons, France, 1916.

After the fall of the Montenegrin monarchy in 1918, Princess Xenia lived in France, where she lived through World War II . She died in Paris on March 10, 1960.

Princess Xenia's devotional work for the Montenegrin photographic art became the focus of an exhibition in the Slovenian Galerija Fotografija in 2010 . The exhibition guide read: "The humble legacy of Princess Ksenija [Xenia] offers us an almost intimate glimpse into the private life of the Montenegrin Princess Ksenija, who became famous for her intelligence and talent, and above all she was known as an unyielding patriot Her deep love for the Montenegrin nation and fatherland is expressed through the pictures of everyday Montenegrin life at that time, which were taken during the peaceful time before she found herself in the unacceptable situation of a refugee. The photographs of Princess Ksenija are images that deeply impressed her memory, which she cherished with love in the decades of exile, and which she reached in moments of desperation and nostalgia. That was the Montenegro in the magical eyes of the Montenegrin princess. That is the Montenegro of her youth, her hopes , Beliefs, their hidden thoughts and unrealized ambiti onen. "

"The materially modest legacy of Princess Ksenija [Xenia] provides us with almost intimate insight into the private life of Montenegrin Princess Ksenija who has been famous for her intellect and talent but before everything she has been known as an adamant patriot. Her deep love for Montenegrin nation and homeland is expressed through images of Montenegrin everyday life which were made during the peaceful time of her life, before she found herself in an unacceptable situation of a refugee. Photographs of Princess Ksenija are images which were deeply impressed upon her memory, and that she cherished with love throughout the decades of exile, reaching out for them in the moments of despair and nostalgia. That was the Montenegro in the magic eye of Montenegrin Princess. That is the Montenegro of her youth, of her hopes, beliefs, her hidden thoughts, and unrealized ambitions ”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Miller: Travels and Politics In The Near East . T. Fisher Unwin, London 1898, p. 42.