Elena of Montenegro

Elena of Montenegro
Queen consort of Italy and of the Albanians Empress consort of Ethiopia
Tenure	29 July 1900 – 9 May 1946
Spouse	Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Issue	Princess Yolanda Margherita Princess Mafalda Umberto II of Italy Giovanna, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria Princess Maria Francesca
House	House of Savoy House of Petrović-Njegoš
Father	Nicholas I of Montenegro
Mother	Milena Vukotić
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Helen of Montenegro (born Princess Jelena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro) (8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) was the daughter of King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić. As the result of Jelena's marriage to King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy on 24 October 1896 converting to Catholicism, she became Queen of Italy when her husband acceded to the throne in 1900.

Due to the Fascist conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939, Queen Elena briefly used the claimed 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 subsequently 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.

Children

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena had 5 children:

1. Yolanda Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria (1901–1986), married to Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Count of Bergolo, (1887–1977);
2. Mafalda Maria Elisabetta Anna Romana (1902–1944), married to Prince Philipp of Hesse (1896–1980) with issue; she died in the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald;
3. Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria, later Umberto II, King of Italy (1904–1983) married (and following the abolition of monarchy, separated from) Princess Marie José of Belgium, with issue.
4. Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria (1907–2000), married to Boris III, King of Bulgaria, and mother of Simeon II, King and later Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
5. Maria Francesca Anna Romana (1914–2001), who married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (1899–1967), with issue.

External links

• The Njegoskij Fund Public Project : Private family archives-based digital documentary fund focused on history and culture of Royal Montenegro.
• Crnogorska princeza Jelena