Servant of God Elena of Montenegro

Elena of Montenegro (Serbian: Јелена Петровић Његош / Jelena Petrović Njegoš; 8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) was Queen of Italy from 29 July 1900 until 9 May 1946 as the wife of King Victor Emmanuel III. As Victor Emmanuel's wife, she briefly claimed the titles Empress of Ethiopia and Queen of the Albanians; both titles were dropped when her husband formally renounced them in 1943. Elena was the daughter of King Nicholas I and Queen Milena of Montenegro. With the opening of her beatification process in 2001, she was titled Servant of God. She was born in Cetinje, at the time the capital of the Principality of Montenegro. She was raised in the values and unity of the family; the conversation at the table was conducted in French, and politics and poetry were discussed with equal ease; habits and relationships in the Petrović-Njegoš family did not stifle the spontaneity of characters and personalities. She was tutored by the Swiss governess from Hallau, Fräulein Luisa Neukomm (1845–1932), between the ages of six and twelve, and was thereafter educated at the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens in Saint Petersburg, Russia, until the age of 18. She was interested in pastel painting, hunting and fishing. She also attended the Russian Imperial Court and collaborated with the Russian literary magazine Nedelya by publishing poems. Elena was described as shy and reserved but also rather stubborn. Very attached to traditions, with a sensitive soul and a lively and curious mind, she was endowed with a strong love for nature: her favorite flower was the cyclamen. She was a tall woman for her time, standing 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches), a notable contrast to her future husband who was 152 cm (5 feet). In Italy, Queen Margherita worried about the marriage of her only son, the future king, and in agreement with Francesco Crispi, who was of Albanian origin and eager for a greater influence for Italy in the Balkans, they arranged the meeting between the two young people.