Maria, Queen consort of Yugoslavia | |
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Queen consort of Yugoslavia | |
Queen consort of Yugoslavia Queen of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1922-1929) |
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Tenure | 8 June 1922 – 9 October 1934 |
Born |
Gotha, German Empire |
6 January 1900
Died | 22 June 1961 London, England |
(aged 61)
Burial | Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor (1961–2013) Royal Mausoleum Oplenac, Serbia (since 2013) |
Spouse | Alexander I of Yugoslavia |
Issue |
Peter II of Yugoslavia Prince Tomislav Prince Andrew |
House | Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
Father | Ferdinand I of Romania |
Mother | Marie of Edinburgh |
Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Styles of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia |
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Reference style | Her Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Alternative style | Ma'am |
Princess Maria of Romania (6 January 1900–22 June 1961), known in Serbian as Marija Karađorđević (Serbian Cyrillic: Марија Карађорђевић) was the Queen of Yugoslavia as the wife of King Alexander from 1922 until his assassination in 1934. She was the mother of Peter II of Yugoslavia, the last king of Yugoslavia. Her citizenship was revoked and her property confiscated by the Yugoslavian Communist regime in 1947, but she was "rehabilitated" in 2014.
Maria was born in Gotha, a town in Thuringia, in the German Empire. She was known as Mignon in the family to distinguish her from her mother. Her parents were Marie of Edinburgh and Ferdinand of Romania. She had three brothers and two sisters: Carol, future King of Romania (Carol II); Nicholas, Prince of Romania; Elisabeta, Princess of Romania and future Queen of Greece; Ileana, Princess of Romania and future Archduchess of Austria (Tuscan line); and another brother, Mircea, who died at age three.
During World War I, she worked as a nurse with her mother.
Maria married Alexander I of Yugoslavia, King of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in Belgrade on 8 June 1922, and had three sons:
Following the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in Marseille in 1934, her oldest son became Peter II of Yugoslavia, the last Yugoslav king. She was given the title Queen Mother of Yugoslavia in 1941. She moved to a farm in England and lived a relatively normal life without royal extravagance. Maria was well educated. She spoke several languages fluently and enjoyed painting and sculpting. She also drove a car by herself, which was very unusual for royalty at the time.