Maria of Romania
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| Maria of Romania and Hohenzollern | |
| Queen Consort of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Queen Consort of Yugoslavia |
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| Titles | HM Queen Maria of Yugoslavia (1929-1945) HM The Queen of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1922-1929) HRH Princess Maria of Romania (1900-1922) |
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| Born | January 6, 1900 |
| Birthplace | Gotha |
| Died | June 22, 1961 (aged 61) |
| Place of death | London, England |
| Buried | Frogmore Royal Mausoleum |
| Consort | 1922 - 1934 |
| Consort to | Alexander I |
| Issue | Petar II Tomislav Andrej |
| Royal House | House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
| Father | Ferdinand I of Romania |
| Mother | Marie of Edinburgh |
| Styles of Queen Marija (as consort) |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
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- For her mother, Queen Marie of Romania, please see Marie of Edinburgh.
Princess Marioara or Marie of Romania (Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 6 January 1900 – 22 June 1961) as Queen Marija was the Queen Consort of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. She was known as Mignon in the family to distinguish her from her mother.
Maria was born in Gotha, Thuringia in Germany, during the reign of her maternal grandfather Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and during the Romanian reign of her granduncle King Carol I. Her mother was Princess Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, a son of Queen Victoria. Her maternal great-grandfather was Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Maria's father was Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania.
She married King Alexander I of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 8 June 1922. Maria and Alexander had three sons:
She became Yugoslav Queen Mother when, following the assassination of King Alexander in Marseille in 1934, her oldest son became Peter II of Yugoslavia, the last Yugoslav king.
Maria was considered a well educated woman. She spoke several languages fluently and enjoyed painting and sculpting. She also drove a car by herself[citation needed], which was very unusual at the time.
She died in exile in London on 22 June 1961 and is interred in the royal burial ground at Frogmore.
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[edit] Humanitarian Work
Queen Marija was well loved, and respected, by the people of Yugoslavia and continues to be well thought of. She remains, in the eyes of the Serbian people, one of the greatest humanitarian patron's of the Balkan region.
Streets are named in her memory, such as “Ulica kraljice Marije” or “Queen Marija Street”, and numerous schools and other organizations still carry her name.
Below are just some of the examples of her humanitarian work, as noted by Srdjan Colovic and Danica Colovic (translated):
[edit] Schools and educational institutions under patronage or support of Queen Marija
- Primary School “Queen Maria”, now the FON – Faculty of Organizational Sciences of the University of Belgrade, on which building a memorial plaque in her honor has been put. Marija was responsible, along with other donors, for the construction of this building.
- Female high school “Queen Marija”, later the 2nd female high school, now the high school of electrical engineering “Nikola Tela”;
- School children cafeteria – later part of the Radio Television Serbia – destroyed by NATO in 1999;
- Female Students’ Facility “Queen Marija”, still in use today, but bearing a different name “Vera Blagojevic”.
[edit] Healthcare institutions
- Queen Marija was the high patron of the League against Tuberculosis (which was established in Serbia in 1906);
- Memorial Hospital, now the Maternity Ward of the Clinical Centre “Dedinje”;
- University Children’s Hospital in Tirsova Street - still in use today;
- Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade;
- Oncological Institute of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade;
- Yugoslav Society for Studying and Curing Cancer;
- Central Institution for Protection of Children, Mothers and Youth, used to be located in Lomina Street in Belgrade;
- “Serbian Mother” society, which used to be located in Brankova Street in Belgrade;
[edit] Cultural Institutions
- Foundation of Ilija M. Kolarac in Belgrade, still in use today;
- “Cvijeta Zuzoric” art pavilion in Belgrade, still in use today;
[edit] Humanitarian and charity organizations
- Yugoslav Red Cross – high patron;
- Charity Society “Karadjordje” – that building no longer exists;
- Belgrade Female Society;
- “Saint Ana” institution for pensioners – in 1945 changed into the Children’s Hospital for Tuberculosis;
- "Kolo" of Serbian Sisters;
- The Maternal Association;
- “Bread” humanitarian society – which delivered 100 loaves of bread daily to the most poor;
- “King Decanski” society for the deaf, mute and blind children;
- Yugoslav Union for the Protection of Children;
- Charter of Children’s Rights - known as the Geneva Declaration, was fully and wholeheartedly supported by Queen Marija;
- Federation of Humanitarian Societies of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, consisting of 172 humanitarian organizations that cared for orphans and poor children;
- The Association of Yugoslav orphans;
- The Association of Families of Officers who died in wars from 1912 to 1918;
- The “Mother Jevrosima” charity society – for properly guiding the female youth;
- “Princess Ljubica” Society – founded in 1899 and existed until 1941, and many, many others.
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Maria of Romania
Cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern
Born: 6 January 1900 Died: 22 June 1961 |
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| Yugoslavian royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Draga Mašinas Queen Consort of Serbia |
Queen consort of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Queen consort of Yugoslavia June 8, 1922-October 9, 1934 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Alexandra of Greece and Denmark |
