| Prince Mirko | |
|---|---|
| Grand Voivode of Grahovo and Zetà | |
| Spouse | Natalija Konstantinovic |
| Issue | |
| Prince Stephan Prince Stanislaw Michael, Prince of Montenegro Prince Pavle Prince Emmanuel |
|
| House | House of Petrović-Njegoš |
| Father | Nicholas I of Montenegro |
| Mother | Milena Vukotić |
| Born | 17 April 1879 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 2 March 1918 (aged 38) Vienna |
Prince Mirko Dimitri Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Grahovo and Zetà (17 April 1879 – 2 March 1918) was born at Cetinje, the second son of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotic. Prince Mirko predeceased his father and his elder brother Crown Prince Danilo.
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On 25 July 1902, in Cetinje, Prince Mirko married Natalija Konstantinović (Trieste, 10 October 1882 - Paris, 21 August 1950), daughter of Alexander Konstantinović and wife Milena Opuić, paternal granddaughter of Aleksandar Konstantinović and (m. 1842) Princess Anka Obrenović (1 April 1821 - murdered, Belgrade, 10 June 1868), daughter of Jevrem Obrenović (1790 - 20 September 1856), younger brother of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia, and wife (m. 1816) Thomanija Bogicević (1796 - 13 June 1881).
The couple had five sons before divorcing in 1917:
Their eldest surviving son Prince Michael of Montenegro, succeeded Mirko in the Montenegrin royal succession and would become head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš and pretender to the Montenegrin throne.
As Prince Mirko's wife was the granddaughter of Alexander Constantinović, who had married in 1842 Anka (Anna) Obrenovic, a member of the Serbian House of Obrenović, it was agreed with the Serbian Government that Prince Mirko would be proclaimed Crown Prince of Serbia in the event that the marriage of King Aleksandar Obrenović and Queen Draga was childless.[1]
Mirko lost his chance to succeed to the Serbian throne in 1903, due to the assassination of Alexander and Draga and the resulting conferral of the crown upon Peter Karađorđević,his brother-in-law. However in 1911 he joined the Black Hand "Unity or Death" secret society which sought the unification of all Serbs in the Balkans, especially those under Austria-Hungary, and was determined to become the society's unified leader.
Mirko divorced his wife in 1917 and moved from Paris to Vienna where he died in 1918. Following his death, his ten year old son Prince Michael of Montenegro was raised in Paris by his mother and the residual members of the exiled Montenegrin Royal Family. In 1921 following the death of King Nikola I of Montenegro and shortly afterwards by the abdication of Crown Prince Danilo, the thirteen year old Prince Michael of Montenegro became the head of the Petrović-Njegoš house, albeit initially under a regency.