Draga Mašin

Draginja "Draga" Obrenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Драга Обреновић; 11 September 1864 – 11 June 1903), formerly Mašin (Машин),^[a] was the Queen consort of King Aleksandar Obrenović of the Kingdom of Serbia. She was formerly a lady-in-waiting to Aleksandar's mother, Queen Natalija.

Early life

Draga Mašin in her younger days (date unknown)

Draga (meaning "dear") was the fourth daughter of Panta Lunjevica, a prefect of the Aranđelovac area, and wife Anđelija (née Koljević). Draga was the sixth of seven siblings. She had two brothers, Nikola and Nikodije, and four sisters, Hristina, Đina, Ana and Vojka. Draga's mother was a dipsomaniac and her father died in a lunatic asylum.^[1]

Draga was the granddaughter of Nikola Lunjevica, a close comrade of Prince Miloš, Aleksandar's great-granduncle. Her paternal grandmother was Đurđija Čarapić, a relative of vojvoda Ilija Čarapić (died 1844), husband of Karađorđe Petrović's daughter Stamenka Karađorđević. At the time of her second marriage, she was the widow of Svetozar Mašin (1851–1886), a Czech civil engineer, and was twelve years older than Aleksandar.

Queen

The couple married on 5 August 1900 in a formal ceremony. When Aleksandar announced their engagement, public opinion turned against him. He was viewed as a besotted young fool in the power of a wicked seductress. Dowager Queen Natalija bitterly opposed the marriage, and was exiled by her son, in part because of it. His many arbitrary and unpopular acts were blamed on Draga's influence. There were rumors that Aleksandar would name Draga's elder brother as heir-presumptive to the throne. Both brothers were serving as army officers at the time of the marriage and appear to have been unpopular with their peers.

Assassination

This last rumour led to the royal couple's assassination. On the night of 10–11 June 1903, a group of army officers invaded the royal palace, led by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević and others. Troops led by other officers involved in the conspiracy were deployed near the palace, and the royal guards did not offer effective resistance in the confusion after the electric lighting of the building was turned off. Initially the conspirators were unable to find Aleksandar and Draga. However an aide of the king was captured and, either out of sympathy for the conspiracy or out of fear for his own life, revealed that they were hiding in a large built-in wardrobe off their bedroom. Another account says that Aleksandar did not shut the secret door properly. Emerging partially dressed, the couple were murdered with sword thrusts and pistol shots by the officers, some of whom were reportedly drunk. The bodies were thrown from a palace balcony onto piles of garden manure.^[2] Draga's two brothers, Nikodije and Nikola, were executed by firing squad on the same day.

Portrayals

She was played by Magda Sonja in the 1920 Austrian silent film Queen Draga. In the 1932 American film A Woman Commands she was portrayed by Pola Negri.

Honours

Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Miloš the Great (Kingdom of Serbia, 1900).^[3]

Annotations

^ Her maiden name was Lunjevica (Луњевица). She is and was most commonly known as Draga Mašin (Драга Машин),^[4] after her first marriage with Svetozar Mašin.

References

↑ Vucinich, Wayne S. (2006). Serbia Between East and West. The Events of 1903-1908. ACLS History E-Book Project. pp. 324. ISBN 978-1-59740-242-2.
↑ C. L. Sulzberger, The Fall of Eagles, p. 202, Crown Publishers, New York, 1977
↑ Vhkcs
↑ Slobodan Jovanović (1936). Sabrana dela: Vlada Aleksandra Obrenovića. G. Kon. p. 12. Исто тако краљ је узалуд означавао у прокламацији Драгу њеним девојачким именом Луњевице; за цео Бео- град она је била и остала не Драга Луњевица, него Драга Машин, — и то име Машин вукло је за собом не само ...

Sources

Краљица Драга Обреновић. Zavod za Udžbenike. 2009. ISBN 978-86-17-16133-8.

External links

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Royal titles
Preceded by Natalija Keşco	Queen Consort of Serbia 5 August 1900 – 11 June 1903	Vacant Title next held by Maria of Yugoslavia as Queen Consort of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes

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