Prince Mirko of Montenegro

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(1879-04-17) Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	2 March 1918(1918-03-02) (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.

Marriage

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:

• Prince Šćepac (Stephan) (27 August 1903, Cetinje - 15 March 1908, Cannes)
• Prince Stanislaw (30 January 1905, Cetinje - 4 January 1908, Kotor)
• Prince Michael (1908–1986)
• Prince Pavle (Paul) (16 May 1910, Podgorica - June 1933)
• Prince Emmanuel (10 June 1912, Cetinje - 26 March 1928, Biarritz).

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.

Serbian 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.

Death

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.

References

1. ^ BIOGRAPHY OF PRINCE MICHEL PETROVIC NJEGOS

External links

• Family of King Nikola Petrovic Njegos
• Online Gotha

Persondata
Name	Mirko Of Montenegro
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 April 1879
Place of birth	Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Date of death	2 March 1918
Place of death	Vienna