Elena of Montenegro
Elena of Montenegro (Jelena Petrović-Njegoš) was Queen of Italy from 1900 to 1946, as the wife of King Victor Emmanuel III. She also briefly held the titles Empress of Ethiopia and Queen of the Albanians during Mussolini’s rule, but these were dropped in 1943 when her husband renounced them.
She was born on 8 January 1873 in Cetinje, Montenegro, the daughter of King Nicholas I and Queen Milena. She converted from Orthodox to Catholic before marrying Victor Emmanuel III in 1896. They had five children: Yolanda, Mafalda, Umberto II, Giovanna, and Maria Francesca.
During World War I, Elena worked as a nurse and helped turn the Quirinal Palace into a hospital. She was the first Inspector of the Italian Red Cross’ voluntary nurses (1911–1921) and supported medical research and care for the poor. She assisted after the 1908 Messina earthquake and founded the Elena di Savoia foundation to help orphans and war families. She donated to medical causes and funded scholarships. Pope Pius XI awarded her the Golden Rose in 1930 and again in 1937 for her charitable work.
In 1939 she wrote to European royal women asking them to help prevent a new war. She supported her husband in urging Mussolini to back Montenegro’s independence in 1941. In 1943 she helped secure the release of her nephew Prince Michael of Montenegro from a German prison after he refused to become king under Italian protection.
After World War II, Victor Emmanuel III abdicated on 9 May 1946, and Italy became a republic. The couple lived in exile in Egypt and later France. Victor Emmanuel III died in 1947; Elena died in Montpellier, France, on 28 November 1952. Her remains were moved back to the Sanctuary of Vicoforte near Turin in December 2017, and her husband’s remains were moved there two days later.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:28 (CET).