Darinka, Princess of Montenegro: Difference between revisions

Montenegrin princess (1838–1892)

Darinka Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: Даринка Петровић-Његош; 19 December 1838 – 2 February 1892) was the first Princess Consort of Montenegro by her marriage to Danilo I, Prince of Montenegro.^[1]

Biography

Born into the Kvekić family, one of the leading Serbian families in Trieste, Darinka was younger daughter of the opulent Serbian merchant, shipowner and banker Marko Kvekić (1786-1855) and his wife, Contessa Elisabetta Cattarina de Mircovich (1807-1892) of Venice, niece of Conte Demetrio de Mircovich, owner of the Villa Farsetti.^[2][3][4] Her mother descended from an old Venetian noble family of Serbian origin, which settled on the island of Pag in 1482 and was granted the title of Count Palatine by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, dating back to 1503.^[5] Darinka was one of seven children. Their mother, bearing her losses with quiet dignity, outlived them all—save for the youngest, Aspasia, who remained unmarried and by her side.^[6] At birth, she was named Donatella, but after marriage she was known as Darinka, the Serbian equivalent of Donatella, both names meaning ‘gift.’^[7]

Her siblings included brothers; Nikola and Jovan Kvekić, and their sisters. Elder, Adelaide Adele Kvekić, married in 1852 to Camillo, Conte De Roma (1825-1868), a Venetian nobleman from Ionian Islands, grandson of Dionysios, Conte De Roma and brother of the Diamantina, Lady Bowen, wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland. Younger, Aspasia Kvekić; after the death of their mother and niece Olga, served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Elena.^[8] Princess Darinka grew up in Trieste, and was educated to become a French style high society lady.^[9]

Her father, Marko, held an important post managing Russian financial aid to Montenegro. He thus had contact with Danilo I, who was introduced to Darinka at a dinner in Palazzo Gopcevich, home of her cousin, Spiridione Gopcevich.

Danilo I had initially planned to marry Princess Kleopatra Karađorđević (1835-1855), second eldest daughter of Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia, but the negotiations with Alexander were protracted, and before any formal response from the House of Karadjordjevic, Danilo I fell in love with Darinka.^[1][10]

Princess of Montenegro

She married Danilo I on 12 January 1855 at Njeguši. They had one daughter, Princess Olga. Since Montenegro had been a principality ruled exclusively by the Prince-Bishops, Darinka was the first Montenegrin Princess consort, dating back to the time of the Crnojević dynasty.^[12]

The marriage took place after he had made the theocracy Montenegro into a monarchy by renouncing his title as Prince Bishop of Montenegro for the title and position of Sovereign Prince of Montenegro. Darinka thus became the first Princess Consort of Montenegro, and the hostess of the first modern genuine princely court formed in Cetinje, named the Biljarda palace, after its central room with a billiard table, the favorite game of Petar II Petrović Njegoš, Montenegro’s former ruler.^[13]

Darinka are known to have introduced many Western European customs in Montenegro, which was a very traditional society at this time period. She could speak Latin, French, Russian, German, Serbian and Italian, and encouraged Danilo to communicate with her in French and Russian. She dressed in French fashion, brought her own Western European staff and furniture to the Princely Residence in Cetinje, and arranged court functions to which her guests were invited to dance the waltz to foreign music, and she entertained them playing the piano.^[1][10] This was normal in the upper class life of Western Europe but new in Montenegro, and Darinka was both admired for the glamour she brought, as well as resented as vain and accused of draining the state treasury with her extravagance.^[1][10]

She is said to have introduced the umbrella to Montenegro.^[1][10] She gave Montenegro a cosmetic polish of Western Europe by convincing Danilo to abolish traditional Medieval customs such as displaying the severed heads of enemies on the city square.^[14]

The marriage was described as happy but full of jealousy. Danilo was described as deeply in love with Darinka and affected by a jealous temperament, and there were rumours that Danilo challenged and killed men who were rumoured to be the lovers of Darinka, among them his own personal friend Savo Đurašković.^[15][10] Danilo respected Darinka’s diplomatic ability and asked her for advice in state affairs, and she was kept under watch by Russia, who was the biggest financial contributor to Montenegro and suspected her for influencing his policy toward Russia because she was a Francophile.^[15][10]

Later life

On 13 August 1860, Danilo was murdered and succeeded by his nephew Nicholas I of Montenegro. Darinka initially kept her dominant position at court also after the death of Danilo and during his successor, Nicholas, with whom she was close. Her successor, Princess Milena, was not able to consolidate her position until after Princess Darinka left Montenegro.^[15]

Darinka left Montenegro as a widow and travelled to Corfu for an extended visit, where she was received with full honours. Although illness was given as the official reason for her departure, the true purpose was to visit her elder sister, Adele Contessa De Roma. The De Roma family, into which her aunt had married, bore the title of Count and had for generations held governing authority over the Ionian Islands, serving as the principal representatives of the Venetian Republic. Afterward, she continued on to Rome. She was accompanied by her daughter, her brothers, two maids, and a Montenegrin guard.^[16] She returned to advice Nicholas during the peace negotiations after the Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1861–1862).^[17] She built her own palace in Cetinje 1863-1867 and made several trips to Western Europe, and the fact that Nicholas paid her expenses from the state treasury, allowed her political influence and neglected his wife Milena for Darinka, resulted in opposition to her presence in Montenegro. There were rumours that Darinka and Nicholas had a love affair, and the Serbian ambassador wrote in his diplomatic report that the relationship between Darinka and Nicholas “exceeded the border of friendship”.^[17]

Before her final departure from Montenegro in 1867, relations between Princess Darinka and the new Prince Nicholas fluctuated considerably, shaping not only the political atmosphere at court but also directly influencing Princess Olga’s daily life, her upbringing, and the important decisions regarding their long-term future.

During periods of cordial relations, Darinka played an active diplomatic role — notably leading the Montenegrin mission to Belgrade in February 1863. While in Serbia, Princess Olga suddenly fell ill, prompting her mother, who was informed by telegram, to cut her visit short. At Cetinje, it was necessary to uphold the conditions agreed upon in the treaty signed with Serbia. There, it was widely observed at the time that “Darinka saw her own advantage in the success.” One of the provisions of the treaty of 1866 included the possibility of Olga marrying into the Obrenović family. However, it was the great joy with which proud Darinka and young Olga received the orders sent to them by the Serbian prince—Darinka in recognition of her role in the negotiations, and Olga as the potential future bride—that aroused suspicion in Nicholas, who feared they might become too strongly aligned with the pro-Serbian party, and likely influenced his reluctance to fully adhere to the terms of the agreement.^[18] Darinka also led the Montenegrin commission tasked with defining the final border lines between Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire from 1864 to 1867, a role that marked a significant achievement and reflected her active part in the political and diplomatic affairs of the state.^[19]

At the beginning of 1867, Alexander Semenovich Ionin (1836-1900), the Russian consul in Dubrovnik, reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire that Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, who was persistently intent on replacing his wife Julia, had, through the mediation of Colonel Ljubomir Ivanović (1836-1879), his aide-de-camp, pledged himself in marriage to Princess Darinka. The envisioned union, however, was not merely personal; its deeper purpose was the political consolidation of Serbia and Montenegro under a single sovereign authority.^[20]

Her political interference and propaganda efforts eventually led to less favorable moments in their relationship. However, Prince Nicholas accused Darinka of allowing the distribution of pro-Serbian propaganda in Kotor and of conspiring to undermine his rule. As a result, Nicholas suggested to Konstantin Petković (1824-1898), who was at that time the Russian consul in Kotor, that Darinka be stripped of custody of Princess Olga. He proposed that Olga be sent to Saint Petersburg, where, under his patronage and under the patronage of the Emperor as her godfather, she would be provided with the means for a proper and well-rounded education. Confronted with these possibilities, Darinka ultimately decided to leave Montenegro with her daughter as soon as possible, and to do so permanently.^[21] After leaving, she lost the influence she had in Montenegro.^[22]

From 1864 onward, Nicholas’ wife Milena started to give birth to children, which raised her popularity and improved her relationship with Nicholas, while his relationship with Darinka deteriorated. In 1867, Darinka saw herself obliged to leave Montenegro because of the public opposition to her presence.^[17]

Upon their departure, the Montenegrin court agreed to grant Olga a dowry of 250,000 francs, payable upon marriage and an annual allowance of 5,000 francs. Dissatisfied with the sum, she requested an increase. Following the intervention of Hyacinthe Louis Hecquard, the French Consul in Skadar, and Darinka’s friend and political ally, Prince Nicholas agreed to contribute an additional 5,000 francs from his personal funds, raising Olga’s annual support to 10,000 francs.^[23]

He and his influential father, Darinka’s brother-in-law, Mirko Petrović-Njegoš, Grand Duke of Grahovo, President of the Montenegrin Senate, were fond of the little princess and consistently expressed their readiness to oversee and support her upbringing and education, while reminding her she was always welcome back. Mirko initially disliked Darinka for intruding into politics, which he held to be a man’s job, and for wasting public funds; viewed in court circles as a woman famed for ambitious manners, she seized 76,000 florins after Danilo’s death, leaving the state treasury with only 4,000 florins in paper, so he denied her a state pension.^[24]

During her visit to the Russian Empire, which lasted nearly a year—from September 1861 until August 1862—Princess Darinka, labeled as a great Francophile, secured from Emperor Alexander II an annual pension of 4,000 silver rubles (16,000 francs) to provide for both her own support and her daughter’s education.^[25]

After the fall of their protégé, Napoleon III and the Second French Empire, the temporarily loss of their previously granted annual French pension of 12,000 francs—combined with the misfortunes of the once-wealthy Kvekić family of Trieste, whom Darinka had long supported—left the princess and her daughter Olga in a precarious financial state. Following the death of her father, Marko Kvekić, misfortune befell the family when her brothers; Nikola and Jovan Kvekić, squandered the inherited family fortune. In an effort to assist them, Darinka transferred to the Kvekić family the dowry she had once received (150,000 francs), further straining her own financial security. Although their French pension was reinstalled during the Third Republic, but reduced to half (6,000 francs), the severity of their ongoing difficulties is evident in a letter from Olga to Prince Nicholas, in which she requested an advance of 12,000 francs from the dowry promised to her upon marriage.

Seeking broader relief, mother and daughter appealed to the prince directly, who provided 106,000 francs to settle their debts on the condition that ten and a half of the Princess’s annual Russian pensions be assigned to him. A formal contract to that effect was drawn up in 1875 in the Russian Consulate in Venice, and later personally approved and signed by the Emperor of Russia. Even this support proved inadequate to meet their expenses, sustain their extravagant way of life and lavish spending habits. A few years later the Montenegrin government guaranteed another loan of 40,000 francs in the names of Princess Darinka and her young daughter, Princess Olga. Amid ongoing financial difficulties, they considered returning permanently to Montenegro, but the Russian diplomatic service—eager to remove Darinka’s pro-French influence from the court—opposed the idea, arguing that their creditors would follow them even to Cetinje, risking embarrassment for both the Prince and his government, especially if the Kvekićs were to join them. Under the pressure, the Prince relented and ultimately didn’t permit their return.^[26]

Attempts to arrange Olga’s marriage

According to the reports of Serbian statesman Milan Piroćanac, her mother, Princess Darinka, hoped to see her daughter married to Milan Obrenović, member of the Obrenović dynasty and heir apparent to Mihailo Obrenović III and the Serbian throne, citing provisions of the secret Serbian-Montenegrin treaty from 1866 as justification. By then, however, relations between the two neighbouring dynasties had cooled, and Prince Nicholas had no intention of supporting such a match. When nothing came of this plan, based on the report dated 20 January 1867 by Franjo, Baron Filipović (1820–1903), the Austrian Governor of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, she turned instead to arranging an engagement between her daughter and Marko “Mašan” Petrović-Njegoš (b. 1854), a member of the cadet branch of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty. Because Marko’s elder brother, Duke Božo Petrović-Njegoš, had already been named heir apparent to the throne should Prince Nicholas die without a male successor, whispers emerged that Princess Darinka was maneuvering to alter the line of succession so that Marko—then only twelve years old and supposedly promised to Olga—might one day become the next reigning Prince of Montenegro. In 1884, Prince George Karađorđević (1856–1889)—son of Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia and brother of the future King Peter I—and Princess Olga happened to be visiting Montenegro at the same time. The Montenegrin newspaper Glas Crnogorca reported that the purpose of their overlapping visits was to announce their forthcoming engagement, yet Olga’s financial circumstances and Darinka’s waning political influence ultimately made such a match almost impossible, leaving her prospects unfulfilled.^[27]

Exile years in Venice

In 1867, Princess Darinka relocated to Venice with her daughter Olga, taking up residence in the grand Palazzo Tiepolo, joining the many deposed minor sovereigns who had made the city their refuge.^[28] They lived the rest of their life in Venice and were never again given permission from Nicholas to return to live permanently in Montenegro, despite their visits in 1881, 1884, 1886, and 1889. During these visits, Darinka and her daughter have taken part in public life and court functions, continuing to formally receive members of the diplomatic corps, but their role within the Principality of Montenegro remained purely ceremonial, and they were regarded only as an honored guests.^[29]

Known for her intelligence and grace, she was a distinguished figure in Venice high society, admired for both her refined manners and engaging conversation. Even at fifty-five, she retained the traces of the striking beauty that had once captivated the late Prince Danilo I.

At first, Darinka led an opulent life, hosting lavish receptions and banquets. Her expenses were covered by her father’s dowry, a pension from the Emperor of Russia, and a personal allowance from Napoleon III, who were Olga’s godfathers. Over time, however, her circumstances worsened: a brother mismanaged the family estate of the once-wealthy Kvekić family, and the fall of Napoleon III temporarily ended her pension; it was later restored during the French Republic, though reduced to half. During this time, she relied solely on the pension provided by Alexander II of Russia and her daughter’s allowance from Montenegro. Even this support proved inadequate to meet their expenses, sustain their extravagant way of life and lavish spending habits.

Just as the romantic escapades that propelled the young Darinka to the throne are well known, so too are the trials of her final years in Venice. From the grandeur of the Tiepolo Palace on the Grand Canal, she withdrew to a more modest Pallazzo Molin in San Stin Square, where she lived with her unmarried daughter Olga, her old, blind and ailing mother Contessa Elisabetta Cattarina, and her spinster sister Aspasia Kvekich, all of whom outlived her. The humiliations she endured amid financial turmoil are almost unimaginable. Not long before, the lofty title of Princess of Montenegro had become virtually synonymous with poverty. One could safely say that all of Venice was her creditor. Gondoliers, servants, and suppliers would swarm her antechamber, vocally demanding payment for services rendered. It was said that on one occasion a baker even barred the palace door, refusing to let her leave until he was paid. Few have known poverty so intimately as Princess Darinka.^[30] While seeking inspiration for new characters in Florence, author Henry James heard the story of her daughter, Princess Olga, often described in high society as “the poor little princess with no fortune or art”—a remark that reflected their circumstances, which were well known even beyond the circles of Venice.^[31]

When a certain sum of money arrived the next moment, no expense was spared, and yet the very next day could bring ease and gaiety—a visit, a banquet, a flicker of the life she once commanded—an almost providential reprieve from hardship.^[32]

Issue

Ilness, death and funeral

To restore the luster of her name and the memory of her past, Princess Darinka could only achieve it in death.

After contracting pneumonia following a lecture by Giosuè Carducci at the Liceo—which she attended late and where she was seated in a draughty doorway—Princess Darinka fell gravely ill. According to the detailed account recorded in the journal of her Venetian neighbour and friend, Lady Layard, Darinka remained conscious until the very end and repeatedly pleaded with the doctors to save her, saying she could not leave her daughter Olga alone. As her condition worsened, even the gondoliers were permitted to enter the room to pay their respects to the dying princess.^[33]

Princess Darinka of Montenegro died of pneumonia on 2 February 1892 in Venice, Kingdom of Italy. As soon as Prince Nicholas learned of Princess Darinka’s death, he sent a delegation to Venice, headed by Ministers Gavro Vuković and Nikola Matanović, who took charge of her remains and accompanied them back to Cetinje. From there, her funeral procession was conducted with the highest honors. Italian King Umberto and Queen Margherita were both represented by the Duke of Genoa, who was simultaneously the king’s cousin and the queen’s brother, while the Italian government was represented by the prefect and politician Vincenzo Colmayer.

After the procession, celebrated by two archimandrites of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Princess Darinka’s coffin was solemnly carried aboard the Austro-Hungarian steamer Lloyd, which set sail that evening for Kotor.

For her mother’s funeral in Montenegro, her daughter, Princess Olga was accompanied by her distant cousin, Marina Pavlovna Ionina (1837-1900) née Petrović-Njegoš, the graceful wife of Alexander Semenovich Ionin, the Russian consul in Dubrovnik.^[34] She wanted to fulfill her mother’s last desire—to be laid to rest in her homeland, among her people, “the Serbs“.^[35][36]

When the cortège arrived in Kotor, a period of deep mourning was declared; all ships in the harbor lowered their flags to half-mast, and funeral salutes were fired.^[37] Her remains were received with wreaths by representatives of both military and civil authorities, and at the Austro-Hungarian border with Montenegro, she was personally welcomed by Prince Nicholas. Darinka’s funeral took place in Cetinje on Wednesday, 12 February (24 February by the Gregorian calendar observed in Venice).

On the occasion of Darinka’s death, the Montenegrin magazine The Voice of a Montenegrin published the following tribute:

“Many were mistaken in believing that Princess Darinka pursued Western interests in politics. But such a view did her great injustice. Princess Darinka was a devoted Serbian woman, whose sentiments were always in harmony with those of her chivalrous husband, the foremost Serb of his time.”^[38]

She was laid to rest in the Cetinje Monastery in Montenegro, beside her husband and their daughter, Princess Olga, joining them in eternal repose within the sacred walls of the monastery that has long served as the resting place for Montenegro’s royal family.^[39]

Notes

References

• Dvor kralja Nikole, Milan Jovićević, Anđe Kapičić i Tatjana Jović, Narodni muzej Crne Gore i Presmedij, Novi Sad, 1999.
• Ljubavi srpskih vladara i političara, Radoš Ljušić, IP Zograf, Niš 2000.