| Maria of Romania and Hohenzollern | |
|---|---|
| Queen Consort of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Queen Consort of Yugoslavia | |
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| Titles | HM Queen Maria of Yugoslavia (1929-1945) HM The Queen of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1922-1929) HRH Princess Maria of Romania (1900-1922) |
| Born | 6 January 1900 |
| Gotha | |
| Died | 22 June 1961 |
| London, England | |
| Buried | Frogmore Royal Mausoleum |
| Consort | 1922 - 1934 |
| Consort to | Alexander I |
| Issue | Petar II Tomislav Andrej |
| Royal House | House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
| Father | Ferdinand I of Romania |
| Mother | Marie of Edinburgh |
- For her mother, Queen Marie of Romania, please see Marie of Edinburgh.
Princess Marioara or Marie of Romania (Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 6 January 1900 – 22 June 1961) as Queen Marija was the Queen Consort of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. She was known as Mignon in the family to distinguish her from her mother. Maria was born in Gotha, Thuringia in Germany, during the reign of her maternal grandfather Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and during the Romanian reign of her granduncle King Carol I. Her mother was Princess Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, a son of Queen Victoria. Her maternal great-grandfather was Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Maria's father was Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania. She married King Alexander I of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 8 June 1922. Maria and Alexander had three sons:
She became Yugoslav Queen Mother when, following the assassination of King Alexander in Marseille in 1934, her oldest son became Peter II of Yugoslavia, the last Yugoslav king. She was truly loved and respected by the people and remains to be one of the greatest humanitarian workers that the Balkan region has seen. She also sculpted, painted, spoke several languages fluently and drove a car all by herself which was very unusual at the time. Today, in her memory, there is once again a street in Belgrade named after her (“Ulica kraljice Marije” or “Queen Marija Street”) and a memorial plaque on the building of FON – Faculty of Organizational Sciences in Belgrade – a building that she built with other donors and which used to be a primary school. In Belgrade, there is also a kindergarten with her name. The youth terrain unit of the Red Cross of the Belgrade Municipality of Zvezdara also bears her name.
Below are just some of the great examples of her humanitarian work, as noted by Srdjan Colovic and Danica Colovic (translated):
Schools and educational institutions under patronage or support of Queen Marija:
Primary School “Queen Maria” now the FON – Faculty of Organizational Sciences of the University of Belgrade;
Female high school “Queen Marija”, later the 2nd female high school, now the high school of electrical engineering “Nikola Tela”;
School children cafeteria – later part of the Radio Television Serbia – destroyed by NATO in 1999;
Female Students’ Facility “Queen Marija”, still in use today, but bearing a different name “Vera Blagojevic”.
Healthcare institutions:
Queen Marija was the high patron of the League against Tuberculosis (which was established in Serbia in 1906);
Memorial Hospital, now the Maternity Ward of the Clinical Centre “Dedinje”;
University Children’s Hospital in Tirsova Street - still in use today;
Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade;
Oncological Institute of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade;
Yugoslav Society for Studying and Curing Cancer;
Central Institution for Protection of Children, Mothers and Youth, used to be located in Lomina Street in Belgrade;
“Serbian Mother” society, which used to be located in Brankova Street in Belgrade;
Cultural Institutions:
Foundation of Ilija M. Kolarac in Belgrade, still in use today;
“Cvijeta Zuzoric” art pavilion in Belgrade, still in use today;
Humanitarian and charity organizations:
Yugoslav Red Cross – high patron;
Charity Society “Karadjordje” – that building no longer exists;
Belgrade Female Society;
“Saint Ana” institution for pensioners – in 1945 changed into the Children’s Hospital for Tuberculosis;
"Kolo" of Serbian Sisters;
The Maternal Association;
“Bread” humanitarian society – which delivered 100 loaves of bread daily to the most poor;
“King Decanski” society for the deaf, mute and blind children;
Yugoslav Union for the Protection of Children;
Charter of Children’s Rights - known as the Geneva Declaration, was fully and wholeheartedly supported by Queen Marija;
Federation of Humanitarian Societies of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, consisting of 172 humanitarian organizations that cared for orphans and poor children;
The Association of Yugoslav orphans;
The Association of Families of Officers who died in wars from 1912 to 1918;
The “Mother Jevrosima” charity society – for properly guiding the female youth;
“Princess Ljubica” Society – founded in 1899 and existed until 1941, and many, many others.
She died in exile in London on 22 June 1961 and is interred in the royal burial ground at Frogmore.
| Styles of Queen Marija (as consort) | |
| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
| Maria of Romania Cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern Born: 6 January 1900 Died: 22 June 1961
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| Yugoslavian royalty | ||
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| Vacant Title last held by Draga Mašinas Queen Consort of Serbia | Queen consort of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Queen consort of Yugoslavia June 81922-October 9, 1934 | Vacant Title next held by Alexandra of Greece and Denmark
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