[Владимир Петровић]

June 22, 1961 – Death of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia



Queen Maria of Yugoslavia was born Princess Marie of Romania on January 6, 1900 in Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. She was the third child and second daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh (daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). She was known to the family as “Mignon”.

She was raised in Romania, where her father became King of Romania upon the death of his uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. Following the lead of her mother, Princess Marie worked as a nurse during World War I.

On June 8, 1922, in Belgrade, Princess Marie was married to King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (at the time King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). Alexander was the son of King Peter I of Serbia and Princess Zorka of Montenegro.

The couple had three sons:
- King Peter II of Yugoslavia (1923)
- Prince Tomislav (1928)
- Prince Andrej (1929)

King Alexander was assassinated in Marseilles, France on October 9, 1934. The couple’s eldest son, Peter, became King of Yugoslavia at the age of 11, and a regency was established, led by King Alexander’s cousin, Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. In 1941, the family was forced into exile following the Axis invasion, and Queen Marie settled at a cottage in the countryside of England, where she remained for the rest of her life. In 1947, the Communist government of Yugoslavia formally revoked her Yugoslavian citizenship and confiscated all of her property and assets.



She lived a rather quiet life in England, pursuing her interests in painting and sculpting. The former Princess of Romania, and Queen of Yugoslavia, died in London on June 22, 1961. She was buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor.

In 2013, her remains were exhumed and repatriated to Serbia where they were reburied at the Royal Family Mausoleum at Oplenac, along with those of her sons, Prince Andrej, King Peter II and King Peter’s wife, Queen Alexandra.