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Draginja "Draga" Obrenović ( sr-cyr, Драгиња "Драга" Обреновић; 11 September 1867 – ), formerly Mašin (Машин), was the
Queen consort of Serbia This is a list of consorts of Serbian monarchs during the history of Serbia. Middle Ages Princess- and Grand Princess consorts (–1217) Queen consorts Nemanjić dynasty (1217–1365) Empress consorts Nemanjić dynasty (1346–71) Magn ...
as the wife of King Aleksandar Obrenović. She was formerly a
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
to Aleksandar's mother, Queen Natalija (until 1897).


Early life

Draga was the fourth daughter of Panta Lunjevica, a
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
of the
Aranđelovac Aranđelovac ( sr-cyr, Аранђеловац, ) is a town and a municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. , the municipality has a population of 46,225 inhabitants, while the town has 24,797 inhabitants. It is situated be ...
area, and wife Anđelija (''née'' Koljević). Draga was the sixth of seven siblings. She had two brothers, Nikola and Nikodije, and four sisters, Hristina, Đina, Ana and Vojka. Draga's mother was a
dipsomania Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol or drugs. In the 19th century, the term dipsomania was used to refer to a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are known ...
c and her father died in a
lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatr ...
. Draga was the granddaughter of
Nikola Lunjevica Nikola Milićević ( sr-cyr, Никола Милићевић, 1776 – 11 May 1842), known by his demonym as Nikola Lunjevica (Луњевица), was a Serbian Revolutionary and close comrade of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia, Prince Miloš ...
, a relative of Princess Ljubica of Serbia and close comrade of Prince Miloš, her husband's great-granduncle. Her paternal grandmother was Đurđija
Čarapić Čarapić ( sr-cyr, Чарапић) is a surname found in Serbia and Croatia. The root of the word is ''čarapa'', . A former noble lived in Grocka ''nahija'' (Belgrade region). Members of the family participated in the Serbian Revolution and the ...
, a relative of '' vojvoda''
Ilija Čarapić Ilija Čarapić (, ), was the first Mayor of Belgrade, Serbia. He was born in 1792 in Beli Potok, near Avala, and died in 1844. He was son of the Voyvode Vasa Čarapić and the brother-in-law of Karađorđe, appointed as Voyvode or Duke of Grock ...
(died 1844), husband of
Karađorđe Petrović Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ;  – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...
's daughter Stamenka Karađorđević. At the age of nine, Draga was sent to school in Belgrade, where she completed her school-education. Then she attended the "Cermanka's Institute" or "Women's Institute". There she learned several foreign languages, including Russian, French and German. During her stay in Belgrade, Draga began to write novels and short stories and to translate books for money. Despite the fact that the father took a lot of care about her, she began to earn her living as a very young girl. She even published some interesting stories for foreign journals. She liked to read and especially liked to read
Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...
. At the time of her second marriage, she was the widow of Svetozar Mašin (1851-1886), a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, son of Jan Mašin, who served as the royal physician to King Milan, her future father in law. She married Svetozar in August 1883 in the Cathedral Church of Belgrade.


Queen

Despite being ten years older than Aleksandar, the couple married on 5 August 1900 in a formal ceremony. When Aleksandar announced their engagement, public opinion turned against him. He was viewed as a besotted young fool in the power of a wicked seductress. Dowager Queen Natalija bitterly opposed the marriage, and was exiled by her son, in part because of it. His many arbitrary and unpopular acts were blamed on Draga's influence. There were rumors that Aleksandar would name Draga's elder brother as heir-presumptive to the throne. Both brothers were serving as army officers at the time of the marriage and appear to have been unpopular with their peers. The Queen Draga of Serbia's Decoration was instituted in her honour on 7 April 1902. This medal was awarded to ladies for "achieving meritorious charitable work.”


Assassination

The rumour concerning the royal succession led to the couple's assassination. On the night of 10–11 June 1903, a group of
army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...
s invaded the royal palace, led by Colonel
Dragutin Dimitrijević Dragutin Dimitrijević ( sr-Cyrl, Драгутин Димитријевић; 17 August 1876 – 24 June 1917), better known by his nickname Apis, was a Serbian army officer and chief of the military intelligence section of the general staff in ...
and others. Troops led by other officers involved in the conspiracy were deployed near the palace, and the royal guards did not offer effective resistance during the confusion after the electric lighting of the building was turned off. Initially the conspirators were unable to find Aleksandar and Draga. However an aide of the king was captured and, either out of sympathy for the conspiracy or out of fear for his own life, revealed that they were hiding in a large built-in
wardrobe A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accomm ...
off their bedroom. Another account says that Aleksandar did not shut the secret door properly. Emerging partially dressed, the couple were murdered with sword thrusts and pistol shots by the officers, some of whom were reportedly drunk. The bodies were mutilated and afterwards thrown from a palace balcony onto piles of garden manure. Draga's two brothers, Nikodije and Nikola, were executed by firing squad on the same day.


Portrayals

Draga Mašin was played by Magda Sonja in the 1920 Austrian
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
''
Queen Draga Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
''. In the 1932 American film ''
A Woman Commands ''A Woman Commands'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Pola Negri, Roland Young, and Basil Rathbone. Some additional scenes were directed by an uncredited Harry Joe Brown. Cast *Pola Negri as Madame Maria ...
'' she was portrayed by
Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...
. She was also played by
Ljiljana Blagojević Ljiljana Blagojević ( sr-cyr, Љиљана Благојевић; born 5 November 1955 in Belgrade, Serbia PR Serbia in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia">Yugoslavia]) is a Serbian theater, film, and television actress. She is married t ...
in the 1995 Serbian
mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
'' The End of Obrenović Dynasty''.


Honours

;National honours * Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Miloš the Great The Order of Miloš the Great ( sr, Орден Милоша Великог), was an Order of the Kingdom of Serbia. Founded in 1898 by King Alexander I of Serbia, the order was named in honor of Miloš Obrenović, the leader of the Second Serbi ...
(5 August 1900). * Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle (5 August 1900).Queen Draga with the Badge of the Order
/ref>


Annotations


References


Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masin, Draga 1864 births 1903 deaths 1903 murders in Europe 19th-century Serbian royalty 20th-century Serbian royalty 19th-century Serbian women 20th-century Serbian women Yugoslav queens consort Obrenović dynasty People from Gornji Milanovac Assassinated Serbian people People executed by defenestration Murdered Serbian royalty People murdered in Serbia Deaths by firearm in Serbia Burials at St. Mark's Church, Belgrade Female murder victims