Princess Anka Obrenović

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Princess Anka Obrenović (later Anka Konstantinović, sr-Cyrl, Анка Обреновић; 1 April 1821 – 10 June 1868 o.s..html"_;"title="Old_Style.html"_;"title="9_May_Old_Style">o.s.">Old_Style.html"_;"title="9_May_Old_Style">o.s._was_a_member_of_the_Serbian_royal_House_of_Obrenovic.html" "title="Old_Style">o.s..html" ;"title="Old_Style.html" ;"title="9 May Old Style">o.s.">Old_Style.html" ;"title="9 May Old Style">o.s. was a member of the Serbian royal House of Obrenovic">Obrenović dynasty The House of Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Обрeновић, Obrenovići / Обреновићи, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor M ...

as the niece of the dynasty's founder Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia. She was also a society leader and writer whose translations in 1836 were the first literary works compiled by a woman to be published in Serbia.Hawkesworth, pp.100-101 She was the inspiration for a poem by renowned Croatian poet

Antun Mihanović Antun Mihanović (10 June 1796 – 14 November 1861) was a Croatian poet and lyricist, most famous for writing the national anthem of Croatia, which was put to music by Josif Runjanin and adopted in 1891. Klanjec, his birthplace, holds a monumen ...

, who had wished to marry her when she was 16 and he 41. In 1860, she established one of the first Serbian

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

s in her home in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. She was also known as "Anka pomodarka" ("Anka the fashionable"). She was assassinated alongside her first cousin Prince Michael III of Serbia, who was the ruling prince of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

at the time.

Family

Jevrem Obrenović with his son Miloš and daughter Anka

Princess Anka was born on 1 April 1821, the third daughter of Prince Jevrem Obrenović and Tomanija Bogićević, daughter of Vojvoda Antonije Bogićević. Her father, who also served as Governor of Belgrade and

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Serbia (1839), was a younger brother of Serbian Prince Miloš Obrenović I. Her paternal grandparents were Teodor Mihailovic, who had been an impoverished land-owner originally from

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, and Višnja Gojković. She had four sisters, Jelena, Simeona, Jekaterina, and Anastasia; and one brother, Miloš, whose son would later reign as Prince Milan IV and King

Milan I Milan Obrenović ( sr-cyr, Милан Обреновић, Milan Obrenović; 22 August 1854 – 11 February 1901) reigned as the prince of Serbia from 1868 to 1882 and subsequently as king from 1882 to 1889. Milan I unexpectedly abdicated in ...

Early literary achievements

She was described as having been "very beautiful, very intelligent, and well-educated".Hawkesworth, p.100 She was evidently more modern than Prince Miloš's daughters Petrija and Savka, who still wore traditional Turkish garb. In fact, an extant painting of Anka shows her seated at her piano wearing a fashionable and elegant gown. She was actually one of the few people in Serbia at that time who owned and played the piano. It was Anka's very modernity that later earned her the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

''Anka pomodarka'' ("Anka the fashionable") A Frenchman who met Anka commented on her good looks, wit, and considerable accomplishments; her ability to speak French was rare among her contemporaries. Her father, Jevrem was the first man in Belgrade to introduce Western European customs and manners into his home; he also owned an extensive library. His love of literature was shared by Anka, who along with her siblings, received an excellent education from one of the best tutors in Serbia.Hawkesworth, p.100 At the age of 13, Anka published a number of

parables A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

which she had painstakingly translated from the original German-a language in which she was also fluent. She went on to have her writings published in a variety of periodicals, including the literary journal ''Danica ilirska'', in which she used her pseudonym, "An Illyrian woman from Serbia". Two years later, in 1836, she published a compilation of her translations which was the first literary work ever published by a woman in Serbia. Anka, still in her teens, attracted and inspired many poets, some of whom dedicated poems as well as entire volumes of poetry to her, enthusiastically comparing her to the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

female poet,

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

as well as the Milesian

Aspasia Aspasia (; grc-gre, Ἀσπασία ; after 428 BC) was a ''metic'' woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles, with whom she had a son, Pericles the Younger. Accordin ...

, whose wit and conversation had drawn the greatest writers and philosophers in Athens. Croatian poet

, who was the Austrian

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in Belgrade and a frequent visitor to her father's home, fell deeply in love with her and sought her hand in marriage. She was 16 years old at the time and he was 41. While the proposal met with her father's approval, Anka's autocratic uncle Prince Miloš adamantly refused to give his consent to the match, possibly because Mihanović was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, while Anka and the royal family were

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

. In 1839, Mihanović departed from Serbia; it's not known whether he and Anka ever met again. In 1840 he wrote a poem about Anka which he entitled "The Stone Maiden"Hawkesworth, p.101 ( hr, Kamena djeva) and which was published in 1844 in the ''Danica ilirska''.

Marriage and issue

In 1842, she married Alexander Konstantinović, son of Obrad Konstantinović (paternal first cousin of

Konstantin Hadija Konstantin Hadija ( sr-cyr, Константин Хадија) was a Serbian politician serving as the secretary of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia. Biography Konstantin Hadija was born in Zemun, the younger son of Josif Hadija, his elder ...

, Prince

Jevrem Obrenović Prince Jevrem Teodorović Obrenović (18 March 1790 - 20 September 1856) was a Serbian politician and revolutionary. He was the younger brother of Prince Miloš Obrenović I of Serbia, the founder of the Obrenović dynasty. Early life Jevrem' ...

's son-in-law) and Danica Gvozdenović, by whom she had two children: * Colonel Alexander Konstantinović (died 1914), married Milena Opuić, by whom he had one daughter, Natalija and one son, Vladimir. *

Katarina Konstantinovic Katarina may refer to: Geography *Katarina-Sofia borough, a borough in central Stockholm *Topol pri Medvodah, a settlement in the Municipality of Medvode, Slovenia, known as Katarina People *Katarina (given name) * Katarina (''Doctor Who''), a ch ...

(1848–1910), married firstly in 1868 General Milivoje Blaznavac (16 May 1824 – 5 April 1873), by whom she had issue; she married secondly, Mihajlo Bogićević (1843–1899). In 1860, she established one of the first Serbian salons at her home. Anka's "art gathering" as the Serbs called it, "greatly influenced the spiritual rebirth of Serbian society in the 1860s". Anka invited the most prominent artistic and intellectual women in Belgrade, as well as the wives of foreign diplomats to her celebrated salon, which featured musical performances along with readings of Serbian, French, German, and Italian poetry. Discussions about politics and current affairs also took place at the meetings. Sometime after her husband's death, Princess Anka and her daughter, Katarina were invited by her cousin Prince Mihailo to live at the royal court. On an unknown date, Anka gave birth to an illegitimate daughter by her former brother-in-law, Jovan Ghermani, who was the husband of her late sister, Simeona, who had died in 1837 at the age of 19. Anka bestowed her dead sister's name on her daughter. The child, Simeona (died 1915) would later go on to marry an important Romanian minister, Alexander Lahovary (1841–1897), member of the aristocratic Lahovary family, by whom she had issue; and she would serve Queen consort

Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Romania (full name ''Elisabeth Charlotte Josephine Alexandra Victoria'': ro, Elisabeta a României, el, Ελισάβετ της Ρουμανίας; 12 October 1894 – 14 November 1956) was a princess of Romania and member of t ...

as one of her

ladies-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 ...

Assassination

Since the death of Prince Miloš in September 1860, his only surviving son and Anka's first cousin, Prince Mihailo had ruled Serbia for the second time after being deposed in 1842 in favour of Alexander Karadordević. He was described as having been an educated and cultured man, as well as the most enlightened of Serbian rulers. Anka's daughter Katarina was his mistress who nurtured hopes of one day becoming his wife as Mihailo's marriage to Countess Julia Hunyady de Kéthely was childless, and he had begun to consider a divorce, with the aim of making Katarina his consort. On 10 June 1868 Anka, Katarina, and Prince Mihailo were taking a stroll through the park of

Košutnjak Košutnjak ( sr-cyr, Кошутњак, ) is a park-forest and urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between in the municipalities of Čukarica (upper and central parts) and Rakovica (lower part). With the adjoini ...

, near Mihailo's country residence on the outskirts of Belgrade, when they were shot by assassins believed to be in the pay of the Obrenović's rival dynasty, the Karađorđevićs. Mihailo was killed, and Katarina wounded; Anka allegedly fought bravely with her attackers before she was also shot dead. The Serbian newspapers announced her death with the obituary: "With his Royal Highness, his cousin Mrs.Note: This is possibly mistranslated by the author from the original Serbian ''gospođa'' which could also mean ''Lady'' Anka Konstantinovic was also killed".

Legacy

In 1902, Princess Anka's granddaughter, Natalija Konstantinović married Prince Mirko of Montenegro. The king who sat on the Serbian throne was Anka's great-nephew

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

who was married to the much older and unpopular,

Draga Mašin Draginja "Draga" Obrenović ( sr-cyr, Драгиња "Драга" Обреновић; 11 September 1867 – ), formerly Mašin (Машин), was the Queen consort of Serbia as the wife of King Aleksandar Obrenović. She was formerly a lady-in-wai ...

. As Princess Natalija was Anka's granddaughter, thus a descendant of the Obrenović dynasty, the Serbian government promised that should Alexander die childless, which seemed likely after Queen Draga's false pregnancies and encroaching age, the crown of Serbia would pass to Prince Mirko. Events, however did not proceed according to the hopes of Prince Mirko and Princess Natalija. Following the brutal

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of King Alexander and Queen Draga by a group of Army officers led by Captain

Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis Dragutin ( Cyrillic: Драгутин) is a masculine given name. Those bearing it include: * Stephen Dragutin of Serbia * Dragutin Topić * Dragutin Dimitrijević * Dragutin Mitić * Dragutin Tadijanović * Dragutin Šurbek * Dragutin Lerman ...

on the night of 10/11 June 1903 (by the

New Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

calendar), the crown instead passed to Peter Karađorđević, who was viewed as pro-Russian, while the rival Obrenovićs were known allies of the detested

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

.Sulzberger, pp.198, 202 Peter was the preferred candidate for the throne in the tide of

Pan-Slavic Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...

nationalism that had engulfed Serbia since the mid-19th century. Princess Anka's descendants are the only known surviving line of the Obrenović dynasty, which became extinct in the male line upon the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

of King Alexander.

Nicholas, Crown Prince of Montenegro Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Петровић-Његош; born 7 July 1944) is a French-born architect and the Head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, which reigned over Montenegro from 1696 to 1766 and again fro ...

, modern pretender to the defunct Montenegrin throne is her descendant.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anka Obrenovic, Princess 1821 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Serbian royalty 19th-century Serbian nobility 19th-century Serbian women 19th-century Serbian women writers 19th-century Serbian writers Obrenović dynasty Assassinated Serbian people Assassinated royalty Deaths by firearm in Serbia People murdered in Serbia 1868 murders in Europe