Danilo Aleksandar Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Данило Александар Петровић-Његош; 29 June 1871– 24 September 1939) was the Crown Prince of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He was the eldest son of King

Nicholas I of Montenegro Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-Cyrl, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as Principality of Montenegro, prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first ...

and Queen Milena Vukotić.

Life

During the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he led the Montenegrin Army with his father (the King),

Janko Vukotić Janko Vukotić ( sr-Cyrl, Јанко Вукотић; 18 February 1866 – 4 February 1927) was a Montenegrin serdar, general in the armies of the Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro in the Balkan Wars and World War I. Biography Vukotić was b ...

, and Mitar Martinović. On 1 March 1921 Danilo was proclaimed the rightful King of Montenegro (upon the death of his father) and became head of the government-in-exile until 7 March 1921 when, for reasons that are still unclear, Danilo renounced his royal claims and headship of the royal house in favour of his nephew, Prince Michael of Montenegro. His reputation was undermined by announcing his renunciation on 5 March only to publicly retract this the following day, before re-affirming it the day after that. His decision was met with much dismay amongst the Montenegrin expatriate community. After his renunciation in 1921, Prince Danilo resurfaced in 1927 when he sued

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

for libel and collected $4,000 in a Paris court for the false depiction of him in the first Hollywood version of the film ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

''.Golden, Eve, ''John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars'' (The University Press of Kentucky, 2013), Chapter 6, pp.10-11. In the film, "Prince Danilo of Montenegro" seduces a commoner and then rejects her because it could impoverish the royal treasury. He then regrets his actions and tries to win her back, but fails to convince her of his true love. The film bears no relation to reality. The film was remade after the lawsuit. In addition to demoting the prince to a captain, the date of the action was changed from 1905 to 1885, when the real prince was a young boy. Captain Danilo is sent by the King of an unnamed Balkan country to romance that country’s richest widow. She is in Paris, and the Captain’s mission is to make sure she (and her wealth) do not get snapped up by some foreigner. He finds the trip, and work, congenial, and has a generally pleasant outlook on life. This version bought no lawsuit.

Personal life

Prince Danilo was married to Duchess Augusta Charlotte ''Jutta'' of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1880–1946), Duchess of

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...

, by birth member of an ancient

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

. She was the eldest daughter of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife, Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt, granddaughter of British Princess Augusta of Cambridge. The pair met in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where Danilo was visiting his sisters Milica and

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

, while Jutta was staying with her cousin, Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The marriage was childless. After his renunciation in 1921, Danilo spent most of his life living in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(which had recently been annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

) in 1939 without children. Danilo is famous as a one-time

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, composing the music for the Serb patriotic song of his father King Nikola '' Onamo, 'namo!'', which he published in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Gallery

Crown Prince Danilo of Montenegro.jpg, Portrait of young Crown Prince Danilo Representatives of Montenegro at the coronation of Nicholas II.png, Prince Danilo in 1896, with his father

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and brother Mirko Duchess Jutta and Prince Danilo leading their wedding procession.jpg, Danilo and Duchess Jutta leading their wedding procession in Cetinje, 1899 File:King_Nicola%27s_Palace_2011.jpg, Bar Royal Palace, which Danilo used as summer residence GrabDanilo.jpg, Prince Danilo's grave at the

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest Cemetery, cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's big ...

References

External links

Family of King Nikola Petrovic Njegos

''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. October 22, 1934. {{DEFAULTSORT:Danilo Of Montenegro People from Cetinje 1872 births 1939 deaths Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Princes of Montenegro Pretenders to the Montenegrin throne Eastern Orthodox Christians from Montenegro Montenegrin soldiers Montenegrin military personnel of the Balkan Wars Montenegrin military personnel of World War I 19th-century Montenegrin people 20th-century Montenegrin people Montenegrin nobility Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Heirs apparent who never acceded Sons of kings Crown princes Sons of princes regnant