Montenegro Royalty, Author. He was the Prince of Montenegro from 1860 to 1910, then on August 18, 1910, the Golden Jubilee of his reign, he secured the position the King of Montenegro until 1918, thus ruling Montenegro for nearly sixty years. He became the ruler of Montenegro in August of 1860 after his uncle, Danilo II , was assassinated and leaving no male heir. Military successes and glorious victories against the Turks in the liberation wars between 1876 and 1878 gave him war glory and made him one of the greatest Montenegrin rulers. He made his small principality into a sovereign European nation embracing Western ways, doubling in size with a seaport city, and recognized by the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Besides successful management of state affairs, he was also known as a man of letters. He wrote lyric poems, drama in verse and in prose. Among these the most popular are "Balkanska Carica" or "The Empress of the Balkans;” "Knjaz Arvanit" or "Prince Arvanit;” "Hajdana" or "Haidana;” "Pjesnik i vila" or "A poet and a Fairy;” and "Nova kola" or "New Car.” Through marriages of five of his daughters with European dynasties, he was called, "The Father-in-law of Europe." Elena, Queen of Italy, was his daughter. His downfall occurred when he supported the Serbians against the Austria-Hungarians during World War I and was defeated. With peace in January of 1916, his country eventually became part of Yugoslavia in 1918 and he went into exile in Italy. Dying in Cap d’Antibes in France, he was originally buried in San Remo, Italy in a Russian Orthodox Church. His remains along with his wife, Queen Milena, and two of his twelve children, Princess Ksenija and Princess Vjera, were later repatriated from San Remo to Cetinje on October 1, 1989 and given a state funeral. He received a long list of honors including from the United Kingdom, the Royal Victorian Order, Honorary Grand Cross on March 25, 1897; from Vatican City, the Order of Pope Pius LX; and from the Russian Empire, Knight, Order of St Andrew and two other honors. In 1926 his residence became King Nikola’s Museum housing a collection of weapons, trophies, Montenegrin flags, plaques, coat-of-arms, photos of the royal family, and other artistic pieces.
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