| Surname: | Petrović-Njegoš |
| Native Name: | Петровић-Његош |
| Native Name Lang: | Serbian |
| Coat Of Arms: | Coat of arms of the House of Petrović-Njegoš (alt).svg |
| Type: | Royal house |
| Country: | Montenegro |
| Estates: | Cetinje Royal Palace |
| Titles: | |
| Styles: |
|
| Founder: | Prince-Bishop Danilo I |
| Final Ruler: | King Nicholas I |
| Current Head: | Prince Nicholas |
The House of Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: Петровић-Његош, Petrović-Njegoši / Петровић-Његоши) is the family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1918.
"Bogut" or "Boguta" is believed to be the oldest known ancestor of the Petrović-Njegoš family. Bogut was alive at the time of the Battle of Velbazhd (1330) and the building of Visoki Dečani,[1] and perhaps into the 1340s.[2] According to tradition, and recorded by some historians, the ancestors of the Petrović family settled in Muževice at the end of the 14th century, from the Bosnia region, from the area of Zenica or Travnik.[3] It is possible that Bogut at that time had moved to Drobnjaci with his son, Đurađ.[4] Đurađ or some of his sons were in the entourage of Marko Drago, an affluent Serbian nobleman who had served Serbian lord Vuk Branković (1345-1397), and as such they are believed to have also served the Branković family.[5] Đurađ and his five sons "from Drobnjaci" are mentioned in a document dating March 1, 1399,[4] in which they gave several items to the depository of Dapko Vasilijev, an affluent Kotoran nobleman.[6]
Montenegro was ruled from its inception by vladikas (prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role, subordinate to the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć until its dissolution in 1766.[7] In 1697, the office was made hereditary in the Petrović-Njegoš family.[8] However, since Orthodox bishops are required to be celibate, the crown passed from uncle to nephew. In 1852, Prince-Bishop Danilo II opted to marry and to secularize Montenegro, becoming Prince Danilo I.[9] His successor, Nikola I, raised Montenegro to a kingdom in 1910.
In 1916, King Nikola I was ousted by the invasion and occupation of his country by Austria-Hungary. He was formally deposed by the Podgorica Assembly in 1918 and the country merged with Kingdom of Serbia and shortly thereafter merged again with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
A period of eighty years of control from Belgrade followed, during which time Nikola I died in exile in France in 1921, followed shortly afterwards by the surprise abdication of his son and heir, Danilo III, the same year. The latter's nephew, Michael Petrović-Njegoš, inherited the titles of his predecessors whilst in exile in France, and he survived arrest and internment by order of Adolf Hitler for refusing to head up a puppet Montenegrin state aligned to the Axis Powers. Later, he served the SFR Yugoslavia as Head of Protocol. He was succeeded by his son Nicholas Petrović-Njegoš in 1986. In 2006, Montenegro went on to achieve full sovereignty in the 2006 independence referendum.
In 2011, Montenegro recognized an official role for the Royal House of Petrović-Njegoš in Montenegro: to promote Montenegrin identity, culture and traditions through cultural, humanitarian and other non-political activities, which has been interpreted as a "creeping restoration" of the monarchy.[10]
The present head of the house is Nicholas, Crown Prince of Montenegro.
See main article: Law on the Status of the Descendants of the Petrović Njegoš Dynasty. In July 2011, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Law on the Status of the Descendants of the Petrović Njegoš Dynasty.[11] [12] The law allows descendants of the dynasty to use heraldic royal symbols and grants them land that belonged to the King. It grants them property and buildings in Njegusi and Cetinje, the former capital city, as well as an apartment in Podgorica. It established the Petrovic-Njegos Foundation, which would receive financing from Montenegro’s state budget amounting to some €4 million.[13]
| Picture | Title Name | Birth | Reign | Marriage(s) Issue | Death | Claim | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince-Bishop Danilo I | 1697 11 January 1735 | — | 11 January 1735 Podmaine Monastery, Venice (aged 80) | Elected by the Montenegrin Tribal Assembly | |||
| Prince-Bishop Sava II | 11 January 1735 9 March 1781 | — | 9 March 1781 Podmaine Monastery, Venice (aged 80) | Coruled with Basil III from 1750–1766. | |||
| Prince-Bishop Basil III | 1750 10 March 1766 | — | 10 March 1766 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (aged 56–57) | Co-ruled with Sava II | |||
| Out of power for . | |||||||
| Prince-Bishop Petar I | 13 October 1784 30 October 1830 | — | 30 October 1830 Cetinje, Montenegro (aged 81–82) | ||||
| Prince-Bishop Petar II | 30 October 1830 31 October 1851 | — | 31 October 1851 Cetinje, Montenegro (aged 37) | The Will of Petar I, his uncle. | |||
| Prince-Bishop; Prince Danilo II Danilo I | 31 October 1851 13 August 1860 | Darinka Kvekić 12 January 1855 1 daughter | 13 August 1860 Kotor, Austrian Empire (aged 34) | The Will of Peter II, his uncle. | Assassinated in Kotor. | ||
| Prince; King Nicholas I | 13 August 1860 26 November 1918 | Milena Vukotić 8 November 1860 12 children | 1 March 1921 Cap d'Antibes, French Republic (aged 79) | Exiled in January 1916. Deposed by the Podgorica Assembly. | |||
| Picture | Name | Birth | Reign | Marriage(s) Issue | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas I | 26 November 1918 1 March 1921 | Milena Vukotić 8 November 1860 12 children | 1 March 1921 Cap d'Antibes, French Republic (aged 79) | Deposed king of Montenegro[14] | ||
| Crown Prince Danilo (Danilo II) | 1 March 1921 7 March 1921 | Jutta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 27 July 1899 No children | 24 September 1939 Vienna, Austria, Nazi Germany (aged 67) | Eldest son of Nicholas I and Milena Vukotić. | ||
| Prince Michael (Michael I) | 7 March 1921 24 March 1986 | Geneviève Prigent 27 January 1941 – 11 April 1949 1 son | 24 March 1986 Paris, France (aged 77) | Nephew of Crown Prince Danilo | ||
| Prince Nicholas (Nicholas II) | 7 July 1944 Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem, France (age) | 24 March 1986 present | Francine Navarro 27 November 1976 – 6 August 2008 2 children[15] [16] | Son of Prince Michael and Geneviève Prigent | ||
The list below includes male members of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty. Bold denotes the current head of the House.