Princess Anna of Montenegro

Princess Anna of Montenegro (18 August 1874 – 22 April 1971) was the seventh child and sixth daughter of Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife Queen Milena.

Family and early life

Anna was born on 18 August 1874 to Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro and his consort Princess Milena; on 28 August 1910, Nicholas would become King of Montenegro.

Anna's sisters were particularly noted for achieving marriages with powerful royal figures, causing their father, like the contemporary Christian IX of Denmark, to earn the sobriquet "father-in-law of Europe"; one source declared that these advantageous marriages "had done more for [Montenegro] than all the brave deeds of this nation of warriors". For instance, Princesses Zorka, Milica, Anastasia and Elena all made important marriages into the royal families of Serbia, Russia and Italy, respectively. Like all her sisters, Anna was educated in Russia at the expense of the Russian imperial family, and upon each of their marriages, were given dowries by the Russian emperor.

Marriage

Background Anna met Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg at Cimiez, France, where the prince was a guest of the visiting Queen Victoria and Anna was visiting her sister Princess Milica of Montenegro and brother-in-law Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia. While most of the party went to a booth to view a camera obscura, Anna and Francis Joseph broke away; soon afterwards, Francis Joseph's brother Prince Louis of Battenberg announced the engagement to Princess Anna.

Francis was a colonel in the Bulgarian cavalry, where his older brother Alexander had been sovereign Prince of Bulgaria until 1886.

Prior to World War I, Anna and her husband spent much of their time at Prinz Emils Garten in Darmstadt, but once the war began, they were advised by Francis' cousin Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse to stay out of Germany. When Italy joined the war, the couple found themselves to be permanent exiles, and consequently settled in Switzerland, where Francis pursued his academic studies. Anna's sister Crown Princess Elena of Italy helped her procure the meeting.

In the British royal family's 1917 eradication of German titles and styles, the Battenbergs became known as Mountbattens – all except Prince Francis and Anna. Anna would continue to use the name Battenberg until her death, surpassing all others in the royal house. Anna died on 22 April 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland. For a number of years, she was Europe's oldest living princess.