Day of declaring Montenegro a kingdom (28/08)

Every year on August 28, Montenegro celebrates an important memorable date — Day of declaring the country a kingdom.

From 1515 to 1851, Montenegro was ruled by rulers — spiritual leaders. When Danilo I renounced his spiritual rank, he became the first secular leader of the state. After his assassination in 1860, Nikola I Petrovic-Njegos inherited power.

Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš (October 7, 1841 — March 2, 1921) — prince (1860—1910) and then king (1910—1918) of Montenegro. He is also known as the poet of a popular song in Montenegro called the Serbian Marseillaise.

On August 28, 1910, in the anniversary year of the 50th anniversary of his reign, following the pan-European tradition, as well as strengthening his sovereign power, Nicholas I proclaimed the Principality of Montenegro a kingdom, and himself became its first king. Four years later, on the eve of the First World War, he appropriated the emergency powers of an autocratic monarch.

At the same time, Nicholas II granted the king the rank of field marshal general of the Russian Army.

In 1917, according to the Korf Declaration (an agreement signed on the island of Corfu on July 20, 1917 and providing for the unification of Serbia and the Yugoslav lands of Austria-Hungary into a single state at the end of the First World War — « Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes»), the merger of Montenegro was announced with Serbia.

In this form, the state existed until November 26, 1918, after which it merged into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Nicholas I emigrated to France, from where he continued to claim the throne.

August 28 does not have the status of a public holiday in Montenegro, however, it is celebrated quite widely.

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