Prince Peter Petrovich-Njegosh of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Zahumlije (10 October 1889 - 7 May 1932) was a soldier in the Balkan

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

 and First World War and a member of the Royal Family of Montenegro

House of Petrovic-Njegoš

The House of Petrović-Njegoš was the Royal House of Montenegro from 1696 to 1918. Montenegro had enjoyed de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire from 1711 but only received formal international recognition as an independent principality in 1878.Montenegro was ruled from inception by...

.

Early life

Prince Peter was born in Cetinje

Cetinje

Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...

 the youngest son of Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro

Nicholas I of Montenegro

Nikola I Mirkov Petrović-Njegoš was the only king of Montenegro, reigning as king from 1910 to 1918 and as prince from 1860 to 1910. He was also a poet, notably penning "Onamo, 'namo!", a popular song from Montenegro.-Early life:Nikola was born in the village of Njeguši, the ancient home of the...

 and his consort Milena Vukotić

Milena Vukotic

Milena Vukotic is a former ballerina and a stage, television, and film actress.Vukotic was born in Rome, to a Serbian Montenegrian comediographer father and an Italian pianist/composer mother....

. He was baptised on 19 January 1890 in Rijika, his sponsors were Emperor Alexander III of Russia

Alexander III of Russia

Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...

 and the Duchess of Edinburgh. He was educated in Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

.

Prince Peter who served in the Montenegrin army

Military of Montenegro

The Military of Montenegro consists of an army, navy and air force. Conscription was abolished in 2006; the military is now a fully professional standing army....

, had been hoping for a war since the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

 in 1908, writing to his nephew Crown Prince George of Serbia

George, Crown Prince of Serbia

George, Crown Prince of Serbia was the older brother of Alexander I of Yugoslavia and younger brother of Helen of Serbia, son of Peter I, King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Princess Ljubica of Montenegro and grandson of King Nicholas I of Montenegro.-Early life:George was born in...

 at the time, he stated his wish that they would meet on the "Crimson field". It would be another four years before the outbreak of the First Balkan War

First Balkan War

The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

 (1912–1913) meant he finally saw action. Prince Peter symbolically began the conflict firing the first shot at the Turkish forces.

As the youngest son of the king and thus unlikely to inherit to the Montenegrian throne, Prince Peter was talked about as a candidate for the throne of Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 after that country achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1912. However nothing ever came of it and in the end the throne was given to the German prince William of Wied.

First World War

Prince Peter saw more action during the First World War. In late August 1914 during the first month of the war, Prince Peter was in command of the defence of Lovćen when it was attacked by the Austrians

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. With the help of an Anglo-French Naval Fleet he managed to lead a successful counter attack and his army managed to kill and capture many Austrian soldiers and artillery guns. By March 1915 his army had progressed into Austrian territory holding a 30 mile stretch from Spizza

Sutomore

Sutomore is a small coastal town in Bar Municipality, Montenegro. A 2003 census put the population at 1,827.-History:...

 to a southern fortress in the Bay of Cattaro

Bay of Kotor

The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...

.

In May 1915 a highly controversial meeting took place at Budua between Prince Peter and the Austrian Colonel Hupka, former military attaché at Cetinje. All that Prince Peter would acknowledge took place at the meeting was a request from him for the Austrians to stop the bombardment of towns by their aeroplanes, and that he was acting on instruction from his father. However a number of arrangements also took place, these included supplying the Austrians with Serbian national sandals, so that they climb the rocks more easily; and giving a verbal, then written order to his two brigadiers that they must not resist the Austrians and allow them to capture Lovćen.

After Prince Peter's surrender of Lovćen by 1916 the war had turned against Montenegro in favour of the numerically superior Austrians. In January of that year along with his parents Prince Peter left Montenegro heading first to Rome and then France where they joined the rest of the Royal Family, all expect for his brother Prince Mirko of Montenegro

Prince Mirko of Montenegro

Prince Mirko Dimitri Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Grahovo and Zetà was born at Cetinje, the second son of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotic...

 who was left behind to organise the defence of the country.

Exile and marriage

In the Autumn of 1918 while still in exile in France, Prince Peter met a married women named Violette Brunet whose husband was in the service of his father King Nicholas. Having fallen in love and wishing to marry her, Prince Peter wrote to his father instructing him to arrange the marriage. When his father objected Prince Peter tired to blackmail his father threatening to reveal damaging secrets about the surrender of Lovćen. With the end of the First World War Prince Peter and the Montenegrin Royal Family were denied the chance to return to their kingdom when the Podgorica Assembly

Podgorica Assembly

The Podgorica Assembly , in full the Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro , was an assembly held in Podgorica that served as the representative body of the Montenegrin people during the...

 chose to unite Montenegro with the other Slav lands as part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

.

In Paris at the bedside of a dying friend, Prince Peter met the music hall performer Violet Emily Wegner, daughter of William Wegner, a policeman, and his wife Arabella Eliza Darby. After his marriage proposal was accepted Wegner's mother persuaded the couple to wait as Prince Peter had a claim of compensation against the Yugoslav government, totalling $6,000,000, for the confiscation of the Royal Families property in Montenegro. Wegner's mother feared that if Prince Peter married her daughter, a commoner, it could jeopardise his claim so instructed him to collect the money before he wed her daughter. After a number of years of failed attempts to secure the money Prince Peter attempted to strike a deal with the Yugoslav government whereby he would drop his claim to $6,000,000 if they paid him $2,000,000. After going to Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

 and signing paperwork he was told by the government that having agreed to accept $2,000,000 he would still have to wait like before for the money. Prince Peter eventually gave up waiting and married Wegner in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on 29 April 1924. After the marriage his wife became Princess Violet Ljubica of Montenegro.

Prince Peter Petrovich-Njegosh of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Zahumlije died in Merano. His wife Princess Violet Ljubica of Montenegro died in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....

 on 17 October 1960. They had no children.

Titles and styles

• 1889-1910: His Highness Prince Peter Petrovich-Njegosh of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Zahumlije
• 1910-1932: His Royal Highness Prince Peter Petrovich-Njegosh of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Zahumlije