Kingdom of Montenegro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kingdom of Montenegro Краљевина Црна Горa Kraljevina Crna Gora
1910–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Убавој нам Црној Гори Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori ("To Our Beautiful Montenegro")
The Kingdom of Montenegro in 1914
Kingdom of Montenegro in 1914 zoomed in the map with some cities
Capital	Cetinje
Capital-in-exile	Bordeaux Neuilly-sur-Seine
Common languages	Serbian
Religion	Serbian Orthodox (official)
Demonym(s)	Montenegrin
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy under military dictatorship (1913–1917)
King
• 1910–1918	Nicholas I
Prime Minister
• 1910–1912 (first)	Lazar Tomanović
• 1917–1918 (last)	Evgenije Popović
Legislature	Popular Assembly
Historical era	20th century World War I
• Proclamation	28 August 1910
• Balkan Wars	1912–1913
• Treaty of London	30 May 1913
• Balkans Campaign	1914–1918
• Corfu Declaration	20 July 1917
• Podgorica Assembly	28 November 1918
Area
• Total	14.000 km2 (5.405 sq mi)
Currency	Montenegrin Perper
Preceded by Succeeded by Principality of Montenegro Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Today part of	Montenegro Serbia Kosovo

The Kingdom of Montenegro (Serbian: Краљевина Црна Горa, romanized: Kraljevina Crna Gora) was a small country in southeastern Europe, where modern-day Montenegro is located. It existed for a short but important time, from 1910 to 1918, during a period of big changes in the Balkan Peninsula and World War I. Even though it was officially a constitutional monarchy (meaning the king's power was limited by a constitution), in reality, the king had a lot of power.

The Kingdom of Montenegro ended on November 28, 1918, shortly after World War I. At that time, the Montenegrin government was living in exile (outside the country). An important meeting called the Podgorica Assembly decided that Montenegro should join with the Kingdom of Serbia. Just three days later, on December 1, 1918, Serbia itself joined with other areas to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This union with Serbia lasted for nearly 88 years, until Montenegro became independent again in 2006.

A Look Back: The Kingdom of Montenegro

This map from 1899 shows the Balkans, with Montenegro colored magenta.

The Kingdom of Montenegro began on August 28, 1910. Before this, it was known as the Principality of Montenegro. Prince Nicholas of Montenegro was the ruler, and he decided to make his country a kingdom. He had been leading Montenegro since 1860.

King Nicholas I brought in many new ideas and changes in the early 1900s. For example, he introduced a constitution, which is a set of rules for how the country is governed. He also created a new type of money called the Montenegrin perper.

Montenegro and the Balkan Wars

Montenegro joined the First Balkan War in 1912. The goal was to gain more land from the Ottoman Empire, which was getting weaker. Montenegro did gain some new areas, sharing a region called Sandžak with Serbia in May 1913.

However, Montenegro had to give up a city called İşkodra (also known as Skadar, now Shkodër in Albania). The "Great Powers" (major European countries) insisted that this city should be part of the new country of Albania. This was because most people in Shkodër were ethnic Albanians.

When the Second Balkan War started in June 1913, Montenegro sided with Serbia. This war was mainly between Serbia and Bulgaria.

World War I and the End of the Kingdom

During World War I (1914–1918), Montenegro became an ally of the Triple Entente. This group included countries like France, Britain, and Russia. King Nicholas supported Serbia, which was also part of this alliance.

Because of this, Austria-Hungary attacked and took over Montenegro. The country was occupied from January 15, 1916, until October 1918.

In July 1917, an important agreement called the Corfu Declaration was signed. This agreement hinted that Montenegro and Serbia would eventually join together.

On November 26, 1918, a group of elected representatives called the Podgorica Assembly met. They decided that King Nicholas I, who was still living in exile, should no longer be king. They also voted for Montenegro to unite with Serbia.

At first, King Nicholas I had supported the idea of a larger state with Serbia, where his family would still be important. But after this decision, he changed his mind. He began to support Montenegrin nationalism and was against joining Serbia until he died in France in 1921.

On December 1, 1918, Serbia and Montenegro officially became a big part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as Yugoslavia.

During World War II, some people thought about making Montenegro a puppet kingdom under Italian control. However, these plans never happened.

Leaders of the Kingdom

King of Montenegro (1910–1918)

• Nicholas I of Montenegro (1910–1918) - He was the only King of Montenegro.

Prime Ministers (1910–1916)

The Prime Minister was the head of the government. Here are some of the people who held this important role:

• Lazar Tomanović (1910–1912) - The first Prime Minister of the Kingdom.
• Mitar Martinović (1912–1913)
• Janko Vukotić (1913–1915)
• Milo Matanović (1915–1916)
• Lazar Mijušković (1916)

Prime Ministers in Exile (1916–1918)

After Montenegro was occupied in 1916, the government continued to work from outside the country. Here are the Prime Ministers during that time until the Kingdom ended:

• Lazar Mijušković (1916)
• Andrija Radović (1916–1917)
• Milo Matanović (1917)
• Evgenije Popović (1917–1918) - The last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Montenegro.

Gallery

• 

  Civil flag of the Kingdom of Montenegro

• 

  The Kingdom of Montenegro in 1913

• 

  Proclamation of the Kingdom of Montenegro, 28 August 1910

• 

  Text of the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Montenegro

See also

• History of Montenegro
• Principality of Montenegro