Natalija Obrenović
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HM Natalija Obrenović, (Serbian Cyrillic Наталија Обреновић) wife of King Milan Obrenović IV, was the Moldovian/Russian Duchess of Serbia from 1875 to 1882 and the Queen of Serbia from 1882 to 1889.
[edit] Early Life and Royal Marriage
She was born in 1859 in Florence, maiden name Natalia Keshko. Her father was Russian colonel Peter Keshko, and her mother was Princess Pucliria of Moldova (from the boyar family Sturdza). During her childhood, a fortuneteller predicted that someday she will wear a crown and then she would lose it. The prediction came true. She married King Milan Obrenović IV of Serbia in 1875 and had a son with him, Alexander. The King and Queen divorced in 1888, following his many affairs with other women, and political indifference between the two of them.
[edit] Regent for Her Son The King, Banishment, and Later Life
On January 3, 1889, her former husband surprisingly, and without any particular reason, suddenly abdicated the throne. She became the regent for her son (now king) Aleksandar Obrenović during his childhood and became very politically influential. She was a strong opponent of her son's marriage to lady-in-waiting Draga Mašin. This marriage caused a big scandal in Serbia because Draga had no royal background. In the end, Queen Natalija was banished from Serbia by her son for opposing the match.
King Alexander and his wife Draga were killed in 1903 during a military coup. This left former Queen Natalija the sole heiress to the Obrenović dynasty. She donated the inheritance to the University of Belgrade and various churches and monasteries around Serbia. The same year, Queen Natalija converted to Catholicism and became a nun.
Queen Natalija spent the remaining years of her life in exile. She died in 1941 in St. Daniel, France. Her unpublished memoirs are kept in the Vatican.
