After a second meeting in Moscow to celebrate the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the Italian prince asked her father for Elena’s hand and the engagement was made official. She converted to Catholicism (she was Orthodox) before marrying on October 24, 1896, first in a civil ceremony at the Roman palace of the Quirinal and then in church at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs. The bride’s mother did not attend the ceremony as she was a conservative orthodox. The bride wore a veil woven with silver threads and thousands of embroidered daisies and arrived at the basilica in a carriage pulled by six horses. The wedding was not attended by members of other royal houses. Elena’s family had no jewels or works of art, so she arrived in Rome with a dowry consisting of a shipment of dried figs. After the wedding, a famous Italian alcoholic drink was named Amaro Montenegro in her honor.
The couple, who settled in the Quirinal in Rome, had five children: Yolanda, who married Giorgio Carlo Calvi di Bergolo; Mafalda, who married Philip of Hesse-Kassel and died in a concentration camp; Humbert, who was to become the last king of Italy and married Maria Joseph of Belgium; Jeanne, the last czarina of Bulgaria after marrying Boris III; and Maria Francesca, who married Prince Louis of Bourbon-Parma.
Providing Medical Aide During Her Reign
During the reign of Victor Emmanuel III from 1900, Queen Elena always won the sympathy of her people by her friendly smile and charitable works. She collaborated with the Italian Red Cross, becoming the first inspector of the Ladies’ Nursing Corps. In 1908, when the Sicilian city of Messina was the victim of a great earthquake, the queen did not hesitate to go to the scene of the tragedy, helping the wounded on the ground as a nurse. Her love for her fellow man led her to study medicine and graduate Honoris Causa. Elena became involved in causes related to the training of doctors specializing in tuberculosis, polio, Parkinson’s disease and cancer. Pope Pius XI awarded Elena the Golden Rose of Christianity in 1937, the highest honor the Catholic Church could bestow on a woman.
