Kingdom of Montenegro

Kingdom of Montenegro Краљевина Црна Горa Kraljevina Crna Gora
1910–1918[a]
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)[1]
Demonym(s)	Montenegrin
Government	Constitutional monarchy
King
• 1910–1918	Nicholas I
Prime Minister
• 1910–1912 (first)	Lazar Tomanović
• 1917–1918 (last)	Evgenije Popović
Legislature	Popular Assembly
History
• Elevation from principality	28 August 1910
• Balkan Wars	1912–1913
• Treaty of London	30 May 1913
• Balkans theatre	1914–1918
• Corfu Declaration	20 July 1917
• Unification with Serbia	28 November 1918[a]
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

Part of a series on the
History of Montenegro
Prehistory
Roman Praevalitana
Middle Ages and early modern
Duklja Crown land of Zeta Principality of Zeta Albania Veneta Sanjak of Montenegro Sanjak of Scutari Sanjak of Herzegovina Prince-Bishopric
Modern and contemporary
Principality Sanjak of Novi Pazar Kingdom Zeta Oblast Zeta Banovina Italian governorate German occupation Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Socialist republic Constituent state Montenegro
Topics
Demography Nobility Tribes
v t e

The Kingdom of Montenegro^[b] was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice. On 28 November 1918, following the end of World War I, with the Montenegrin government still in exile, the Podgorica Assembly proclaimed unification with the Kingdom of Serbia, which itself was merged into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes three days later, on 1 December 1918. This unification with Serbia lasted, through various successor states, for almost 88 years, ending in 2006.

During this period, Montenegro remained largely rural and traditional. The constitution, adopted in 1905, provided a basic framework for governance and recognized some civil rights, such as freedom of religion and the press, but the political system remained heavily centered on the king. King Nikola maintained tight control over political life, and the state operated with only limited parliamentary influence. The society was patriarchal and conservative, with significant influence from the church and tribal customs, and few advancements in terms of modernization or civil institutions.

Internationally, Montenegro aligned itself with Serbia and other Balkan states during the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), aiming to expand its territory at the expense of the weakening Ottoman Empire. These efforts brought some gains but also deeper entanglement with Serbian political ambitions. When World War I broke out in 1914, Montenegro joined the Allied Powers, but by 1916 it had been overrun by Austro-Hungarian forces. King Nikola and his government went into exile, and the monarchy never returned to power.

The kingdom’s end came in 1918, when the Podgorica Assembly, under heavy influence from pro-Serbian forces, declared the unification of Montenegro with Serbia, effectively dissolving Montenegrin independence without a popular referendum. King Nikola was deposed in absentia. Many Montenegrins saw this act as illegitimate, leading to the Christmas Uprising in 1919 by royalist forces, which was quickly suppressed. Despite this resistance, Montenegro was absorbed into the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and it ceased to exist as a sovereign kingdom.

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