Their Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg today attended the launch of the memoirs of Duchess Jutta at the National Museum of Montenegro in Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro, and the opening of an exhibition dedicated to her life at Biljarda, a former royal residence and now the Njegos Museum.
Also present at today’s events was the Head of the Royal House of Montenegro, HRH Crown Prince Nikola Petrovic Njegos, whose attendance from his home in France was organised by his official representatives Count Giuseppe Tedeschi and Dr Alessio Butti. The Duke and Duchess were accompanied from Germany by Dr Rajko Lippert, historian and Chairman of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz Cultural Heritage Association.
Duchess Jutta was born on 24 January 1880 the second child of the future Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V and Grand Duchess Elisabeth. She married the heir to the Montenegrin throne Hereditary Prince Danilo in July 1899.
Princess Militza, as Jutta became known after her marriage, wrote her memoirs shortly after the Montenegrin Royal Family arrived into exile in 1916 and therefore cover her life from childhood till then. Duchess Jutta herself lived another thirty years dying in 1946, the original manuscript of her memoirs remains in the possession of the Grand Ducal Family.
The memoirs have been published by Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts and the National Museum of Montenegro in German and Montenegrin, having been translated to the latter language by the books editor Dr Neda Donat. The text has been supplemented by 110 pictures. The book contains an Introduction by the Mecklenburg-Strelitz historians Dr Rajko Lippert and Sandra Lembke. Dr Neda Donat has written the afterword.
The Memoirs themselves are broken down into a Foreword by Duchess Jutta and then 24 chapters:
- Childhood
- Holidays
- Kepp Palace
- Riding Lessons
- Karl Borwins Birth
- The Neustrelitz Palace
- Family dinners
- London
- Swiss trip and return to Mecklenburg.
- Morning concert on January 24th. Winter sports in Neustrelitz. Trip to Wiesbaden.
- St Petersburg
- Engagement
- Farewell to the Home
- Arrival in Montenegro and wedding
- First impressions of Montenegro
- Country, people and Princely House of Montenegro.
- Living in Cetinje
- Travel
- Family events
- Coronation of King George V of England and 90th birthday of my grandmother.
- Balkan War
- Last years before the World War
- World War
- Farewell to Montenegro and finale
The exhibition at the Njegos Museum titled ‘Jutta and the Land of the Black Mountains’ will run until 1 March 2020 and has been organised by the National Museum of Montenegro and the Niksic Museums and Galleries. On display are documents, photographs, personal items and dresses of Duchess Jutta.
