His Royal Highness Crown Prince Davit of Georgia attended the baptism of Her Royal Highness Princess Marija Karađorđević at the Royal Chapel of Saint Andrew the First-Called in the Royal Compound at Dedinje, Belgrade.
Princess Marija, the daughter of Their Royal Highnesses Hereditary Prince Filip and Princess Danica Karađorđević, was baptised by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije.
As at the baptism of her brother, Prince Stefan, the water used for the baptism was brought from the Danube, Sava, Drina, Morava, Ibar, Vardar, Žiča, and Prizrenska Bistrica; the spring of Saint Joanikije near Devič Monastery; and the Adriatic Sea.
Princess Marija wore a Chantilly lace dress that had belonged to Queen Amélie of Portugal, born Princess Amélie of Orléans. Queen Amélie was the sister of Infanta Louise of Orléans, the grandmother of Princess Maria da Glória, the mother of Hereditary Prince Filip.
The dress had been preserved at Villamanrique Palace near Seville, which belonged to the parents of Princess Maria da Glória.
Princess Marija’s godparents were Nicholas de Roumanie Medforth-Mills and his wife, Alina de Roumanie Medforth-Mills. Nicholas is a grandson of the late King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania. Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, Princess Marija’s great-great-grandmother, was also a member of the Romanian Royal Family.
On this occasion, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander, Head of the Royal House of Karađorđević, conferred the Order of Saint Sava, First Class, upon Princess Danica and Princess Marija.
In addition to Princess Marija’s parents and brother—Their Royal Highnesses Hereditary Prince Filip, Princess Danica, and Prince Stefan—the baptism was attended by Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, and Prince Alexander; Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Braganza, Duchess of Segorbe; Sol María de la Blanca de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, Countess of Ampurias; and Princess Danica’s parents, Milan Cile Marinković and Beba Marinković.
Other royal guests included His Royal Highness Crown Prince Davit of Georgia; Prince Albert of Thurn and Taxis; Princess Jelisaveta and Dragan Babić; and Prince Mihailo and Princess Ljubica with their daughters, Princess Natalija and Princess Isidora.
Representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church included Bishop Irinej of Eastern America; Bishop Pahomije of Vranje; Bishop Isihije of Valjevo; Bishop Andrej of Austria and Switzerland; Bishop Dositej of Lipjan; and Bishop Nektarije of Jegar.
Also present were His Excellency Monsignor Dr Ladislav Nemet, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Belgrade; His Excellency Ivica Dačić, Minister of the Interior of Serbia; Marko Romić, envoy of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik; members of the Advisory Bodies of the Crown; and close friends of Hereditary Prince Filip and Princess Danica.
Princess Marija Karađorđević is the second child of Hereditary Prince Filip and Princess Danica. She was born in Belgrade on 5 November 2023.
Her birth was announced by the 49 bells of the Church of Saint Sava in Vračar. The bells of Gračanica Monastery, Žiča Monastery, and the Church of Saint George at Oplenac also rang in celebration.
