Maria married
Alexander I, second
King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in
Belgrade on 8 June 1922. The wedding took place at the Saint Michael's cathedral. The wedding was given big international publicity at the time. Since Maria was related to the
British royal family, the
British Crown was represented by the
Duke of York, who attended the wedding as witness. On 3 October 1929, Maria became Queen of Yugoslavia when Alexander changed the name of the country. The royal couple settled at the Karađorđević estate in Oplenac near Topola. Since the new Royal Residence in Belgrade was not finished, the king and queen continued to live at the Karađorđević estate. Queen Maria established good relations with the Orthodox clergy and engaged in charity. At the Karađorđević estate, Maria participated in the work of the local peasantry at the royal estate, and could be seen working in the field dressed in traditional folk costume. She founded schools for the children of the local farmers, scholarships for the benefit of poor students and cooperated with the church to help poor families. Her first son was given a traditional royal Serbian name, her second son was given a Croatian name and her third son was given a Slovenian name to create unity in the new state of Yugoslavia. Her sons played with the children of the workers on the estate. The simple life of Maria gave her a great deal of favourable publicity, and her popularity also benefitted Alexander, when she and sometimes the sons accompanied him on his trips around Yugoslavia. Maria was well educated. She spoke several languages fluently and enjoyed painting and sculpting under the guidance of artist
Iva Despić-Simonović. She also drove a car by herself, which was very unusual for royalty at the time. Following the assassination of her husband,
King Alexander I, in
Marseille in 1934, her oldest son, aged only 11, became Peter II of Yugoslavia and was the last reigning Yugoslav king. Her son, being a minor, was placed under the regency of his father’s cousin,
Prince Paul. The regent gave Maria an allowance of six million dinars for herself and her sons; she kept a quarter of that amount, and donated the rest to charity. Queen Maria initially kept participating in royal representation as a widow. Her first assignment as a widow was a campaign against tuberculosis. After the death of Alexander, Maria suffered from a deteriorating state of
rheumatism. In 1938, she bought a farm in Gransden in Bedfordshire north of London in England. In 1939, she moved permanently to her house in England: she took her younger sons with her, but was obliged to leave her eldest son in Yugoslavia because of his position as monarch. It was rumoured at the time that Maria left Yugoslavia because of a conflict with the Prince Regent Paul, but the official reason stated for her move was her health. She was given the title
Queen Mother of Yugoslavia in 1941. ==Later life==