Today’s evening, this Saturday June 4, 2005, the city of Cetinje, in the heart of traditional Montenegro, hosted the first gala ceremony of the Order of Danilo I in the country since 90 years. This prestigious event in the old Royal Capital — placed under the High Patronage of the President of Montenegro, H.E. Mr. Filip Vujanović, and his wife Svetlana — started by an investiture ceremony in the historic setting of the Blue Saloon of the King’s Palace, the former official reception room of King Nikola I.

The highly symbolic ceremony was the occasion for Hereditary Grand Master H.R.H. Crown Prince Nicolas to honour the Russian branch of the Petrovitch Njegosh’s family through the person of his cousin H.S.H. Dmitri Romanovich Prince Romanovsky-Cheremetev.
Widow of Johanna von Kauffmann (º1936, †1989) and married secondly to Dorrit Reventlow on July 28, 1993, Prince Dmitri Romanovich is the second son [1] of the Prince of the Imperial Blood H.H. Roman Petrovich Romanov (º1896, †1978) and the grandson of Princess Milica Petrovitch Njegosh (º1866, †1951) with Pjotr Nikolaevich Romanov Grand Duke of Russia (º1864, †1931) [2].

After remembering the historic links and the centuries-old friendship between Montenegro and Russia — which has been the first country to recognise the Principality of Montenegro on March 21, 1852, the blood ties between the Romanov’s and the Petrovitch Njegosh’s families and their parallel destiny that forced them into exile from their fatherland, Hereditary Grand Master H.R.H. Crown Prince Nicolas invested his cousin and his wife with the insignia of Knight and Dame Grand Cross in the Order of Danilo I, respectively.

In his congratulation address to H.S.H. Prince Dmitri Romanovich, the Hereditary Grand Master also insisted on the numerous human and philanthropic values he shares with his cousin, notably their common dedication to help and support their respective fatherland through charitable organisations and causes [3].