Prince Philip of Serbia has given an interview to Montenegro newspaper Adria regarding the possibility of rebuilding of the historically important chapel of Lovcen.
Prince Philip said: “There should not be a single Montenegrin or Serb who would oppose the reconstruction of the chapel on Lovcen. I am sure that the chapel on Lovcen will be restored and that Njegos’ wish will be respected. There should not be a single Montenegrin, not a single Serb who would oppose it.”
The Mausoleum of Njegos is a mausoleum dedicated to Prince Petar II Njegos of Montenegro. Until 1874 there was a chapel, the chapel of Lovcen, located close to the mausoleum. The chapel was demolished by orders from the communist government of Montenegro.
Regarding the chapel, Prince Philip stated: “We know who Njegoš was and it is known that the chapel on Lovcen was his endowment, built on his instructions and during his lifetime, in a place that he himself marked and expressly bequeathed to be buried there.”
This is not the first intervention regarding the chapel from the Serbian Royal Family. In 1925, Prince Philip’s great-grandfather, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, restored the chapel with personal funds, and the Prince’s relics were transferred from Cetinje Monastery to the renovated chapel in the same year. King Alexander I of Yugoslavia personally participated in bringing the coffin into the renovated chapel, where all the remaining remains from the old chapel were built.
The Serbian Hereditary Prince states that the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro is important to him. From 1992 to 2006 the two nations were joined in union. His Royal Highness said: “For me, Montenegro and Serbia are like two eyes in my head, even though they are two independent sovereign states, it does not mean that we are not each other’s closest friends and the most natural allies.”
