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The engagement between the Italian heir to the throne, Victor Emmanuel III, and the Montenegrin Princess Jelena Petrović-Njegoš was one of the most important dynastic and political events of the late 19th century. The young couple first met in May 1896 in Moscow, during the coronation of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II, where a mutual affection soon blossomed.

The official engagement was announced on 18 August 1896 in Cetinje. Prince Victor Emmanuel travelled to Montenegro aboard the Italian armoured ship Fieramosca, and was received in Cetinje with the highest state honours by the Princely family Petrović-Njegoš. It was in the residence of Prince Nicholas I that the young prince officially proposed to Princess Elena.

To enable the marriage with the future King of Italy, Princess Jelena officially converted from the Orthodox to the Catholic faith in October of the same year at the Catholic church in Bari. Just a few days later, on 24 October 1896, the grand wedding took place in Rome. The civil marriage was held at the Palazzo Caffarelli, while the church ceremony took place in the magnificent Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.

This marriage had exceptional geopolitical significance. In addition to securing strong political, dynastic and cultural ties between the Kingdom of Italy and the Principality of Montenegro, it significantly raised and consolidated the international standing of the Montenegrin Petrović-Njegoš dynasty at European courts.