News not so princely

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Thursday was a historic day for a country in

Eastern Europe with a population only six times larger than Costa Mesa.

And it was historic for one home here.

Montenegro arrived at a new agreement with Serbia that will shelve the

country’s independence plans and relegate the name of Yugoslavia to

history books.

While many who live in the area may not have heard about the country

or even paid attention to the news, there is one Santa Ana Heights

resident who is concerned about the issue.

Because Montenegro is home to 73-year-old Milena Petrovic-Njegos

Thompson, daughter of Milo, the country’s former prince.

Thompson was born and raised in the United States, for the most part,

by her mother Helena Smith Petrovic-Njegos. Her parents were married in

Santa Barbara in 1927. But her father, who was exiled from his country

after World War I, couldn’t stay far away from his homeland.

“He fought for the freedom of Montenegro, not in the battlefield, but

in every other way he could,” said Thompson.

So he left for Europe when Thompson was an infant. She did not meet

her father until 39 years later. He died in 1978.

Thompson said she was disheartened by the day’s news because she, like

her late father, hopes the people of Montenegro will be free some day.

“They were a free country for 700 years before World War I,” she said.

“Now, a new institution for a joint state has been established. But it’s

still Yugoslavia, only with a different name.”

The United States supports Thursday’s agreement, but only because it

and other Western nations believe it will put off upheavals in Eastern

Europe.

But Thompson believes it will have the opposite effect.

“The people of Montenegro will still want their freedom,” she said.

“It’s not going to go away.”

Last year, Thompson’s biography of her father titled “My Father, the

Prince” was published.

“I don’t claim it’s a historic document,” she said. “But it’s a story

by a daughter about her father, who led an interesting life.”

Does she fancy herself as a princess?

“Not really,” she says. “I fancy myself as part of the former royal

family of Montenegro. And I’m proud of my father as I am proud of my

mother.”

Her parents were divorced 10 years after they were married. But

Thompson said her mother understood the prince’s need to be close to

Montenegro.

Thompson herself took a trip to Montenegro in the 1970s, she said.

‘At that time it was a quasi-Communist country under Marshall Tito,”

she said. “But I did not sense an austere feeling about that place. I

felt quite comfortable.”

She did think about buying a summer home along the gorgeous

Montenegrin coast, but that did not work out, Thompson said.

Some day she says she hopes to go back to visit as she hopes for the

freedom of Montenegro, a cause to which her father dedicated all his

life.

“They’re still controlled and influenced by Serbia,” Thompson said.

“There is a lot of fear and intimidation, which will not go away until

the people are free.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .