In 1875, Princess Zorka was sent to Russia to continue her education at the Smolny Institute (attended by the girls from the most prominent Russian aristocratic families).

The arrival of Petar Karadjordjevic in Cetinje and his engagement with Kneginja Zorka Petrovic-Njegos were disapproved by the opponents of these two dynasties, but the act was gladly accepted by the Serbian and Montenegrin people, who saw it as the confirmation of their future bond.

The wedding party, like the engagement before it, was organized according to folk tradition, with many guests who could barely accommodate themselves in the small space of Cetinje.

[1] They had five children: Zorka died aged just 25 on 16 March 1890 in Cetinje during childbirth and was buried in the St. George's Church in Topola, Serbia.

The monument, a work of sculptor Stamenko Đurđević, was funded by the Duchess Zorka Society and was located on the Big Kalemegdan.