After escaping a sect, Princess Jelisaveta’s granddaughter wants to move to Serbia: She wants her baby to grow up with the Serbian language
India Oxenberg (34), a descendant of the Karađorđević dynasty and granddaughter of Princess Jelisaveta, will move with her family from Florida to Serbia. She came into the public spotlight in 2018, when she managed to escape the clutches of the notorious NXIVM sect after seven years. Her wish is for her daughter to learn the Serbian language in the very first days of her life.
In 2022 she married an American, Patrick D’Ignazio, a chef, with whom she had Delfin Jelisaveta a year ago.
Relocation planned
“We were all together this year in Greece, on the island of Naxos. India expressed a wish to obtain a Serbian passport, she has already been to the consulate in New York and is waiting for everything to be sorted out. Of course, it can’t happen overnight, but she would like to come to Serbia and, for a start, spend a year here, perhaps even longer,” says Princess Jelisaveta, emphasising that she is very happy that India wants her great-grandchild, whom she affectionately calls her “great-baby”, to learn Serbian straight away
“That is very lovely, the two of us are very close and it would be wonderful if they were to move here. India said she would first spend some shorter time here because her husband has to find a job. Everything can’t happen at once. Her wish is for the baby to grow up in Serbia; she has it in her blood. She loves Serbia too, and the last time she was here was in 2019 at my exhibition. I would be truly delighted if they were to move here.”
Years in a sect
Princess Jelisaveta says that everything has finally fallen into place, and that a large cloud had hovered over their family. Let us recall that her daughter Katarina Oxenberg, an American actress of Serbian origin, suggested to her daughter India in 2011 that she attend classes in the NXIVM group, which presented itself as an organisation for personal development.
But behind the scenes there was a cruel sect, in which she remained for almost seven full years. Like other female members, she was abused, forced into sexual relations and branded, and due to the poor lifestyle in that “secret sisterhood” her hair fell out and she lost a drastic amount of weight. Her mother and grandmother fought with all their might to bring her to her senses. The leaders of this cult, which around 16,000 members passed through, Keith Raniere and actress Allison Mack, were arrested in March 2018. Raniere was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Recovery and family
“Seven years… We went through a lot. When she left the sect, I was sceptical, because a person whose brain has been washed cannot recover easily. You can’t specify how long recovery will take. Now I see that she has completely come through it. Her husband was a great help to her in that recovery. She found love, security, had a wonderful baby and that was the best possible outcome. Now she has a beautiful family life; there is nothing more beautiful,” Jelisaveta says proudly.
She added that she had not believed that “brainwashing exists”:
“Now I truly believe it does. After all that, India said she was frightened, but that she was not aware of what was happening. At the time, it was so deeply ingrained in her that she couldn’t analyse it rationally. Everything has now fallen into place.”
Soon, Princess Jelisaveta told us, she will be travelling to California for the wedding of her other granddaughter, Maja