On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake . Queen Elena helped with the rescuers , as some photographs show . This helped to increase her popularity within the country . During the First World War Elena worked as a nurse and , with the help of the Queen Mother , she turned Quirinal Palace and Villa Margherita into hospitals . To raise funds , she invented the " signed photograph " , which was sold at the charity desks . At the end of the war , she proposed to sell the crown treasures in order to pay the war debts
earthquake
1908 Messina earthquake
Elena of Montenegro