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King Michael I of Romania (1921 - 2017, Reigned 1927-1930 and 1940 - 1947) Photograph of King Michael as a child of eight on the royal terrace at Sinaia. Michael I (born 25 October 1921 – died 5 December 2017) was the last King of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his abdication on 30 December 1947. Michael was born in Sinaia, Romania, the son of King Carol II (then Crown Prince of Romania) and Princess Elena of Greece. He was the grandson of then-reigning King Ferdinand I. He married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma in 1948 with whom he had five daughters and eventually settled in Switzerland. King Michael had two periods as the reigning monarch of Romania : the first was from 20 July 1927 – 8 June 1930, after his father’s forced renunciation of the throne, as a minor he reigned with a Regency Council. The second period of reign was from 6 September 1940 – 30 December 1947, after his father, King Carol, was deposed, until he was forced to abdicate and go into exile by the Communists. Nicolae Ceausescu's communist dictatorship was overthrown in 1989 and the following year Michael attempted to return to Romania, only to be arrested and forced to leave upon arrival. In 1992, Michael was allowed to visit Romania for Easter where he was greeted by huge crowds; a speech he gave from his hotel window drew an estimated one million people to Bucharest. Alarmed by Michael's popularity, the government refused to allow him any further visits. In 1997, after the presidential elections of the previous year, Michael's citizenship was restored and he was allowed to visit Romania again. Several confiscated properties, such as Peles Castle and Savarsin Castle were eventually returned to his family.
Please click on the following link to read an obituary from The Telegraph from 7 December 2017. King Carol II of Romania (1893 - 1953, reigned 1930 - 1940) King Carol II is seen on the right in this photograph, wearing medals, with a Romanian army, British-made Tank in 1940 King Ferdinand I of Romania (1865-1927, reigned 1914 - 1927) King Ferdinand I of Romania photographed in 1925 Carmen Sylva (1843-1916) Poet and Queen of Romania (Regina Elisabeta)  Carmen Sylva (H.M. Queen Elisabeth of Romania) Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise zu Wied (Schloss Monrepos, Neuwied, 29 December 1843 - Curtea de Argeş or Bucharest, 3 March/2 November 1916) was the Queen Consort of King Carol I of Romania, widely known by her literary name of Carmen Sylva.
Queen Marie  Marie of Romania in a photograph used by the English press in October 1914, just after she became Queen. She was born on October 29, 1875, at Eastwell Park in Kent, the eldest daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. Her father was the second-eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Her mother was the only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. She was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on December 15, 1875 and her godparents were the Empress and Tsarevitch of Russia, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Princess of Wales and the Duke of Connaught. As her father was in the Royal Navy she spent much of her time abroad, particularly in Malta. In her youth, Princess Marie was considered a suitable match for marriage to the royalty of Europe. Her first cousin, Prince George of Wales, later King George V, fell in love with her and proposed marriage. Marie's father and George's father approved of the marriage, but Marie's mother disdained the British Royal Family and was keen to see her daughters marry outside its court. Princess Marie married Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, nephew of King Carol I of Romania in Sigmaringen, Germany on 10 January 1893. The bride was 17 years old and the groom was 10 years her senior. (Marie's father did not become Duke of Coburg-Gotha until a few months later.) The marriage, which produced three daughters and three sons, was not a happy one. Her correspondence with her longtime secret confidante, the American dancer Gerte Fuller, revealed "the distaste, which grew to revulsion" that Marie felt for her husband.[2] The last two children were born after Marie met her long-time lover, Barbu Ştirbey, and historians generally agree that Prince Mircea was his son (having brown eyes like Ştirbey, unlike Marie and Ferdinand),[3] while Ileana's paternity is under discussion, as was her second daughter, Princess Maria,the future Queen of Yugoslavia (known as Mignon) Their eldest sons, Carol and Nicholas, and eldest daughter, Elisabeth, were quite certainly biologically Ferdinand's. Queen Anne of Romania  Queen Anne, consort of King Michael of Romania Please click on the following link to read an obituary from The Telegraph Website from 1st August 2016 |
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In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 she devoted herself to the care of the wounded, and founded the Order of Elizabeth (a gold cross on a blue ribbon) to reward distinguished service in such work. She fostered the higher education of women in Romania, and established societies for various charitable objects.
