I’ve saved the best for last.
Really, she’s my favorite.
Queen Marie of Romania was one of the five granddaughters of Queen Victoria. She was the spunky one. Frankly, if she were alive today, she’d have her own reality TV show. She’s one of the few royals to ever write an autobiography.
Generally, they’re very tight lipped!
When she was born, her father, the Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Victoria’s son said, “she promises to be as fine a child as her brother.” A rather bold statement for a man to make in 1875.
Her childhood was much like those of other royal children of her day. Shuttled from castle to castle, taught by governesses and cared for by nannies, Marie grew UP in an era when children where to be seen but not heard. Her mother was a Russian Grand Duchess so Marie had cousins in every nation of Europe. She spent her childhood following her father’s career; first in Malta where the family was greatly loved and was very happy, and then to Coburg when her father became heir presumptive to his childless paternal uncle, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Marie would later view this change as “truly the end of a life that had been absolute happiness and joy without clouds, of a life with no disappointments or delusions and without any discordant note” Her mother, who was pro-German, hired a German governess, dressed them in plain clothing, and had them confirmed in the Lutheran Church.
They spent summers at Schloss Rosenau, a medieval fortress in which her grandfather, Prince Albert had been born.
While in Coburg, her education was broadened to include painting and music, and two days a week Marie and her sisters went to theatrical productions at the Coburg Theater. In the winter they played ice-hockey and skated.
Marie had grown into a “lovely young woman with sparkling blue eyes and silky fair hair,” and was courted by most of Europe’s royal bachelors whose parents had ordered them to marry. This included her cousin, Prince George, second in line to the throne. The Queen, the Prince of Wales, and Marie’s father were all for it, but neither of the mums would have it.
The Princess of Wales disliked the pro-German stance of the family as her own family back in Denmark was in a dust UP with the Gerrys, and Marie’s mother had no desire for Marie to live in England, which she resented, and she never gave UP her Russian Orthodox belief that first cousins shouldn’t marry.
I’m with her on that one!
So, when George popped the question, she told him no and said they must remain “beloved chums.”
Ouch.
Meanwhile over in Romania, King Carol I was looking for a bride for his nephew, Ferdinand. He was worried about the succession, and wanted to see the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen continue; and who wouldn’t?
Russia and Rumania were squabbling over Bessarabia, and King Carol thought an alliance between the daughter of a Russian Grand Duchess and his nephew might calm things down.
It was all set, Marie and Ferdinand met at a party, conversed in German, she thought him shy but nice, he found her lovely, yadda, yadda, yadda.
The second meeting went just as well.
Granny wasn’t too fired UP about it. Victoria said that, “…Ferdinand is nice & the Parents are charming – but the country is very insecure & the immorality of the Society at Bucharest quite awful. Of course the marriage will be delayed sometime as Missy won’t be 17 till the end of October…” (Again, what is it with the English and those ampersands? Is AND that hard to write?)
In the fall of 1892, the King paid a state visit to London to meet Marie’s folks and talk monarchy stuff with Victoria. It was a huge success even though he hit on every woman there including the Prince of Wales’ mistress, Lilly Langtry. Victoria appointed him a Knight of the Garter.
In January of 1893, Marie and Ferdinand were married at Sigmaringen Castle. There were three wedding ceremonies.
A civil one performed by Karl von Wendel in the Red Hall.
A Catholic one at the Town Church where the bride was led to the altar by her father.
And an Anglican one in a castle chapel, as Marie hadn’t changed religions yet.
The couple had a brief honeymoon in Bavaria and Vienna where they visited the Emperor, and then back to Romania where Marie was embraced by the Romanian people who were longing for someone other than the stuffed shirts in the palace a more personal monarchy.
Married life wasn’t easy at first for the couple. Marie would say later, ‘…it is such a shame that we had to waste so many years of our youth just to learn how to live together. ..” But eventually, the couple formed a cordial friendship during their marriage, and they respected one another, and he felt she had a better understanding of the world.
Their first child, Prince Carol, was born nine months to the day after the wedding. Marie requested chloroform for her labor pains, but the King and the Doctors were reluctant because “…women must pay in agony for the sins of Eve…”
Nice!
After her mother and Queen Victoria insisted, King Carol caved and allowed the doctors to proceed. Marie later wrote that having a child didn’t bring her the joy she expected, and she “…felt like turning her head to the wall…” a true sign of post-partum depression which probably hadn’t been named yet. It didn’t help much that the Queen, Elisabeth, kept telling her that childbirth is “…the most glorious moment in a woman’s life…” Some historians believe this is the first time the term “bitch slap” was ever used.
OK, I made that UP.
Marie would go on to have five more children.
But, with the first son, the heir presumptive, King Carol and Queen Elisabeth immediately removed the tot from his mother’s care, believing she was too young to rear children.
Again, slapping heard country wide.
Marie was a doting mother when allowed, and found it nearly impossible to scold her children. King Carol and Queen Elisabeth weren’t much better. The kids never went to school, were “educated” at home in the loosest and lackest sense of the word. One Prime Minister wrote, “…it was like His Majesty wished to leave for Romania heirs completely unprepared for succeeding.” History would show they were a bunch of brats!
Life at the Romanian court sucked. (Think Beautician and the Beast.) Marie was too high spirited for the stuffy royals, Ferdinand was terrified of his uncle who ruled with an iron fist, and her aunt-in-law, Queen Elisabeth was constantly criticizing everything about Marie, from her lack of parenting skills to her love of booze.
Marie like a cocktail or two, or three, OK four.
Sometime shortly after the birth of her second child, Marie met Lieutenant Gheorghe Cantacuzene, a lesser noble from a Princely Romanian family. Described as “not very good looking”, he was credited with a good sense of humor and was good with horses. Heprobably had a great personality and made his own clothes too.
Marie and the Lieutenant became romantically involved, but Marie broke it off when the affair became public. Marie’s mother was pissed to beat the band, but did allow her to crash in Coburg, where she may or may not have given birth to Gheorghe’s child. Rumors flew that the child was stillborn or placed in an orphanage. There were also rumors that Marie’s second child was the child of Gheorghe, but this would have been impossible as they had not yet met.
Over time, Marie was romantically linked to Grand Duke Boris of Russia, Waldorf Astor, Prince Barbu Stirbey, and Joe Boyle.
Marie was a rule breaker. When she learned of the King’s repressive tactics used to stop the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt, she started dressing in folk costume both at home and in public. It became a fashion trend and a political statement in one.
In June of 1913 Bulgaria went to war with Greece, Romania allied with Greece, and the war was over in a month. Soon after the war ended, King Carol became ill. In June of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while in Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and as Marie said, “…the world’s peace was torn to shreds…”
In August, King Carol held a council to determine which side Romania would take. He was pro-German, his people were pro-France. Secretly Carol had signed a treaty in 1883 linking Romania with the Triple Alliance containing a provision that it would only be activated if Russia attacked any of the signatory nations. Carol was convinced the honorable thing to do was enter the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The rest of Romania felt differently. As fortune would have it, Carol died on September 10 and the new King, Ferdinand influenced by his British born Queen, Marie, was more willing to listen to public opinion.
Marie, much loved by the Romanian people maintained influence over her husband, and some historians believe it was Marie who ruled instead of Ferdinand. As the war raged on, Marie encouraged Ferdinand to enter the fray on the side of the Triple Entente (Russia, France, and Britain) mainly due to her family connections. Ferdinand caved and signed a treaty with the Allies in 1916.
The French minister to Romania declared that the Queen “…embraced war as one might embrace religion…” She dove head first into the Romanian Red Cross visiting hospitals daily.
In November, tragedy struck when Prince Mircea, their youngest son died from typhoid. Marie was distraught. Things worsened when Bucharest fell to the Austrians and the royal court moved to Iasi in Moldavia. While there, Marie continued her duties as a nurse by going to the train station, receiving injured soldiers and transporting them to the hospital.
When Russia fell to revolution and exited the war, Romania was landlocked by her enemies with no hope of help from the Allies. Ferdinand signed the Treaty of Focsani in 1917 which was disastrous, opposed by Marie, but ended the fighting in Romania.
In 1918, Ferdinand refused to sign the Treaty of Bucharest but sent his minister to do so. Marie opposed the move vehemently causing one minister to call her “…the only man in Romania…”
Regardless of opposition, the war was over and Romania was far worse off. Meetings were held, decisions were made, but a greater Romania would evolve. When the King and Queen returned to Bucharest, they were greeted by “wild, delirious enthusiasm…”, bands were playing, troops marching, and people were cheering.
Because Ferdinand had refused to sign the Treaty of Bucharest and because Romania had been hostile to the Central Powers until the very end of the war, it was guaranteed a seat on the winning side of the table at the Paris Peace Conference. But when the delegation got there, as historians say, the shit hit the fan due to the fact that the Romanian PM and and France’s Clemenceau hated one another. After a dust UP, the Romanians went home in a huff.
Count Saint-Autaire, the French minister to Romania during the war suggested that Queen Marie come over and give it a go.
Marie grabbed her daughters, packed her Louis-Vuittons and headed to Paris.
The French loved her.
LeMatin, a Parisian newspaper said, “She is magnificent and we have against all protocol, shouted our admiration. The day remained grey, but Queen Marie carried the light within her.”
Clemenceau wasn’t sold and told her he didn’t like her Prime Minister. Marie told him he’d find her more agreeable, and Poincare, the French President expressed a change in Clemenceau’s attitude towards Romania after her arrival.
After a week in Paris, Marie was invited by Britain’s King and Queen for a visit to the homeland, she jumped at the chance, stayed at Buckingham, and did PR work for Romania. Working the circuit, she met with Winston Churchill, the Astors and others.
But, there was business to do in Paris, so she headed back.
She was hounded by crowds and had become an international celebrity. President Woodrow Wilson was unimpressed however, and was shocked when she waived her ministers aside and took over the negotiations herself. Her response was to say, “What curious little corners of folly are to be found in even the sanest brain!”
She left Paris with supplies and international recognition of Greater Romania which doubled the size of the kingdom and added 10 million subjects.
Her cousin, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, said Marie could obtain anything she desired with her charm, beauty, and wit.
Conquering Paris wasn’t enough; Marie decided to come to America. She was invited by Samuel Hill, a wealthy businessman to dedicate a museum of art! But Marie saw it as an opportunity to “…see the country, meet the people, and put Romania on the map…”
Again, packing the Louis, she brought two children this time, a son and a daughter. When she arrived in New York Harbor, Jimmy Walker, the Mayor met her. Marie‘s was the third royal visit in US history, the Belgian King and Queen and Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani having made previous trips. And she took the country by storm. Popular with the suffragettes, the working man, and aristocrats alike, her trip was a pr coup for Romania. Journalists followed her everywhere and one published a book about the tour in 1927. She left with US support, an armored car from Willys, and a desire to return.
In 1926, her idiot son and Ferdinand’s heir renounced his rights to the throne, divorced his wife, Princess Helen, waived parental rights over his own son, Prince Michael causing constitutional and dynastic crises. Ferdinand died on July 20 in Marie’s arms. His last words were, “I am so tired.”
With Carol out of the picture and Ferdinand dead, five year old Michael became king.
Carol having found life outside of Romania with his mistress not so great, attempted to come home. The English authorities stopped him realizing he was planning a cout d’etat, but couldn’t keep him. On June 6, 1930, Carol forced his way into Parliament and had the act of Succession of 1927 declared null. He booted the toddler from the throne and became King Carol II.
Marie was relieved as she was concerned about the Regency’s powers and the direction they were taking the country. She viewed Carol’s return as the equivalent of the Prodigal Son. But, Marie was left out of the picture by her son, and their break never healed. He never asked her advice or counsel.
Devastated, Marie turned to religion; specifically the teachings of the Bahai’I Faith, which she found “vastly appealing”. Marie was the first royal ever to turn to Baha’i. She felt he brought peace and understanding, and felt like a wide embrace. She felt it embraced all great prophets, destroyed no creeds, and left all doors open.
Doors were closing for Marie.
Her son, Nicholas eloped with a divorced commoner who did all she could to keep the prince from communicating with his mother.
Marie’s rift with Carol was essentially over his divorce from his wife and his affair with Magda Lupescu, whom she refused to meet, and whose name she rarely uttered.
She wasn’t the only one in Romania who was unhappy about the mistress. Everyone hated her. Opposition rose from the Iron Guard, a group supported by Mussolini and Hitler. The Iron Guard assassinated Ion Duca, one of Carol’s advisors and confidantes.
Carol’s popularity waned, and assassination rumors were buzzing. So, being the loving son he was, he sent his mother to the annual independence parade instead of showing UP himself.
I was Marie’s last public appearance.
After the parade, Carol attempted to destroy his mother’s reputation and ruin her popularity with the Romanian people. Marie retreated to her country homes in Transylvania and Balchik.
She died of pancreatic cancer on July 18, 1938.
So, how was she a woman of influence?
She was an author, publishing 34 books and short stories.
She was considered the “best looking and richest princess in Europe”.
She was an equestrian.
She painted, sculpted, and danced.
To this day in Romania, she’s known as the mother of the wounded and the soldier queen.
During Romania’s four decade communist rule, she was depicted as either an agent of English capitalism or a patriot.
Thank God, she was both.