Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania

by Scott Mehl    © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania – source: Wikipedia

Queen Marie of Romania was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and perhaps one of the most polarizing royals of her time. Called Missy in the family, she was born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh on October 29, 1875, at Eastwell Park in Kent, England. Her parents were Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Through her mother, she was also a granddaughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.

Marie had four siblings:

Missy, as she was known in the family, was christened on December 15, 1875, in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, with the following godparents:

Marie grew up primarily at Eastwell Park in Kent, England and Clarence House in London, England, The family also lived in Malta where her father was stationed several times during his career in the British Royal Navy. Later, the family took up residence in Coburg, where Marie’s father had become heir-presumptive to his childless uncle, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Marie’s mother quickly worked to make her daughters more ‘German’ than ‘British’, and had them confirmed in the Lutheran Church instead of the Anglican church in which they had been raised.

Marie had always been very close with her cousin, the future King George V. He had been a frequent guest while the family lived in Malta, and the two considered marriage. While Queen Victoria and both of their fathers were very supportive of the match, their mothers were not. The Princess of Wales disliked everything German, still reeling over the Schleswig-Holstein Question. The Duchess of Edinburgh disliked all things British. She did not want her daughter to remain British and was also against the marriage of first cousins, which was forbidden in her Russian Orthodox faith. When George did propose, Marie was obliged to refuse. The two remained devoted to each other for the rest of their lives.

 

Instead, Marie was soon engaged to the Crown Prince of Romania. Born Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was the heir-presumptive to his uncle, King Carol I of Romania. After gaining the approval of Queen Victoria, Marie and Ferdinand were married on January 10, 1893, at Sigmaringen Castle in Sigmaringen, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Following the civil ceremony, both Catholic and Protestant ceremonies were held due to their different religions.

The couple officially had six children. The two youngest children are believed to have been fathered by Marie’s lover but were formally acknowledged by Ferdinand as his own:

Marie found her new life quite challenging. Being very free-spirited, she found the strict Romanian court to be stifling. Her husband’s uncle King Carol I controlled every aspect of the couple’s lives. Her relationship with Ferdinand was also a struggle, as the two tried to settle into a content relationship. She later wrote to her husband that “it is such a shame that we had to waste so many years of our youth just to learn how to live together!”

With a growing family and a stifled existence in the Romanian court, Marie is alleged to have embarked on several affairs, possibly even giving birth to a child by one of her reported lovers. It is also speculated that several of her younger children were from another man.

Just after World War I started, King Carol I died and Marie’s husband Ferdinand ascended the Romanian throne. Drawn quickly into the war, Queen Marie threw herself into her charitable work, rallying support for the war effort, and serving tirelessly as a nurse. In 1919, after the end of World War I, she represented Romania at the Paris Peace Conference, replacing the Romanian delegation which had left due to extreme conflict with the French prime minister. Marie is credited with smoothing the situation and helping to bring about Romania’s huge gains at the end of the conference.

In 1922, Ferdinand and Marie were crowned King and Queen of Romania in Alba Iulia. A Romanian Orthodox cathedral, the Coronation Cathedral, was built there and the two were crowned in an elaborate ceremony full of pomp and pageantry. A few years later, Marie converted to the Orthodox faith, which further endeared her to the Romanian people.

 

The next years saw Marie travel extensively. Visits to Britain and the United States brought huge crowds out to see the famous Queen of Romania, and she did not disappoint them. While in the United States in 1926 with two of her children, Queen Marie met with President Calvin Coolidge and his wife. She also traveled to Washington State, where she presided at the dedication of The Maryhill Art Museum in Maryhill, Washington State, being opened by her friend, Samuel Hill. Marie later donated many possessions to the museum, which are still displayed today. (Read more about Queen Marie and The Maryhill Museum HERE.)

Soon after her return to Romania, King Ferdinand died on July 20, 1927. As their son Carol had previously renounced his right to the throne, Marie’s grandson Mihai succeeded King Ferdinand. Mihai was just five years old, and a Regency Council was established, led by Marie’s younger son Prince Nicholas. Three years later, Carol returned to Romania and reclaimed the throne. He would abdicate in 1940, returning Mihai to the throne.

In January 1928, after several months in seclusion following her husband’s death, Queen Marie returned to public life. Following her son Carol reclaiming the throne in 1930, Queen Marie found herself more on the fringes of the Romanian monarchy. She spent her remaining years enjoying the company of her grandchildren and her homes at Bran Castle and Balchik Palace. Throughout the years, shewrote her memoirs which were published in several volumes.

portrait of Queen Marie by Philip de László, 1936. source: Wikipedia

Queen Marie of Romania died on July 18, 1938, at Pelişor Castle in Sinaia, Romania, in the presence of her son Carol, daughter Elisabeth, and grandson Mihai. Her body lay in state for three days at Cotroceni Palace before she was buried at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral, Curtea de Argeş, Romania. At her request, her heart was interred in the Stella Maris chapel at her beloved Balchik Palace. After Balchik became part of Bulgaria, Queen Marie’s heart was moved to a chapel at Bran Castle by her daughter Ileana. After the chapel at Bran Castle was desecrated by the Communists, Marie’s heart was moved to the National History Museum. Finally, in 2015, Queen Marie’s heart was brought to its final resting place, at Pelişor Castle, where it was placed on display in the room where Marie died.

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