by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was elected by the Romanian government to become the new Ruling Prince on April 20, 1866. Karl arrived in Romania on May 10, 1866, and declared his allegiance to his new country, taking on the more Romanian spelling of his name – Carol. On March 15, 1881, the Romanian parliament declared Romania a Kingdom, and Prince Carol became King Carol I. Romania remained a monarchy until 1947 when King Mihai I was forced to sign a document of abdication by the Communist regime. A year later, he publicly announced that his abdication was invalid, as it had been forced upon him, and that he remained the rightful King of Romania.

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The traditional burial site for the Royal Family of Romania was the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral, located on the grounds of the Curtea de Argeş Monastery. It contains the remains of King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth, and King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. Several younger members of the Romanian Royal Family are also interred there.

King Mihai and Queen Anne are both buried in the New Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral, also on the grounds of the monastery.  The new cathedral was built between 2009-2015.

The article below has information on both the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral and the New Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral.

• Unofficial Royalty: Monastery of Curtea de Argeș in Curtea de Argeș, Romania

King Carol II is, to date, the only King not interred in the Cathedral. When his remains were returned to Romania in 2003, he was interred in a small chapel on the grounds of the cathedral (pictured above). The chapel was originally built as a guardhouse when King Ferdinand had a summer residence on the grounds.

In January 2018, it was announced that the remains of King Carol II will be moved to the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral, along with those of Queen Mother Helen. She was first buried in a cemetery in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her remains were reburied on October 19, 2019. In addition, the remains of Prince Mircea, the youngest son of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, will also be moved to the new cathedral. His remains are currently interred at Bran Castle.

Kings of Romania

• Carol I – reigned March 15, 1881 – October 10, 1914
• Ferdinand I – reigned October 10, 1914 – July 20, 1927
• Mihai – reigned July 20, 1927 – June 8, 1930
• Carol II – reigned June 8, 1930 – September 6, 1940
• Mihai – reigned September 6, 1940 – December 30, 1947

Unofficial Royalty: Romanian Index

King Carol I of Romania
(reigned March 15, 1881 – October 10, 1914)

• Unofficial Royalty: King Carol I of Romania

King Carol I was born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen on April 20, 1839. In 1866, he was chosen as the new Dominator (Prince) of Romania. He married Elisabeth of Wied on November 15, 1869, in Neuwied, and they had one daughter, Maria. When Romania was proclaimed a Kingdom, Carol became the country’s first King. He died on October 10, 1914, and is buried at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.

Princess Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania

• Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania

Elisabeth was born on December 29, 1843, at Schloss Monrepos in Neuwied, Germany. She married Prince Carol of Romania in November 1869 and had one daughter, Maria. She became known for her artistic pursuits, publishing her work under the name Carmen Sylva. Queen Elisabeth died on March 2, 1916, and is buried with her husband and daughter at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.

Children of King Carol I

Princess Maria
(September 8, 1870 – April 9, 1874)

• Wikipedia: Princess Maria of Romania

Princess Maria was born on September 8, 1870, the only child of King Carol and Elisabeth of Wied. She died of scarlet fever on April 9, 1874. She was initially buried on the grounds of Cotroceni Palace, beside the palace church. In 1916, her remains were exhumed and reburied in the same tomb with her mother at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.

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King Ferdinand I of Romania
(reigned October 10, 1914 – July 20, 1927)

• Unofficial Royalty: King Ferdinand of Romania

Ferdinand was born Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen on August 24, 1865. He was the nephew of King Carol I and became heir-presumptive to the Romanian throne after his father and elder brother both renounced their rights. On January 10, 1893, he married Princess Marie of Edinburgh, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The couple had six children – King Carol II (1893); Elisabeta (1894); Maria (1900); Nicolae (1903); Ileana (1909); and Mircea (1913). He became King following his uncle’s death and ruled until his own death on July 20, 1927. He is buried at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.

Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania

• Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania

Queen Marie was born in England on October 29, 1875, the eldest daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). She married Prince Ferdinand of Romania in January 1893 and had six children. She died at Pelişor Castle on July 18, 1938, and is buried beside her husband at the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral. Per her wishes, her heart was interred in the Stella Maris chapel at Balchik Palace. However, when the region became part of Bulgaria, her daughter Ileana had her heart moved to a small chapel at Bran Castle. In 1971, Marie’s heart was moved to the National History Museum after the chapel at Bran Castle was desecrated by the Communists. Finally, in 2015, Queen Marie’s heart returned to Pelisor Castle and was placed in a display in the room in which she died.

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Children of King Ferdinand

King Carol II (below)

Princess Elisabeta of Romania, Queen of the Hellenes

(October 12, 1894 – November 14, 1956)
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Elisabeta of Romania, Queen of the Hellenes

Princess Elisabeta was born at Peleş Castle on October 12, 1894. She married the future King George II of the Hellenes on February 27, 1921, and became Queen of Greece upon his succession in September 1922. Eighteen months later, the Greek monarchy was overthrown and Elisabeta and George went into exile in Romania. They had no children and were divorced in July 1935 before George returned to the Greek throne. Elisabeta was forced to leave Romania when the monarchy was abolished in December 1947 and eventually settled in Cannes. She died there on November 14, 1956, and is buried in the crypt of the Church of the Redeemer at the Hedinger Monastery in Sigmaringen.

Princess Maria of Romania, Queen of Yugoslavia

(January 6, 1900 – June 22, 1961)
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Maria of Romania, Queen of Yugoslavia

Princess Maria was born in Gotha on January 6, 1900. She married King Alexander I of Yugoslavia on June 8, 1922, and had three children – King Peter II (1923); Prince Tomislav (1928); and Prince Andrej (1929).

Widowed in 1934, she later moved to England where she lived a relatively quiet and private life. The Dowager Queen of Yugoslavia died in London on June 22, 1961, and was interred in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor. In 2013, her remains were returned to Serbia and buried in St. George’s Church in Oplenac, Serbia.

Prince Nicolae of Romania

(August 3, 1903 – June 9, 1978)
Wikipedia: Prince Nicolae of Romania

Prince Nicolae was born at Peleş Castle on August 3, 1903. He studied in Britain and served in the British Navy until 1927 when he returned to Romania to lead a Regency Council for his 5-year-old nephew, King Mihai. The regency ended in 1930 when Mihai’s father, King Carol II, returned to Romania and claimed the throne for himself. The following year, Nicolae married Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti, a divorced commoner. King Carol II, had the marriage declared void and stripped him of his royal titles and styles. Nicolae took the surname Brana and settled with his wife in Switzerland. In 1942, his nephew Mihai was again on the throne and recognized Nicolae’s marriage, and restored his royal status. Nicolae took the title Prince Nicolae of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He married a second time in 1967 to Thereza Lisboa Figueira de Mello. Prince Nicolae died in Madrid on June 9, 1978. He is buried in the Chrétien Cemetery in Prilly, France.

Princess Ileana of Romania, Archduchess of Austria-Tuscany

(January 5, 1909 – January 21, 1991)
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Ileana of Romania

Princess Ileana was born on January 5, 1909, in Bucharest. She married Archduke Anton of Austria, Prince of Tuscany, on July 26, 1931, and had six children – Stefan (1932); Maria Ileana (1933); Alexandra (1935); Dominic (1937); Maria Magdalena (1939); and Elisabeth (1942). She and Anton divorced in 1954, and later that year, she remarried to Dr. Stefan Issarescu. They divorced in 1965. She founded the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania in the late 1960s, and served as abbess until 1981. Ileana, known as Mother Alexandra, died in Ellwood City on January 21, 1991, and is buried in the cemetery at the Monastery.

Prince Mircea of Romania

(January 3, 1913 – November 2, 1916)
Wikipedia: Prince Mircea of Romania

Prince Mircea was born January 3, 1913, in Bucharest, the youngest child of Ferdinand and Marie. He died of typhoid fever on November 2, 1916. As the family was fleeing enemy forces approaching Bucharest, he was quickly buried in the grounds of Cotroceni Palace. Years later, in 1941, his remains were moved to the chapel at Bran Castle.  In 2019, Mircea’s remains found their final resting place at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeş.

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King Carol II of Romania
(reigned June 8, 1930 – September 6, 1940)

• Unofficial Royalty: King Carol II of Romania

King Carol II was born at Peleş Castle on October 15, 1893, the eldest child of King Ferdinand of Romania and Princess Marie of Edinburgh. His first marriage was to Ioana ‘Zizi’ Lambrino on August 31, 1918, in Odessa, Ukraine. The marriage had not been approved by the King and was annulled several months later. However, the couple remained together and had a son – Mircea Lambrino (1920). His second marriage, on March 10, 1921, was to Princess Helen of Greece. They had one son – Mihai (1921). The marriage, arranged to help form an alliance between Romania and Greece, was disastrous. By 1925, Carol had begun an affair with Elena ‘Magda’ Lupescu. The relationship caused great controversy, and on December 28, 1925, Carol renounced his succession rights to the Romanian throne. After his father’s death, he divorced his wife Helen and left the country with Magda. He returned in June 1930 and negotiated with the government to cancel his earlier renunciation and take the throne. He was forced to abdicate on September 6, 1940, and his son once again became King of Romania. Carol left the country, again with Magdau, settling first in Mexico, then in Brazil. He and Magda married in the summer of 1947, before settling permanently in Estoril, Portugal. Just six years after marrying, the former King died in Estoril on April 4, 1953. He was buried in the Pantheon of the Royal House of Braganza until 2003 when his remains were returned to Romania and buried in a chapel outside of the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.  King Carol II of Romania was reburied at the New Episcopal and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș on March 8, 2019.

Ioana ‘Zizi’ Lambrino

• Unofficial Royalty: Zizi Lambrino

Ioana ‘Zizi’ Lambrino was the first wife of the future King Carol II of Romania. She was born on October 3, 1898. She and Carol began their relationship in 1918 and quickly married in August of that year. As the marriage was in contravention to the Statutes of the Royal House (which limited marriages to people of other royal houses), Carol’s father, King Ferdinand, had the marriage annulled in 1919. Despite that, the couple stayed together and had a son – Mircea Lambrino, born in 1920. After Carol married again in 1921, Zizi was sent into exile in France, where she was provided with a house and an income by the Romanian royal family. She died in Paris on March 11, 1953.

Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania

• Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helen of Greece, Queen Mother of Romania

Queen Mother Helen was born in Athens on May 2, 1896, the daughter of King Constantine I of the Hellenes and Princess Sophie of Prussia. She married the future King Carol II on March 10, 1921, and they had one son – Mihai (1921). Helen and Carol divorced in 1928. When her son returned to the throne in 1940, she was given the title Queen Mother. After the monarchy was abolished, she moved to Switzerland and then settled in Italy. In 1979, she moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, where she died on November 28, 1982. She is buried in the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne.  Helen was reburied at the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeș on October 19, 2019.

Elena ‘Magda’ Lupescu

• Unofficial Royalty: Magda Lupescu

Elena ‘Magda’ Lupescu was born on September 15, 1895. She was the third wife of King Carol II. She was married previously to an officer in the Romanian Royal Army, but the couple had divorced. By 1925, Magda and Carol had begun an affair, and he soon renounced his succession rights. In 1930, he returned to reclaim the throne and reigned for ten years, abdicating and once again going into exile with Magda by his side. They settled first in Mexico before moving to Brazil, where they finally married in the summer of 1947. At that point, Magda styled herself as Princess Elena of Romania. They soon moved to Estoril, Portugal. After surviving her husband for 24 years, Magda died in Estoril on June 29, 1977. She was interred with Carol in the Pantheon of the Royal House of Braganza. In 2003, their remains were returned to Romania, and she is buried in the grounds of the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral.

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Mihai I, King of Romania
(reigned July 20, 1927 – June 8, 1930)
(reigned September 6, 1940 – December 30, 1947)

Unofficial Royalty: King Mihai I of Romania
King Mihai was born on October 25, 1921, at Peleş Castle. He is the only child of King Carol II and Princess Helen of Greece. His father renounced his rights to the throne in 1925, so Mihai became King of Romania upon his grandfather’s death on July 20, 1927. Three years later, his father returned to Romania and claimed the throne for himself. Mihai returned to the throne on September 6, 1940, when his father abdicated. He reigned until December 30, 1947, when he was deposed and the Romanian monarchy was abolished. On June 10, 1948, in Athens, he married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, and they had five daughters – Margareta (1949); Elena (1950); Irina (1953); Sophie (1957) and Maria (1964). The family settled in Switzerland where he continues to live today. King Mihai retired from public life in March 2016 and began treatment for chronic leukemia and epidermoid carcinoma.  King Mihai died at his home in Aubonne, Switzerland, on December 5, 2017.  He is buried at the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeş.

Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of Romania

• Unofficial Royalty: Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of Romania

Queen Anne was born in Paris on September 18, 1923, the daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margrethe of Denmark. She married King Mihai of Romania on June 10, 1948, and the couple had five daughters – Margareta (1949); Elena (1950); Irina (1953); Sophie (1957) and Maria (1964.) She died in Morges, Switzerland on August 1, 2016, and is buried at the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeş.

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