Romanian royal family

The former Romanian royal family, a branch of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, ruled Romania until 1947, when the last king, Michael of Romania abdicated his throne and the country became a republic.

Members of the former royal family include the former King Michael of Romania, his consort Queen Anne, and several of their daughters. Some descendants have adopted the surname "of Romania." There are also descendants of Michael's older half-brother Carol Lambrino (also known as "Carol Hohenzollern" and "Carol Mircea Grigore of Romania" or, in Romanian, al României, on his amended Romanian birth certificate)^[1]), whose legitimacy was disputed and who were not recognised as members of the royal family during the monarchy by King Ferdinand, King Carol II or by King Michael.

Michael publicly renounced for himself, the former queen and their five daughters any claim to the titles of "Prince/Princess of Hohenzollern", styles which were not recognised under German laws since 1919 but had been attributed, along with the Romanian royal titles, to members of the Romanian dynasty in such subsequently published sources as the Almanach de Gotha and Burke's Guide to the Royal Family^[2]

Descendants of the former royal family

• Michael I, King of Romania (1921, age 95)
  wid. (1948-2016) of Queen Anne of Romania (1923-2016, age 92)
  • Princess Margareta of Romania (1949, age 67)
    m. (1996) Radu Duda, assumed the title Prince Radu of Romania (1960, age 56)
  • Princess Elena of Romania (1950, age 66)
    div. (1983-1991) Leslie Robin Medforth-Mills (1942-2002, age 59)
    m. (1998) Alexander Philips Nixon (McAteer) (1964, age 52)
    • Nicholas Michael de Roumanie Medforth-Mills (1985, age 31)
    • Elisabeta Karina de Roumanie Medforth-Mills (1989, age 27)
  • Mrs. Irina Walker (born Princess of Romania) (1953, age 63)
    div. (1983-2003) John Kreuger (1945, age 71)
    m. (2007) John Wesley Walker (1945, age 70)
    • Michael Torsten de Roumanie Kreuger (1985, age 31)
      m. (2011) Tara Littlefield
      • Kohen Kreuger (2012, age 4)
    • Angelica Margaretta Bianca de Roumanie Kreuger (1986, age 29)
      m. (2009) Richard Robert Knight (1984, age 32)
      • Courtney Bianca Knight (2007, age 9)
      • Diana Knight (2011, age 5)
  • Princess Sophie of Romania (1957, age 59)
    div. (1998-2002) Alain Biarneix (1957, age 59)
    • Elisabeth Maria Bianca Elena de Roumanie Biarneix (1998, age 18)
  • Princess Maria of Romania (1964, age 52)
    div. (1995-2003) Casimir Mystkowski (1958, age 58)

Daughters of Romania's kings, such as Margareta, Elena, Irina and Sophie, as well as their descendants, had no rights of succession to the Romanian throne during the monarchy's existence in accordance with the Salic law enshrined in both the defunct royal Romanian Constitution of 1938 and the Statute of the Romanian royal house, dated 1884. On 30 December 2007 in a private ceremony,^[3][4] King Michael issued a declaration in the form of a statute,^[5] (an act of symbolic significance in the absence of its approval by the Parliament)^[6][7] promulgating new Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania.^[8]

Michael therein purported to add his daughters and their children to the headship of the former Royal House, further explicitly banning any other foreigners belonging to any other royal or princely house from succeeding. On the same occasion he asked the Romanian Parliament to abolish the Salic law, should it consider restoring the monarchy (see "Line of succession to the Romanian throne"). By the same act, Michael designated his grandson Nicholas de Roumanie Medforth-Mills as a future member of the deposed Royal Family and future "Prince of Romania" with the style of Royal Highness, effective either on his 25th birthday, 1 April 2010, or upon Michael's death, whichever might occur sooner. On 1 August 2015, however, King Michael issued a declaration retracting the style Royal Highness and of Romania previously conferred upon Nicholas, also excluding him from the line of succession to the headship of the dynasty, noting that his successors in that capacity should be persons of principled modesty and morality.^[9] Children and consorts of the members of the family who do not bear a royal title are not recognised as members of the former Royal Family according to the new "rules".

Family of Carol Mircea Hohenzollern

• Paul-Philippe of Romania (born 1948), son of Carol Mircea Lambrino
  wed Lia-Georgia Hohenzollern (née Triff) (born 1949), with issue:
  • Carol Ferdinand al României (born 2010)
• Alexander Hohenzollern (born 1961), son of Carol Mircea Lambrino, unmarried.

Deceased members of the royal family

• King Carol I, The King of Romania (1839-1914) (Reign 1881-1914)
  m. Queen Elisabeth, The Queen Dowager of Romania (1843-1916)
  • Princess Maria of Romania (1870-1874)
• King Ferdinand I, The King of Romania (1865-1927) (Reign 1914-1927)
  m. Queen Marie, The Queen Dowager of Romania (1875–1938)
  • King Carol II, King of Romania (1893-1953) (Reign 1930-1940)
    m. Queen Helen, The Queen Mother of Romania (1896-1982)
  • Queen Elisabeth, Queen of Greece, Princess of Romania (1894-1956)
  • Queen Maria, Queen of Yugoslavia, Princess of Romania (1900-1961)
  • Prince Nicholas of Romania (1903-1978)
  • Princess Ileana of Romania (1909-1991)
  • Prince Mircea of Romania (1913-1916)

Family tree

Family tree

Karl Anton b.1811 - d.1885 Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen r.1848–1849 Prince of Hohenzollern r.1869–1885 Josephine of Baden b.1813-d.1900 Antónia of Portugal b.1845 – d.1913 Leopold b.1835 – d.1905 Stephanie b.1837 – d.1859 Carol I b.1839 – d.1914 Domnitor of the United Principalities r.1866-1881 King of Romania r.1881-1914 Elisabeth of Wied b.1843 - d.1916 Queen consort of Romania 1869 – 1914 Anton 1841–1866 Friedrich 1843–1904 Maria Luise n.1845 – d.1912 William b.1864–d.1927 Prince of Hohenzollernn r.1905–1927 Ferdinand b.1865 - d.1927 King of Romania 1914-1927 Queen Mary b.1875-d.1938 Queen consort of Romania 1914–1927 Karl Anton b.1868-d.1919 Maria b.1870 – d.1874 Zizi Lambrino b.1898–d.1953 Carol II b.1893 - d.1953 king of Romania 1930-1940 Helen b.1896 – d.1982 Queen Mother of Romania 1928–1982 Magda Lupescu b.1895 – d.1977 Elisabeth b.1894 — d.1956 Queen consort of Greece 1922–1924 Maria b.1900 — d.1961 Queen consort of Yugoslavia 1922-1934 Nicholas b.1903 - d.1978 Member of the Regency 1927-1930 Ileana b.1909– d.1991 Mircea b.1913—d.1916 Carol Lambrino b.1920–d.2006 King Michael I b.1921 King of Romania 1927–1930; 1940–1947 1923-2016 Anne of Bourbon-Parma Paul b.1948 Alexander b.1961 Margareta b.1949 Elena b.1950 Irina b.1953 Sophie b.1957 Maria b.1964 Carol Ferdinand Nicholas b.1985 Elisabeta-Karina b.1989 Michael b.1985 Angelica-Margaretta b.1986 Elisabeth-Maria b.1999 Kohen (b.2012) Courtney (b.2007) Diana (b. 2011)

See also

• Line of succession to the Romanian throne
• Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
• Order of Carol I

References

External links

• The official website of The Romanian Royal House
• Website of Prince Paul of Romania
• Royal Romania History