Romanian Royal Family
Encyclopedia
The current Romanian royal family (of Romania
, formerly named of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
), an integral part of the larger royal house of Romania
, consists of the family of King Michael I of Romania
who bear a royal title (i.e. Royal Highnesses). There is also a rival branch which descends from Michael's older half-brother Carol Mircea Hohenzollern
(also known as "Carol Mircea Grigore of Romania", al României in Romanian, on his amended Romanian birth certificate), whose members are not recognised as part of the royal family by King Michael. The king, queen and their five daughters hold the titles Prince and Princess of Hohenzollern in addition to their Romanian titles.
The children of Princess Elena, Princess Irina, and Princess Sophie have no rights to the Romanian throne according to both the last royal Constitution of 1923 and the last Law of the Statute of the Romanian royal house dated 1884. However, on December 30, 2007 in a private ceremony, King Michael signed into effect a new such Statute, an anti-democratic act with eminently symbolic importance in the absence of its approval by the Parliament requested by Michael himself, in an attempt to replace the old 1884 Law of the Statute. Through the new Statute called Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, Michael decreed his grandchildren into the line of succession to the throne and to the headship of the Royal House and explicitly banned any other foreign prince belonging to any other royal or princely house from succeeding. On the same occasion he asked the Romanian Parliament to change the Salic law
should it consider restoring the monarchy (see "Line of succession to the Romanian throne
"). Through the same act, Michael also designated Nicholas de Roumanie Medforth-Mills
as a future member of the Royal Family and future "Prince of Romania" with a "Royal Highness" style effective either on his 25th birthday, April 1, 2010, or upon Michael's death, whichever occurs sooner. Children or consorts of the members of the royal family of Romania who do not bear a Royal title, are not recognized as members of the Royal Family according to the new rules, but only as members of the larger family of King Michael I and of the Royal House.
and his first wife Zizi Lambrino
. Although Carol Mircea was born after the annulment of his parents marriage he won court cases in Portugal, France and Romania recognising him as a legitimate son of Carol II. The family's claimed royal titles and membership of the Royal Family are not recognised by King Michael I of Romania however. Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern opposes King Michael's decision to break ties with the House of Hohenzollern.
House of Romania
The House of Romania is the dynastic royal house that succeeds the Romanian branch of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen that ruled Romania between 1866 and 1947. The Romanian royal house was formerly known as "of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen"...
, formerly named of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...
), an integral part of the larger royal house of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, consists of the family of King Michael I of Romania
Michael I of Romania
Michael was the last King of Romania. He reigned from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930, and again from 6 September 1940 until 30 December 1947 when he was forced, by the Communist Party of Romania , to abdicate to the Soviet armies of occupation...
who bear a royal title (i.e. Royal Highnesses). There is also a rival branch which descends from Michael's older half-brother Carol Mircea Hohenzollern
Carol Lambrino
Mircea Grigore Carol Hohenzollern , also known as Mircea Grigore Carol al României according to his amended Romanian birth certificate or as Carol Lambrino according to his original Romanian birth certificate, self-styled HRH Prince Carol of Romania, was the eldest son of King Carol II of Romania, a...
(also known as "Carol Mircea Grigore of Romania", al României in Romanian, on his amended Romanian birth certificate), whose members are not recognised as part of the royal family by King Michael. The king, queen and their five daughters hold the titles Prince and Princess of Hohenzollern in addition to their Romanian titles.
Family of King Michael
- HM King Michael
HM Queen AnneQueen Anne of RomaniaQueen Anne of Romania , is the wife of the former King Michael I of Romania.She is a niece of Empress Zita of Austria and a great niece of Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia.-Early life:...
- HRH Crown Princess MargaritaPrincess Margarita of RomaniaPrincess Margarita of Romania , also styled as Crown Princess of Romania, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, former Princess of Hohenzollern, is the eldest daughter of Michael I , King of Romania , former Prince of Hohenzollern, and of his wife, Anne of Bourbon-Parma...
, born on 26 March 1949 (age 62)
HRH Prince Radu, born on 7 June 1960 (age 51) - HRH Princess Helena (Elena)Princess Elena of Romania-Titles and styles:* 15 November 1950–present: Her Royal Highness, Princess Elena of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern-Ancestry:-External links:* *...
, born on 15 November 1950 (age 61)
Alexander Philips Nixon McAteer, born on 22 October 1964 (age 47)- HRH Prince NicholasNicholas Medforth-MillsNicholas Michael de Roumanie Medforth-Mills , since 1 April 2010 styled as Prince Nicholas of Romania, is one of the designated heirs to the defunct throne of Romania according to the new family statute enacted in 2007...
, born on 1 April 1985 (age 26) - Karina de Roumanie Medforth-Mills, born on 4 January 1989 (age 23)
- HRH Prince Nicholas
- HRH Princess IrinaPrincess Irina of RomaniaPrincess Irina of Romania is the third daughter of the former King of Romania, Michael I of Romania and his wife Queen Anne of Romania.-Marriage:...
, born on 28 February 1953 (age 58)
John Wesley Walker, born on 30 December 1945 (age 66)- Michael de Roumanie Kreuger, born on 25 February 1985 (age 26)
- Angelica de Roumanie Kreuger, born on 29 December 1986 (age 25)
Richard Robert Knight- Countney Bianca Knight, born on 31 May 2007 (age 4)
- HRH Princess SophiePrincess Sophie of RomaniaPrincess Sophie of Romania , also known as Princess Sofia , is the fourth daughter of King Michael I of Romania and Queen Anne...
, born on 29 October 1957 (age 54)- Elisabeth-Maria Biarneix, born on 15 August 1999 (age 12)
- HRH Crown Princess Margarita
The children of Princess Elena, Princess Irina, and Princess Sophie have no rights to the Romanian throne according to both the last royal Constitution of 1923 and the last Law of the Statute of the Romanian royal house dated 1884. However, on December 30, 2007 in a private ceremony, King Michael signed into effect a new such Statute, an anti-democratic act with eminently symbolic importance in the absence of its approval by the Parliament requested by Michael himself, in an attempt to replace the old 1884 Law of the Statute. Through the new Statute called Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, Michael decreed his grandchildren into the line of succession to the throne and to the headship of the Royal House and explicitly banned any other foreign prince belonging to any other royal or princely house from succeeding. On the same occasion he asked the Romanian Parliament to change the Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
should it consider restoring the monarchy (see "Line of succession to the Romanian throne
Line of succession to the Romanian throne
The succession order to the throne of Romania depends on the interpretation of the applicable laws, either the Romanian kingdom's last democratic constitution, that of 1923, or the new Statute of the Royal House of Romania, named Fundamental Rules of the Romanian Royal House, privately enacted by...
"). Through the same act, Michael also designated Nicholas de Roumanie Medforth-Mills
Nicholas Medforth-Mills
Nicholas Michael de Roumanie Medforth-Mills , since 1 April 2010 styled as Prince Nicholas of Romania, is one of the designated heirs to the defunct throne of Romania according to the new family statute enacted in 2007...
as a future member of the Royal Family and future "Prince of Romania" with a "Royal Highness" style effective either on his 25th birthday, April 1, 2010, or upon Michael's death, whichever occurs sooner. Children or consorts of the members of the royal family of Romania who do not bear a Royal title, are not recognized as members of the Royal Family according to the new rules, but only as members of the larger family of King Michael I and of the Royal House.
Family of Carol Mircea Hohenzollern
Carol Mircea was the son of King Carol II of RomaniaCarol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
and his first wife Zizi Lambrino
Zizi Lambrino
Joanna Marie Valentina "Zizi" Lambrino was the first wife of King Carol II of Romania...
. Although Carol Mircea was born after the annulment of his parents marriage he won court cases in Portugal, France and Romania recognising him as a legitimate son of Carol II. The family's claimed royal titles and membership of the Royal Family are not recognised by King Michael I of Romania however. Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern opposes King Michael's decision to break ties with the House of Hohenzollern.
- Paul-Philippe of Romania (born 1948), son of Carol Mircea Hohenzollern.
- Lia-Georgia Hohenzollern (née Triff) (born 1949), wife of Paul
- Carol Ferdinand al Romanai (born 2010), son of Paul
- Alexander Hohenzollern (born 1961), son of Carol Mircea Hohenzollern
Deceased members of the royal family
- King Carol I of RomaniaCarol I of RomaniaCarol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup...
- Queen Elisabeth of RomaniaElisabeth of Wied-Titles and styles:*29 December 1843 – 15 November 1869: Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth of Wied*15 November 1869 – 26 March 1881: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Romania...
- Princess Maria of RomaniaPrincess Maria of Romania (1870-1874)-See also:* Carol I of Romania* Elisabeth of Wied* House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen-External links:*...
- Princess Maria of Romania
- King Ferdinand I of RomaniaFerdinand I of RomaniaFerdinand was the King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death.-Early life:Born in Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany, the Roman Catholic Prince Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern, was a son of Leopold, Prince of...
- Queen Marie of RomaniaMarie of EdinburghMarie of Romania was Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania.-Early life:...
- King Carol II of RomaniaCarol II of RomaniaCarol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
- Princess Elisabeth of Romania
- Princess Maria of RomaniaMaria of RomaniaMaria of Yugoslavia was the Queen consort of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. She was originally a princess of Romania.-Early life:She was born in Gotha, Thuringia, in Germany, during the reigns of her maternal grandfather Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and her grand-uncle King Carol I of...
- Prince Nicholas of RomaniaPrince Nicholas of Romania| style="float:right;"|Prince Nicholas of Romania was the second son of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania.- Biography :Born in Peleş Castle, Sinaia, Nicholas was the younger brother of Carol, heir apparent, who renounced his rights of succession on 12 December 1925...
- Princess Ileana of RomaniaPrincess Ileana of RomaniaPrincess Ileana of Romania was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I of Romania, King of the Romanians, and his consort Queen Marie of Romania. She was born Her Royal Highness Ileana, Princess of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern...
- Prince Mircea of RomaniaPrince Mircea of RomaniaPrince Mircea of Romania .Mircea was the third son and youngest child of Queen Marie and King Ferdinand of Romania...
- King Carol II of Romania
- King Carol II of RomaniaCarol II of RomaniaCarol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
- Queen Mother Helen of Romania
Family tree
See also
- Line of succession to the Romanian throneLine of succession to the Romanian throneThe succession order to the throne of Romania depends on the interpretation of the applicable laws, either the Romanian kingdom's last democratic constitution, that of 1923, or the new Statute of the Royal House of Romania, named Fundamental Rules of the Romanian Royal House, privately enacted by...
- Hohenzollern-SigmaringenHohenzollern-Sigmaringen-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...
- Order of Carol IOrder of Carol IThe Order of Carol I is a chivalric order of the Kingdom of Romania instituted on the 10 May 1909 by King Carol I of Romania to celebrate his jubilee of 40 years of reign. Until the fall of the monarchy in 1947, the order was the highest ranking order of the kingdom...
- The Royal Collection of Contemporary Art - Romania