Marie of Edinburgh

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
Maria of Romania
Crown Princess Marie of Romania, around 1900
Mary of Romania (medal)

Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh , called Missy , VA (born October 29, 1875 in Eastwell Park , United Kingdom , † July 18, 1938 in Sinaia , Romania ) was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and as the wife of Ferdinand von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Queen of Romania .

Life

She was the eldest daughter of Alfred von Edinburgh , later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , the second eldest son of Queen Victoria , and Marija Alexandrovna Romanowa , daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia . Her father was in the Royal Navy , so she spent a large part of her youth abroad, especially in Malta .

Wedding medal from Anton Scharff . Front.

In aristocratic circles, the granddaughter of the British queen and the Russian tsar was considered a "good match". When her cousin, the future King George V , asked for her hand, both Marie's and George's father, the Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII , agreed. Marie's mother, on the other hand, had a deep dislike of the British royal family and spoke out in favor of a foreign husband for her daughter. On January 10, 1893, a few months before her father became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , Marie married Prince Ferdinand of Romania , the nephew of King Charles I of Romania. An exchange of letters with her secret confidante, the American dancer Loïe Fuller , shows that she felt a deep dislike, even disgust, for her husband. Nevertheless, the marriage produced six children.

However, Ileana and Mircea were not born until after Marie's later lover Barbu Știrbey entered her life. Since Mircea had brown eyes - Maries and Ferdinands were blue - it is generally assumed that Mircea originated from this relationship. However, who is Ileana's father is still up for discussion. Another letter shows that Princess Marie's biological father is probably not Ferdinand, but Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia. In the case of Karl and Elisabeth, however, one can assume that they come from Ferdinand.

queen

In 1914 King Karl I died , Ferdinand ascended the Romanian throne and Crown Princess Marie became Her Majesty Queen Maria of Romania. Because of the First World War, the official coronation did not take place until 1922 in the newly built coronation cathedral in Alba Iulia .

Maria had meanwhile become a true patriot and had a great influence on the political life of the country. It was generally said that she ruled the country, and not the king, who was considered more reticent and weak. So it was she, too, who, due to her family ties, vigorously promoted Romania's entry into the war on the side of the Entente in 1916 and thus broke treaty with the previous allies Austria-Hungary and Germany (Central Powers).

She volunteered as a Red Cross nurse to help the wounded. She also wrote a book called Mein Land , which was sold to raise funds for the Red Cross. When Romania was already half occupied by Germany in 1917, Maria and a group of military advisers developed a plan according to which Romanian troops would not retreat towards Russia, but into a certain area that was to be defended to the last. She also provided the necessary financial support from the United States to implement this plan.

When the war was over, Maria insisted on traveling to Versailles to represent her country , advocated for the rights of Romanians vehemently in foreign affairs, traveled to fundraising in the United States, and lectured at the League of Nations .

After Ferdinand's death in 1927, Maria stayed in Romania, where she wrote several books and her memoirs. She died on July 18, 1938 and was buried next to her husband in the crypt of the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral. According to her last will, her heart was buried in a monastery near the Balchik Castle, which was built on her initiative . When southern Dobruja and with it Balchik returned to Bulgaria in 1940 under the Treaty of Craiova , the heart was brought to Bran Castle , which had been her main residence at the beginning of the 20th century and where many of Maria's private possessions, e.g. B. furniture.

Others

Maria was a very romantic person. She loved to dress up and loved to be photographed in her robes. There are countless photos of the attractive queen today. Sometimes she wore the simple Romanian traditional costume of country women, sometimes she dressed as a medieval nun or posed in front of an exotic backdrop. But with increasing age, the dreamy British princess became a fighter for the interests of the country she loved. Of all the queens of her time, Maria of Romania was certainly the most colorful and versatile.

Furthermore, she dealt extensively with other cultures and religions. Although she was actually of the Anglican faith, it is known that she also studied the Orthodox faith of the Romanians extensively. Later, the well-known journalist Martha Root introduced her to the Baha'i faith . Its followers still have great respect for Maria today.

progeny

Maria of Romania with her son Nicholas

Marie of Edinburgh and King Ferdinand of Romania had six children:

literature

  • AL Easterman: King Carol, Hitler, and Lupescu. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1942
  • Erika Bestereiner : Princess Maria of Great Britain and Coburg, Queen of Romania , in: The women from the House of Coburg. From the Franconian Duchy to the thrones of Europe. Piper, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-04905-4 , pp. 224-290.
  • Della Marcus: "Her Eternal Crown - Queen Marie of Romania and the Bahai Faith", George Ronald Publisher Ltd, Oxford 2000, ISBN 978-0-85398-442-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Joachim Böttcher: Ferdinand von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha 1861-1948 - A cosmopolitan on the Bulgarian throne . Osteuropazentrum Berlin-Verlag (Anthea Verlagsgruppe), Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-89998-296-1 , p. 306-307, 373 .

Web links

Commons : Queen Marie of Romania  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office Successor
Elisabeth zu Wied Queen of Romania
1914–1927 		---
personal data
SURNAME Marie of Edinburgh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Marie von; Edinburgh, Marie Alexandra Victoria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German wife of Ferdinand von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Queen of Romania
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Eastwell Park , UK
DATE OF DEATH July 18, 1938
Place of death Sinaia , Romania