Death of King Michael I of Romania at age of 96

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Abdication, Adolf Hitler, Carol II of Romania, Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth II, Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, House of Honhenzollern, King Constantine I of Greece, King Michael of Romania, King of Romania, Michael I of Romania, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, World War ii

Romania’s former King Michael I has died in Switzerland at the age of 96, a year after being diagnosed with cancer. The death of King Michael – a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh was announced by his family at his home on the shore of Lake Geneva on Tuesday.

King Michael was King of Romania twice in his lifetime. The first was from 1927 to 1930 and once again from 1940 to 1947 and then he was removed from office when the communist government ended the monarchy.

He was one of the last surviving Heads of State that was in power during World War II. His most important actions as king came in August of 1944 was when he played a role in Romania changing sides going from a State which supported Hitler’s Nazis Germany to a State that supported the Allies.

Background

Michael I (October 25, 1921 – December 5, 2017) was King of Romania from July 20, 1927 to June 8, 1930 and then again from September 6, 1940 until his abdication on December 30, 1947.

Michael was born in 1921 at Foișor Castle, Sinaia, Romania, the son of King Carol II of Romania (then Crown Prince of Romania) and Princess Elena of Greece (The third child and eldest daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophia of Prussia, Elena [Helena] was bor in Athens during the reign of her grandfather, King George I). He was born as the grandson of then-reigning King Ferdinand I of Romania of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. When Carol eloped with his mistress Elena “Magda” Lupescu and renounced his rights to the throne in December 1925, Michael was declared heir apparent. Michael succeeded to the throne of Romania the death of King Ferdinand in July 1927. Michael was 6 years old at the time.

Since the new King Michael was a minor, a regency council was instituted. This council consisted of the king’s which uncle, Prince Nicholas; the Patriarch Miron Cristea; and the president of the Supreme Court, Gheorghe Buzdugan. It was the inefficiency of this council that prompted the return of King Michael’s father, Crown Prince Carol, who replaced his son as king in 1930. Michael resumed his position as heir apparent to the throne and was granted the title Crown Prince along with the additional title of Grand Voievod of Alba-Iulia.

In 1940 the ineffective King Carol II was deposed and Michael once again mounted the Romanian throne as king. The government of the time was under the control of the military dictator Ion Antonescu. Under his guidance Romania became aligned with Hitler’s Nazi Germany. In 1944, King Michael was an essential figure in a coup against Antonescu, who was removed from office. The king assigned the Allies friendly, Constantin Sănătescu, as head of the government who swiftly declared an alliance with the Allies.

In March 1945, under political pressures, King Michael was forced to appoint pro-Soviet, Petru Groza, as the head of the government. Displeased and angry over the circumstances, Michael went on a “royal strike” and in an attempt to voice his opposition toward Groza’s Communist-controlled government, the king refused to do his constitutional duties and would not sign and endorse its decrees and laws passed by the government. This occurred from August 1945 to January 1946.

In November 1947 Michael left Romania to attend the wedding of his cousins, Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom) and Prince Philip of Greece-Denmark in London. Shortly upon his return, on the morning of December 30 1947, Groza requested a meeting with Michael where he was forced to abdicate. Michael was forced into exile, confiscated of his properties, and stripped of his citizenship. In 1948 Michael married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma (only daughter of Prince Rene of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark). The royal couple had five daughters and eventually settled in Switzerland.

In 1989 Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist dictatorship collapsed and the next year Michael attempted to return to Romania but was arrested and forced to leave upon arrival. In 1992, an estimated one million people in Bucharest came out to listen to a speech given by the king when the government allowed Michael to visit Romania for Easter.

The government was greatly alarmed by Michael’s popularity and refused to allow the king further visits. In 1997, after Iliescu’s government was defeated by Emil Constantinescu; who was more sympathetic toward the king, returned Michael’s citizenship and he was allowed to visit Romania again. Also, many confiscated properties, such as Elisabeta Palace, were returned to the Romanian Royal Family.

At his death King Michael left only daughters. The king designated his eldest daughter, Princess Margareta, as Crown Princess of Romania, despite the fact that the Romanian constitution, and the house laws of the House of Hohenzollern, prohibited the succession of females to the Romanian throne. In the coming days I will post another article discussing the complex succession to the Romanian throne and the headship of the Romanian Royal Family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survival of Monarchies: Prussia

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Brandenburg, Constitutional Monarchy, Frederick I of Prussia, Frederick William, Hohenzollern, House of Hohenzollern, Monarchy, Prussia

Now we begin to examine the fall of three of the more conservative monarchies. My examinations of England and Denmark were quite lengthy, lets see if I can keep these a little more brief. Today I’ll start with Prussia.

Initially Prussia was a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1525 during the Protestant Reformation, Prince Albert of Brandenburg, a scion of the House of Hohenzollern and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, secularized the order’s Prussian held territory, becoming Albert, Duke of Prussia. The new Duchy, which had its capital in Königsberg was established as fief of the Crown of Poland. In time it was inherited by the Hohenzollern prince-electors of Brandenburg of the main Branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Because of this personal union with the Electorate of Brandenburg the Duchy is often referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1657 the Treaty of Wehlau, and then in 1660 the Treaty of Oliva granted Friedrich-Wilhelm, the “Great Elector” of Brandenburg, full sovereignty over the territory. In 1701 The Duchy of Prussia was elevated to the Kingdom of Prussia, with Elector Friedrich III assuming the style of King Friedrich I in Prussia.

Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I granted Elector Friedrich III the style “King in Prussia” to acknowledge the legality that the Hohenzollerns were kings only in their former duchy and not their Brandenburg lands that were still part of the Empire. In legal terms this meant that within the Empire the Hohenzollerns were only Electors and were under the over-lordship of the Emperor. In truth this was merely a dog and pony show because at this juncture in history the emperor’s authority was only nominal. Each ruler of the various territories within the Empire acted largely as if they were the rulers of independent sovereign states, and only acknowledged the emperor’s suzerainity in a formal way. The only thing granting the Emperor some respect and power was due to the fact that the Hapsburg Emperor was also the Archduke of Austria, a state with considerable power within the Empire.

The personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia legally continued until the Empire was dissolved in 1806 under the pressure of Napoleon. Despite the legalities, from 1701 onward Brandenburg was treated as an integral part of the Kingdom of Prussia. During this time periods the Hohenzollern kings of Prussia were nominally subjects of the emperor within the parts of their territories that were part of the empire, they continued to style themselves “Elector of Brandenburg” until the empire ceased. It was not until 1772 under King Friedrich II “The Great” of Prussia (1740-1786) that the title was changed to “King of Prussia”.

With Prussia established as a Kingdom, next week I will look at King Friedrich II “The Great” of Prussia and the rise of Militarism, a large aspect of this conservative monarchy.

Divided by War: Austro-Prussian War 1866

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Austria, German Unification, Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and By Rhine, Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Otto von Bismark, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prussia, Queen Victoria of Great Britain

Often when I think of monarchy I envision a family, royal family, or, if you will, a national family. In the context of a national family which represents the nation it leaves out a part of their story and who they are. Throughout history royal families have been large extended families that often transcend national boarders. We can see this played out during the Victorian era when the numerous descendants of Victoria and Prince Albert were scattered about Europe. With centuries of inter-marriage the royal families of Europe, were in truth a grand family with many branches. Although we mere commoners may not have the degrees of consanguinity that the royals have, we too often belong to large extended families that may be scattered about all over the globe. We also, through our ethnic heritage may share kinship with more people than we are aware of. A problem that occurs when large extended families are separated by geography and culture and nationality it can place family members in conflicting positions both socially and politically.

One of the examples of that was during the 1866 War between Prussia and Austria. This war was part of the plan in uniting Germany under Prussian leadership that Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismark had constructed. The origins of the war are complex and worthy of a series of blog posts of its own, so I will only give you a brief synopsis. In 1864 there was a great controversy over the ownership of the thrones of the united Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. When the succession to that throne was contested between Denmark and Prussia war ensued with Denmark being easily trounced by Prussia. At this time both the Hohenzollerns of Prussia and the Habsburgs of Austria were wrestling for supremacy over the German nation and to see who would become the central power within Germany. Bismark desired a Germany with Prussia as its head and he found no room for Austria in this system. After the 1864 war with Denmark both Austria and Prussia took jurisdiction over the twin duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The next step in German unification for Bismark was to remove Austria from German interests and to do this he goaded them into War. With Prussia at war with Austria many of the smaller, or lesser, German states in southern Germany, sided with Austria. Like the US Civil War which happened in that same decade, this conflict divided families, even royal families.

This conflict affected two sisters specifically, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, and Hereditary Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse and By Rhine. Prior to their marriage they were both princesses of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Victoria, was the Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, and Princess Alice was their second daughter. In 1858 Victoria married the future German Kaiser and King of Prussia, Friedrich III. In 1862 Alice married the future Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and By Rhine. Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia was commander of one of the three division sof the Prussian Army and he was an essential leader in the Prussian victory at the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866. Prince Ludwig of Hesse and By Rhine found himself on the side with Austria and pitted against Prussia. He was a front line officer in a Hessian Regiment. With Prussia easily winning this war, Vicky was proud of the victories and accomplishments of her husband. However, Ludwig was feared for his life as Prussian troops marched into Darmstadt, the capital of the Hessian Grand Duchy.

Vicky and Alice, despite being on opposite sides of the war did have a strong relationship through the short conflict. Although Crown Prince Friedrich was a succesful leader during the conflict he was personally against the war. That did have some solace in easing family tensions. All of the parties mentioned wanted Great Britain to mediate the conflict but all efforts were squashed by Bismark. during this time Vicky had a tragedy. Days prior to her husband’s triumphant victory at the Battle of Königgrätz their son, Prince Sigismund, died of meningitis at 21 months and was the first grandchild of Queen Victoria to die. Therefore this tragedy also helped to detract Vicky from the war.

Another aspect of their relationship which helped them through the war was the fact that both being intellectual they were brought together over recent developments in both science and philosophy that made them both question their Christian faith. Liberal Biblical scholarship was in its infancy in 1866 but it had left the sisters to question some of the historical accuracy of the faith. They were also interested Darwin’s book, Origin of the Species, published in 1859. Their enlightened attitudes put them in disfavor with their mother, Queen Victoria, who could easily show favoritism or displeasure not only her children but anyone who displeased her and these new attitudes of her daughters did just that. It is interesting to see that royal families have petty squabbles just like the rest of us.