Holiday Season Card from Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania

As you know, King Michael of Romania, my father, celebrated his 90th birthday last year, in Romania, in extraordinary circumstances: he addressed the Joint Chambers of the Parliament on his birthday, the 25th of October, and was celebrated by millions of Romanians who watched the television’s live transmission of the celebratory Gala at the National Opera House in Bucharest. Recent polls show His Majesty to be the most respected and trusted Romanian leader. The Royal Family is seen today as a permanent part of the national identity, an institutional symbol of modern Romania, an instrument of our democracy.

However, the last 65 years were a long and hard road, which called for patriotism, patience, generosity and vision. When the King left Romania on January the 3rd 1948, the last bastion of democracy in South-eastern Europe fell. The King represented the last piece of institutional Romania that was still free. In the years of the Cold War, the King represented in himself an institution that kept alight the flame of state principles, over and above issues of form of government or political circumstances. The return of the Royal Family to Bucharest in 2001 opened up the road to the reconstruction of the Romanian State.

The popularity of the King and his family, and public sympathy towards him, have steadily increased. People know and understand much more than they did twenty years ago. Young people are better informed, more connected, and they feel the need for identity and state reference points. They are sympathetic towards the courage and moral stature of the King, and towards his selflessness and charming modesty. Millions of Romanians in Europe and America, young and competent, understand better, and much more profoundly the importance of living in a country that is proud, dignified and respectable.

Even without changing the form of government, the Royal Family is a transatlantic and European argument for Romania. It is not just a historical, cultural or diplomatic argument, but also a State and political one. That is why it was possible for the King continuously since 1948 to uphold the same principles in which he believes and always has.

Some years ago, a journalist from the New York Times came to interview King Michael. He did not come to the politicians with ‘real’ power in Romania, but to the King. Because he represents that part of power which is not always visible in the democratic world, but which exists nonetheless. The King’s power is not just great, but of a quite rare essence: he is trusted, loved, believed and admired. He inspires pride and respect.

His historical labour is not yet over. Although it extends over nine decades and has been full of pain and disappointment, his story is still a beautiful one, because it is not only long lasting but also holds meaning for the future.

I thank you all, on behalf of my father, for your presence tonight. And I want to present my grateful congratulations to the Chaplain of the Royal Savoy, and to Sir Gavyn Arthur, a great supporter of the Romanian Royal House in Britain.

The Order of St. Isabel conferred by the Duchess of Braganza to a number of European royals

28 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by Diana Mandache in European royal families, Royal Ceremonies

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Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Duchess of Braganza, Order of Saint Isabel, Pauperum Solatio

The Duchess of Braganza conferred the Order of Saint Isabel, in recognition for their philanthropic work, to the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Princess Christine of Orleans-Braganza and Princess Eleanora of Ligne. The ceremony was held at the Portuguese Catholic Cathedral of Rome, Italy – 27 October 2012.

The insignia consists of an oval shaped medallion worked in gold with an enamelled centre representing the Saint giving alms to a beggar, with the motto Pauperum Solatio (for the solace of the poor). The reverse has the monogram of Donna Carlota Joaquina with the inscription ‘Real ordem de Santa Izabel’.

Crown Princess Margarita of Romania

Hat tip to Manuel Beninger

Crown Princess Margarita of Romania & Prince Radu attend the wedding ceremony, Luxembourg (2)

21 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by Diana Mandache in Romanian Royal Family

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Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Prince Radu, Royal wedding

Princess Margarita of Romania and Prince Radu attend the wedding ceremony of Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg at the Cathedral of our Lady of Luxembourg, 20 October 2012.

Happy 16th Wedding Anniversary to HRH Princess Margarita of Romania & HRH Prince Radu

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Diana Mandache in Anniversaries & Birthdays, Romanian Royal Family, Royal Ceremonies, Weekly Picture

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Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Prince Radu

Today Crown Princess Margarita of Romania and Prince Radu celebrate 16 years since their religious wedding ceremony, in Lausanne, at St. Gherassimos Orthodox church. The civil marriage took place previously in Versoix, on 24 July the same year.

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Speaking in a Romanian broadsheet about my latest book ‘Fatherland and Destiny’

05 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by Diana Mandache in Films & Interviews, Romanian Royal Family, Royal Books

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Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Diana Mandache, Familia regala, Romanian Royal Family

My interview, headline, in one of the main Romanian newspapers about my recently published first biography of the Crown Princess Margarita of Romania.

‘Evenimentul zilei’ 5 Aug 2012