New exhibition on the Romanian Royal Family

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Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Carmen Sylva, Casa Regala, Crown Princess Margarita, Familia regala, istoria regalitatii, King Carol I, King Ferdinand, King Michael of Romania, Mignon, Monarhia, Principesa Margareta, Queen Anne, Queen Elizabeth of Romania, Queen Marie of Romania, Regele Carol I, Regele Ferdinand, Regele Mihai, Regina Elisabeta, Regina Maria, Romanian Royal Family

The National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest is hosting a new exhibition on the Romanian Royal Family, scheduled for opening at the end of next week. I am one of the organisers and plan to write more in a forthcoming post about this important royal history event after 10 May (Romania’s National Royal Day) when the exhibition will be in full swing. I also contributed with a number of exhibits from my own collection, among them a series of letters between Queen Mother Helen and Prince Leonid Lieven. Stars of the exhibition are some rare portrait paintings loaned from the National Museum of Arts Queen Marie, King Carol I, King Ferdinand, Princess Elisabeta, King Michael and his mother Queen Helen. ©Diana Mandache

see the video here

Queen Maria of Yugoslavia: Radio Drama Audition in Bucharest

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Balkans, Eastern Europe, European royal families, Familia regala, Mignon, Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, Romania, Romanian Royal Family, Royalty, Serbia, Serbian Royal family, Yugoslavia

I had the wonderful opportunity today to participate at a premiere audition in Bucharest of a radio drama performance after a play written by the Serbian author Dragana Boskovic, having as subject a fictional Queen Maria of Yugoslavia during her last months of life struggling to get approval from the communist authorities to return home and die in her country.

Poster announcing Radio Romania's Mignon drama play (Mignon's picture: photograph from Diana Mandache collection) Poster graphics: Lucian David

Balcic: a Royal Resort on the shores of the Black Sea

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Anton of Habsburg, Balcic, Balkans, Bulgaria, Eastern Europe, Familia regala, History, Mignon, Princess Ileana, Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen Marie of Romania, Regina Maria, Romania, Romanian Royal Family, royal holidays, Royalty

Today most of the Romanian Black Sea shore is with the exception of the Danube Delta area an uninteresting flat plain. However, there was once upon a time a southern rocky sector with spectacular vistas, which is now part of Bulgaria. In the interwar period when the territory was still part of Romania, Queen Marie built in the ancient city of Balcic one of her most remarkable holiday villas, endowed with a large garden and guest houses. Taking the queen’s example, many well to do Romanians built summer residences in that town. The seashore in Balcic faces the south and is protected by a series of rocky hills and cliffs from the cold winds and winter weather that comes over the open Russian steppe from as far as Siberia and menaces most of the rest of the country.

The interwar period has been a glorious time for Balcic, which saw many wealthy Romanians spending the summers in the luxury of the seashore villas or the development of a remarkable painters’ colony that took advantage of the glorious southern sunlight and landscape of Balcic.

Balcic – Tenha Yuvah villa – (DM collection)

Protected: Mignon’s Golden Ring – Royal coat of arms Yugoslavia

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Balkans, Eastern Europe, Familia regala, History, King Alexander of Yugoslavia, Mignon, Printesa Marioara, Queen Marie, Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, Regina Maria, Romanian Royal Family, Royal jewels, Royal tiaras, Royalty, Serbia, Yugoslavia

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A century ago season greetings card – Romanian Royal Family

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Carmen Sylva, Eastern Europe, Familia regala, Familia regala romana, History, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, King Carol I, Mignon, Monarhia, Nicholas, Postcards, Queen Elizabeth of Romania, Queen Marie of Romania, Regele Carol I, Romanian Royal Family, Royalty

A Happy New Year 2009 … a hundred years later

The Romanian Royal Family, 1909 - Diana Mandache collection

In 1909 King Carol celebrated his 70th anniversary. The Romanians were very fond of their monarchs and season greetings cards like this were very popular in Bucharest.

Birthday celebrations at Bucharest: King Carol I during his speech at the Gala Dinner at the Royal Palace on 20 April 1909 expressed his warm thanks to the German Emperor for having sent Wilhelm, the Crown Prince of  Germany to congratulated him on his 70^th birthday. King Carol said:

“The Emperor gives me thereby a new proof of his sentiments of kinship and strengthens the bond of love that for long years has existed between us.  My appointment as General Field Marshal makes closer my bond with the Prussian Army which during the 50 years that has existed has become indissoluble”.  

©Diana Mandache and http://royalromania.wordpress.com 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited.

A letter from King George V to Queen Marie of Romania, 1922

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Casa Regala, documents, Elizabeth of Greece, Familia regala, Familia regala romana, Great Britain, Greece, History, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, King Alexander of Serbia, King George V, Mignon, Queen Marie of Romania, Regina Maria, Romanian Royal Family, Royalty, Serbia, Yugoslavia

12 April 1922

King George V (Diana Mandache collection)

My dear Missy

 Many thanks for your letter of the 3^rd from Belgrade, where you had gone to help the king to arrange the house for Mignon’s reception; I am so sorry that you had to hurry away to Athena to be with Lisabetta as she has typhoid fever.

I trust you found her going on well & that she is not very seriously ill. Yes, it is a horrible illness & of course you are anxious as so many of your family have had it. It is just 30 years ago since I had it, the great thing of course is the nursing, which is so good in England. I am glad to hear you are pleased about Mignon’s engagement to Alexander, I know him & like him, & he certainly went through a dreadful time in the war. The only Drawback for her, there being no ladies of the family at all & I suppose there are not many people in society with whom she can make friends. But still I am sure she will be happy & her education in England will I hope be a help to her & she is used to live in a country like Serbia. I am thankful to say Mary is very happy with her husband who is just 40 & did extremely well in the war & was wounded several times & is a man of the world.