Marie of Edinburgh – Queen of Romania
On 29th October 1875, in Eastwell Park, Kent – England, Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh, was born.
Her father Prince Alfred, was the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Her mother, Duchess Marie of Edinburgh was born Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, and was the only living daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
Known as Missy to her friends and family, Marie’s early childhood was spent in England.
It was here that she got to know her paternal grandmother.
Her memories of Queen Victoria were of a doting grandmother, who still had the power to provoke fear in people.
While Marie was still a young girl, her family moved to Malta, due to Prince Alfred taking command of the Royal Navy stationed there.
A few years later, in the early 1890s, Marie’s family moved again to Coburg in Germany, where Marie’s parents took their posts as the new Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
As Marie was turning into a young woman, she found herself attracting many admirers of the opposite sex.
One of these admirers was her cousin, Prince George of Wales – later King George V.
George wanted to marry Marie, but both of their mothers were not agreeable to the match.
Marie’s mother had a better suitor for her eldest daughter in mind.
Marie’s Mother was writing letters to King Carol I of Romania.
Like Duchess Marie, Carol was in search of a politically suitable match for his nephew and heir, Crown Prince Ferdinand.
Marie’s father Prince Alfred, and her Grandmother Queen Victoria, were against the match from the start.
Despite her father’s and grandmother’s apprehensions, Marie married Ferdinand on 10th January 1893, at Sigmaringen Castle in what is now Germany.
The bride was seventeen, the groom was a decade older at 27.
Marie’s and Ferdinand’s marriage was not a very happy one, especially in the early years.
They had different personalities.
Marie was extroverted, artistic, and a bit of a free spirit.
Ferdinand was shy, scientific, and more on the intellectual side.
Not surprisingly, both parties had affairs.
Despite the many differences between them, Marie and Ferdinand performed their duty by having six children together:
Carol (the future Carol II) in 1893
Elisabeth in 1894
Marie “Mignon” in 1900
Nicholas in 1903
Ileana in 1909
Mircea in 1913 (who died young)
Due to Marie having many lovers, there have been countless speculations and rumours, about the paternity of the last two children.
The new Crown Princess of Romania found it difficult to adjust to Romanian life, she found the Romanian court stuffy and rigid.
Her new in-laws, King Carol and Queen Elisabeth, didn’t make her new life any easier.
They, especially the King, watched her every move.
During the Second Balkan War in 1912, Marie took over the administration at a cholera camp.
It was this experience that sparked Marie’s interest in wider issues.
During World War I, Marie re~organised hospitals, visited the trenches, and even volunteered as a nurse at one point.
Her daughters Mignon and Ileana, also helped their mother in these duties.
Ferdinand and Marie, became the new King and Queen of Romania when King Carol died in 1914.
Because of the war, the coronation ceremony didn’t take place until 15th October 1922.
It was around this time, Marie started to have issues with her eldest son, Carol.
While Carol was clever, an avid stamp collector, and in support of education, he was also obsessed with partying, drinking, and women.
Carol nearly put the whole Romanian monarchy in jeopardy, when he left his military post, to marry the first of his three wives.
In January 1926, Carol was officially excluded from the Romanian succession, and went into exile.
Marie’s eldest daughter Elisabeth was no better.
She grew up to be very self-entitled, cared very little about others, and took many lovers.
After the war, Marie did a lot of travelling.
She visited her birth country England, the city of Paris, and even America.
King Ferdinand died in 1927, and two years later Marie was offered a vacant seat in the regency.
However, Marie declined the post.
She wanted to take it easy as much she could and focus more on decorating, gardening, and her latest interest, writing.
Around this time she was writing her memoirs, and also children’s fiction.
In 1930, Marie’s son Carol came back to Romania from exile, and overthrew his son, Michael.
Marie’s life suddenly changed for the worse.
Her household was dramatically diminished, her monetary situation deteriorated, and Carol placed spies in her residence.
Carol even tried to separate Princess Ileana from Marie, but Ileana saw through her brother’s treachery and protested.
In early 1937, she became ill, and after some disagreement, Marie was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Unfortunately, Marie was not told the correct diagnosis.
She was told she was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.
There still is some disagreement and confusion about Marie’s final diagnosis to this day, but Marie didn’t believe she had cirrhosis, because she said she never drank alcohol in her life.
Marie died on 18th July 1938 at 5:38 p.m, at the age of 62.
Her eldest son Carol, eldest daughter Elisabeth, and grandson Michael, were at her side when she died.
Prince Nicholas and Princess Ileana, were only notified when the others knew they weren’t going to make it in time.
Two days later, on 20th July, Marie’s body was brought to Bucharest, where she lay in state in the white drawing room at Cotroceni Palace.
She was buried in Curtea de Arges Monastery, in Romania.
Her Grandson, Michael I, would be the last King of Romania.
The monarchy was abolished, on 30th December 1947.
