~The Queen of Romania~

   "Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong,
And I am Marie of Roumania."
(Dorothy PARKER)
Author of memoirs children books published in London. 
 

Queen Marie of Romania was born Princess Marie of England
on October 29 1875 in England and
died in 1938 in Sinaia, România
(Regina Maria), Princess of Great Britain,
Grand daughter of Queen Victoria and
of Tzar Alexander II of Russia
Spouse of King Ferdinand I, crowned at Alba Iulia.
Mother of King Carol II, Prince Nicolae,
Princesses Marie (Mignon,Queen of Yugoslavia),
Elisabeta (Queen of Greece), Ileana (Acrhduchess of Austria).
Diplomatic Mission Negotiator, War-time
Red Cross Officer, Writer, Patron of Charities
writer. The Queens biography, quotations and
exhaustive bibliography is part of a new Anthology
published as an E-Book under the title:
"Blouse Roumaine - the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women"

She was the daughter of Queen Victoria's son Albert
and his wife Marie who was the daughter
of Czar Alexander II of Russia.
She spent much of her early life in England,
but her father was a navy man so she moved from
England to Malta and then to Germany when she
was young. She spent much of her time growing up
with her brothers and sisters as well as her many cousins.
When she was a teenager her cousin, the future
King George V of England visited her in Malta.
During these visits they fell in love and wanted to marry.
However their mothers did not like this idea.

Shortly after nixing the idea of her nephew being
her son-in law Marie's mother decided to set Marie up
with Grand Duke Ferdinand, the heir to the King of Romania.
They liked each other and married on December 29, 1892.
Shortly after the marriage they moved to Romania where
they lived in a castle with Ferdinand's Uncle King Carol I.
Shortly after this Marie became pregnant later giving
birth to future King Carol II. This led to Marie giving
birth to six little princes and princesses some of which
where not the children of Ferdinand and several of
whom would marry the children of
Marie's cousin Sophie, Queen of Greece.

Marie's life in Romania was not an easy on.
She did not always get along with Ferdinand
and his Uncle and Ferdinand's Aunt Elisabeth
(or Carmen Sylvia) treated Marie with contempt by
taking away her children. To make her life more
bearable Marie would frequently leave Romania,
going to Germany to visit her mother and sisters,
or Russia to visit her cousins the Czar and
Czarina Nicholas and Alexandra. She did this
numerous times, but twice she did this because
she was pregnant with children that were not Ferdinand's.
Things where not easier once Ferdinand became King
in October of 1914. World War One had started in Europe
and it was an awful time for her and her family spread
from Spain to Russia. After the war was not easy
either with her son and then grandson on the throne.
In 1938 the Second World War was soon to start,
but Marie was not feeling well. She had internal
hemorrhages that killed her on July 18 of that year.

A couple of good books on Marie are:
*"Story of My Life" by Marie, Queen of Romania
*"Marie of Romania" by Terence Elsberry
*"The Last Romantic: A Biography of
Queen Marie of Roumania" by Hannah Pakula

  Love, Faith, Courage – with these three
we can win the world.
~Marie~

 

    I was barely seventeen when I came to you.
I was young and ignorant, but very proud of
my native country, and even  now, I am proud to have
been born an Englishwoman... but I bless you,
dear Romania, country of my joy and my grief,
the beautiful country which has lived in my heart.
~Queen Marie of Romania~

~~~
H.M. QUEEN MARIE OF ROUMANIA
Chandor's Portraits
Malcolm Vaughn
Brentano's, New York, 1942

H.M. Queen Marie of Roumania
S.S. LEVIATHAN, 1926
~

  ~

http://www.geh.org/link/sn/queen-marie.html

 

Children Books:
-The Lily of Life illustrations
by Helen Stratton 1913
-The Dreamer of Dreams illustrations
by Edmund Dulac 1915
-The Stealers of Light illustrations
by Edmund Dulac 1916
-Peeping Pansy illustrations
by Mabel Lucie Attwell 1918
-A Christmas Tale illustrations
by Mabel Lucie Attwell 1922
-The Lost Princess illustrations
by Mabel Lucie Attwell 1924
-The Magic Doll of Roumania illustrations
by Maud and Miska Petersham 1929
-Vom Wunder Der Tränen illustrations
by Sulamith Wülfing 1938
-Petru's Candle frames from animated
version of Marie's A Christmas Tale