Before WWII, Rumania was a monarchy…I think the King’s name was Carol? Anyway, WWII happened (Rumania was an ally of Germany), Rumania wasdefeated, and the communists took over. Now, Rumania is a republic…do people there have any hankering for the “good old days” of the monarchy? Is there any move in the country to have a king back?
Anyway, where did this family end up? Or were they all murdered by the communists?
There was a thread about this a couple of years ago (started by me). I had read in some book of obscure historical curiosities about the sad fate of Michael, King of Romania, and asked for an update.
I’m not sure of the details, but he basically wound up a pauper living in someplace in Switzerland. He had access to millions in a Swiss bank account, but he needed a password to get to his account. So he spent years and years going into the bank and rattling off hundreds of random words, hoping to get access to his loot.
The book mentioned that he was in his seventies, and the book was written in, oh, 1991ish, so if he’s still alive he’d be in his eighties or nineties. Poor guy.
Anyway, if the hamsters are cooperating, run a SDMB search (or google search) on Michael, King of Romania. The old thread may be helpful.
No.
See HERE for the scoop on King Carol Ii of Romania. Died in 1953, of cancer. He & his mistress died fat & rich.
Links of the rest of the Royals on the same page.
The last King of Romania was Michael I (Mihai in Romanian), not Carol II. Michael was born in 1921, and was forced to abdicate by the Communists in 1947. He’s 83 years old. He visited Romania several times after the fall of Communism but as far as I know still lives in Switzerland. I have no knowledge as to his financial circumstances.
I’m no expert on eastern Europe, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a movement to restore former monarchs in any of the countries which once had them. The Balkan countries seem to be more focused on joining the European Union. Let’s face it, monarchy is out of fashion in the modern world and even a figurehead monarch would cost money that these nations don’t have. In Bulgaria, the last King (Simeon II) was elected Prime Minister but has not attempted to restore the monarchy. Likewise, Michael seems to have won a measure of personal respect for his futile resistance to Communism in the 1940’s, but this has not translated into a serious movement to restore monarchy in Romania.
:rolleyes:
For the sake of clarity, the specific page of Bosda’s last link only has Michael’s bio up to 1941. For what happens later, you need to click on the “chronology” link at the bottom of the page.
But Freddy the Pig’s summary was pretty accurate for something so short. HeyHomie’s source, OTOH, was really out in space.
My grandmother Evelyn Eaton went to school with his mother. She wrote about Marie of Rumania in her autobiography The Trees and Fields Went the Other Way.
Pretty tragic family all around.