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In June 1926, shortly before the death of her father-in-law, Helen went to Italy to attend the funeral of her paternal grandmother, [[Olga Constantinovna of Russia|Dowager Queen Olga of Greece]], and moved with her mother to the ''Villa Bobolina'' in Fiesole. The princess took advantage of her stay in Italy and to try to arranged an encounter with her husband but, having initially accepted to see her, Carol cancels the meeting at the last minute.<ref>Gould Lee 1956, pp. 115–116.</ref>
In June 1926, shortly before the death of her father-in-law, Helen went to Italy to attend the funeral of her paternal grandmother, [[Olga Constantinovna of Russia|Dowager Queen Olga of Greece]], and moved with her mother to the ''Villa Bobolina'' in Fiesole. The princess took advantage of her stay in Italy and to try to arranged an encounter with her husband but, having initially accepted to see her, Carol cancels the meeting at the last minute.<ref>Gould Lee 1956, pp. 115–116.</ref>


===First reign of Michael I and Italian exile===
==Divorce==
⚫
[[File:Royal standard of Romania (Queen Mother, 1941 model).svg|thumb|200px|left|The Standard of the Queen mother of Romania (1941–1947)]]


====Princess Mother of Romania====
In July 1927 Helen's five-year-old son Michael succeeded as king of Romania. Other than her rank as a princess of Romania, Helen held no official position; she was not a member of the [[regent|regency]] council. In December 1927 Carol asked Helen for a divorce.<ref>Gould, 119-120.</ref> At first she refused, but eventually she gave in to government advice. On 21 June 1928, the marriage was dissolved by the [[High Court of Cassation and Justice|Romanian Supreme Court]] on the grounds of incompatibility.<ref>Gould, 121; "Prince Carol, Divorce Proceedings in Rumania", ''The Times'' (9 June 1928): 14.</ref>
In the spring of 1927, Queen Marie made an official visit to the [[United States]]. During her absence, Helen and her sister-in-law [[Elisabeth of Romania|Elisabeth]] took of care of King [[Ferdinand I of Romania|Ferdinand I]], whose health declined rapidly. The King finally died on 20 July 1927 at [[Peleș Castle]] and his 5-years-old grandson succeeded him under the name of Michael I while the Regency Council takes the direction of the country.<ref>Marcou 2002, p. 159.</ref><ref>Gould Lee 1956, p. 117.</ref> However, in Romania, Carol retains many supporters (soon nicknamed "Carlists") and the [[National Liberal Party (Romania)|National Liberal Party]] began to feared the return of the Prince.<ref>Marcou 2002, pp. 161–162.</ref>


After long sought to convince her husband to go to Bucharest, Helen gradually changing her attitude towards him. Anxious to preserve the rights of her son and probably convinced by Prime Minister [[Barbu Știrbey]], the princess wants a divorce,{{efn|According to Ivor Porter, the change of Helen was partly due to Carol's letter to her family where he accuses his wife to have had a lover before their marriage (Porter 2005, p. 25).}} whom she gets easily: on 21 June 1928, the marriage was dissolved by the [[High Court of Cassation and Justice|Romanian Supreme Court]] on the grounds of incompatibility.<ref>Marcou 2002, pp. 170–171.</ref><ref>Gould Lee 1956, pp. 119–121.</ref><ref>"Prince Carol, Divorce Proceedings in Rumania", ''The Times'' (9 June 1928): 14.</ref> Helen also takes her distance from his mother-in-law, who complains of being separated from little King and criticized more openly the Greek entourage of the Princess.<ref name="Marcou174">Marcou 2002, pp. 174–175</ref><ref>Porter 2005, p. 27.</ref><ref>Pakula 1996, pp. 367–368.</ref> In these circumstances, the Dowager Queen approaches her eldest son and builds ties with the Carlist movement.<ref name="Marcou174"/>

After the Regency Council showed being totally unable to govern the country, Carol appears increasingly as a providential man who can solve the problems of Romania. Still, his supporters (as Prime Minister [[Iuliu Maniu]], leader of the [[National Peasants' Party]]) continue to demand of his separation from Magda Lupescu and his reconciliation with Helen, which he refused.<ref>Marcou 2002, pp. 176-178</ref> Thanks to his many supporters in the country, the prince finally organizing his return to Bucharest on the night of 6-7 June 1930. Joyfully welcomed by the population and the political class, he proclaimed himself King then under the name of Carol II.<ref>Marcou 2002, pp. 184–185.</ref><ref>Porter 2005, pp. 28–31.</ref>

====The impossible reconciliation with Carol II====
====Between scandal and exile====

⚫
[[File:Royal standard of Romania (Queen Mother, 1941 model).svg|thumb|200px|left|The Standard of the Queen mother of Romania (1941–1947)]]
On 6 June 1930, Carol returned to Romania. Prime minister [[Iuliu Maniu]] resigned in order not to break his oath to King Michael, and Parliament annulled the 4 January bill, proclaiming Carol king on 8 June 1930. Helen continued to live in her own home in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest with her son Michael. There ensued several months of discussion about annulling the divorce. The government and public opinion were most desirous of Carol and Helen restoring their marital relationship. A joint coronation ceremony was planned for mid-September.<ref>Gould, 139.</ref> Helen was even told by the Prime Minister [[Iuliu Maniu]] that as a result of the abrogation of the act of 4 January 1926, Carol had legitimately succeeded as king in July 1927, from which point she had automatically ranked as queen.<ref>Gould, 140.</ref>
On 6 June 1930, Carol returned to Romania. Prime minister [[Iuliu Maniu]] resigned in order not to break his oath to King Michael, and Parliament annulled the 4 January bill, proclaiming Carol king on 8 June 1930. Helen continued to live in her own home in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest with her son Michael. There ensued several months of discussion about annulling the divorce. The government and public opinion were most desirous of Carol and Helen restoring their marital relationship. A joint coronation ceremony was planned for mid-September.<ref>Gould, 139.</ref> Helen was even told by the Prime Minister [[Iuliu Maniu]] that as a result of the abrogation of the act of 4 January 1926, Carol had legitimately succeeded as king in July 1927, from which point she had automatically ranked as queen.<ref>Gould, 140.</ref>


Revision as of 00:50, 10 July 2016

Helen of Greece and Denmark
Queen Mother of Romania
Born(1896-05-02)2 May 1896
Athens, Greece
Died28 November 1982(1982-11-28) (aged 86)
Lausanne, Switzerland
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1921; div. 1928)​
IssueMichael I of Romania
HouseGlücksburg
FatherConstantine I of Greece
MotherSophia of Prussia
House of Glücksburg
(Greek branch)
Constantine I
Children
George II
Alexander
Helen, Queen Mother of Romania
Paul
Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta
Princess Katherine, Lady Brandram
Styles of
Helen, Queen Mother of Romania
Reference styleHer Majesty
Spoken styleYour Majesty
Alternative styleMa'am

Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Ελένη; 2 May/3 May 1896 – 28 November 1982), was Queen Mother of Romania during 1940–1947, during the reign of her son King Michael. She is noted for her humanitarian efforts to save the Romanian Jews during the Second World War, which led to her being awarded the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations in 1993.

Daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife Queen Sophia of Prussia, Princess Helen spend her childhood in Greece, Great Britain and Germany. The outbreak of World War I and the overthrow of her father by the Allies in 1917 permanently marked her and also separated from her favorite brother, the young Alexander I of Greece. Exiled in Switzerland with most members of the royal family, Helen then spent several months caring for her father, subject to disease and depression. In 1920, the Princess met Carol, Crown Prince of Romania, who quickly asked her hand. Despite the bad reputation of the prince, Helen accepts and moved to Romania, where she soon gives birth to his only son, Prince Michael, in 1921.

The situation of her family, however, continues to worry Helen, who made several trips abroad to visit her parents when they doesn't simply stay with her in Bucharest. In doing this, she distanced from her husband, whose multiplies affairs ended when he fall in love of Magda Lupescu in 1924. Finally, in 1925, Prince Carol abandoned his wife and renounced to the throne to live openly with his mistress. Distraught, Helen tries to persuade her husband to return to her but eventually accepted divorce in 1928. In the meanwhile, Helen was proclaimed "Princess Mother of Romania" (1926) and her son Michael ascended to the throne under the regency of his uncle Prince Nicholas (1927). However, the political situation in Romania was complicated and Carol took advantage of the increased instability to return to Bucharest in 1930 and being acclaimed as King. Soon, the new ruler forced his ex-wife into exile and only authorized her to see their son two months per year.

In these circumstances, Helen moved to Villa Sparta at Fiesole, Tuscany. Always close to her family, she hosts her sisters Irene and Katherine and brother Paul, who was staying with her intermittently until the restoration of the Greek monarchy in 1935. The outbreak of World War II, the deposition of Carol II and the subsequent dismemberment of Greater Romania in 1940, however, bring back Helen with her son to Bucharest. Subject to the dictatorship of General Antonescu and vigilance of Nazi Germany, the King and his mother were cautious with the fascist regime. They don't show their opposition to the participation of Romania in the invasion of the Soviet Union and the deportation of Jews. Finally, King Michael organized a coup against Antonescu on 23 August 1944 and Romania turned against the Axis powers; however, the country was at the end occupied by the Red Army.

For Helen and her son, the Post-war period was marked by the interference of the Soviet Union in the Romanian political life. In March 1945, the King was forced to accept a communist government at the head of Petru Groza while the following year, the general elections confirm the hegemony of the PCR on the country. Finally, Michsel I wasis forced to abdicate on 30 December 1947 and the royal family takes the path of exile. Helen then returns to live at the Villa Sparta, where she divides her time between her family, gardening and the discovery of Italian art. Increasingly concerned about her finances, Helen finally left Italy for Switzerland in 1979 and died three years later with her son at her side.

Life

Princess of Greece and Denmark

A Greek childhood

Third child and eldest daughter of Diadochos Constantine of Greece and Princess Sophia of Prussia,[1] Helen was born on 2 May 1896 in Athens.[2] Since her birth, she received the nickname "Sitta" which was a corruption of the English word sister, that her brother Alexander fails to correctly pronounce.[3][4] Growing up, Helen developed an special affection for Alexander, only three years older.[4][5]

Helen spent most of her childhood in the Greek capital. Every summer, the princess and her family, however, travel to the Hellenic Mediterranean aboard the royal yacht Amphitrite or to visit Sophia's mother, the Empress Dowager Victoria in Germany.[3] From the age of 8, Helen began to spend part of the summer in Great Britain, at the regions of Seaford and Eastbourne.[6][7][8] The princess grew up in an environment strongly anglophile, among a cohort of British tutors and governesses, including Miss Nichols, who took care especially of her.[2][7]

From the Goudi coup to the Balkan Wars

On 28 August 1909 a group of Greek officers, gathered in the "Military League," organizing a coup d'état (called the Goudi coup) against the government of King George I, Helen's grandfather. While declaring monarchists, the League members, led by Nikolaos Zorbas, asked the King to dismiss his son from military posts.[9] Officially, this was to protect the Diadochos from the jealousy that could be originated by his friendship with some soldiers. But the reality was quite different: officers blame Constantine for the defeat of Greece against the Ottoman Empire during the Thirty Days' War of 1897.[9]

In the country, the situation was so tense that the son of George I finally was forced to resign from their military posts to save their father of the shame of expelled him.[10] The Diadochos also decided to leave Greece with his wife and children. For several months, the family therefore moved to the Schloss Friedrichshof at Kronberg in Germany. Was the first time that the 14-years-old Helen knows the exile.[11]

After much tension, the political situation eventually subside in Greece and Constantine and his family were finally allowed to return to their homeland. In 1911, the Diadochos was restored in his military duties by the Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.[12] A year later, broke the First Balkan War, which allows Greece to annex large territories in Macedonia, Epirus, Crete and the North Aegean. It's also at the end of this conflict than King George I was assassinated in Thessaloniki on 18 March 1913 and Constantine I succeeded him on the Hellenic throne.[13][14]

After these events, Helen spends long weeks visiting Greece, which she previously knew only the main towns and the Island of Corfu. With his father and brother Alexander, she discovers the Greek Macedonia and the various battlefields of the First Balkan War.[15] However, this period of calm was short-lived as the Second Balkan War broke out in June 1913. Once again, Greece emerged victorious of the conflict, allowing it to significantly expand his territory,[16] which grew in 68% after the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest in relation to the beginning of the Balkan Wars in 1912.[17]

World War I

During the World War I, King Constantine I first seeks to maintain Greece in a position of neutrality. He considers that his country was not ready to participate in a new conflict after the Balkan Wars. But, formed in Germany and linked to Emperor William II (who was his brother-in-law), Constantine I quickly accused of supporting the Triple Alliance and wish the defeat of the Allies. Soon the King fall out with his Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, who was convinced of the need to support the countries of the Triple Entente to fullfil the called Megali Idea. Protected by the Entente countries, and in particular by the French Republic, in October 1916 Venizelos formed a parallel government in Thessaloniki. The central Greece was occupied by the allied forces and the country was soon in the middle of a civil war, the called National Schism.[18][19]

Weakened by all these tensions, Constantine I became seriously ill in 1915. Suffering from pleurisy aggravated by a pneumonia, he remained at bed for several weeks and nearly died. In Greece, public opinion was moved by the rumor, spread by Venizelists, that the King wasn't sick but that Queen Sophia in fact injured him in the course of an argument where she tried to force him to fight alongside the Emperor. The health of the sovereign declines so that a ship was sent to the Island of Tinos in order to seek the miraculous Icon of the Virgin and Child supposed to heal the sick. After kissing the holy picture, the King recovered partially his health but the situation remains worrying and was needed surgery before he can reasume his duties.[20][21] These events have an special impact on Princess Helen, who was very close to her father: impressed by his recovery, she develops a deep religiosity, a trait that she retains throughout her life.[22]

Despite these difficulties, Constantin I refuses to change his policies and was facing the increasingly clear opposition of the Triple Entente and Venizelists. Thus, on 1 December 1916 took place the called Greek Vespers where the Allied soldiers fought against Greek reservists in Athens and the French fleet bombards the Royal Palace.[23] On this occasion, Helen was nearly killed by a gunfire from the Zappeion. After hearing the gunshots and worried for the life of her father, the princess ran to the gardens of the royal palace but she was saved by the royal Garde du Corps, who take her back inside to the palace.[24]

Finally, on 10 June 1917, Charles Jonnart, the Allied High Commissioner in Greece, asked the King his abdication.[25] Under the threat of an invasion in Piraeus, the King agrees and goes into exile, but without formally abdicating. The Allies don't wish to establish a Republic in Greece, so one of the members of the royal family should succeed him. Because the Diadochos George was also considered Pro-German like his father, they wanted considered someone malleable, as a puppet ruler of Constantine I's enemies. Finally the younger brother of the Diadochos, Prince Alexander, was choose by Venizelos and the Triple Entente as the new King.[26][27][28]

From Exile to the Romanian wedding

Life in Switzerland

The 11 June 1917 the Greece royal family fled secretly their palace, surrounded by a loyalist mob who refuses to see them go. In the days that followed, Constantine I, Sophia and five of their children leave Greece to the port of Oropos, and took the road to exile.[29] This was the last time that Helen sees her favorite brother. In fact, on their return to power, Venizelists prohibit any contact between the new Alexander I and the rest of the royal family.[30]

After crossing the Ionian Sea and Italy, Helen and her family settled in Switzerland, mainly between the cities of St. Moritz, Zürich and Lucerne.[31][32][33] In exile, Helen's parents were soon followed by almost all members of the royal family, who leave their country with the return of Venizelos as Prime Minister and the entry of Greece to the war alongside the Triple Entente. However, the financial position of the royal family was precarious and Constantine I, haunted by a deep sense of failure, soon to fall ill. In 1918, he contracted Spanish flu and again was close to die.[34]

Very concerned about the fate of their father, Helen and her sisters Irene and Katherine spend a long time with him to distracted from his worries.[32] Helen also seeks to reconnect with Alexander I. She try to take advantage from the visit of her brother to Paris in 1919 to call him by phone. However, the officer who escorted the King in the French capital refuses to pass her communications and those of other members of the royal family.[35][36][37]

Meeting with Crown Prince Carol of Romania

In 1920, the Greek exiles were visited by Queen Marie of Romania (Sophia's first cousin[a]) and her daughters Elisabeth, Maria and Ileana in Lucerne. Worried about the future of his eldest and still single son, Queen Sophia hopes indeed the wedding of Diadochos George, who has already proposed to Princess Elisabeth a few years earlier.[38] Homeless, penniless and without any real political value since his exclusion from the Greek throne in 1917, Helen's elder brother reiterates his request in marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who, despite her initial reticence, finally decides to accept.[39][40] Pleased with the union, the Queen of Romania then invited her future son-in-law and his sisters Helen and Irene to go to Bucharest in order to publicly announce the royal engagement. Driven by their father, the princesses accept and departure was set to 2 October. In the meanwhile, another member of the Romanian royal family arrived to Lucerne. Returned from a world trip around to forget his morganatic wife Zizi Lambrino and their son,[b] the Crown Prince Carol joined to the group.[35][41][42]

In Romania George, Helen and Irene are received with pomp by the royal family. Housed at Pelișor Castle, they were central part of the celebrations for the return of Crown Prince Carol to his country (10 October) and the announcement of the engagement of Elisabeth with the Diadochos (12 October). The stay of the Greek princes, however, was brief. On 24 October, a telegram announced the death, at Zürich, of the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, mother of the Queen of Romania. The next day, another message announced to the Greek princes that Alexander I suddenly just died in Athens, following a monkey bite.[43][44][45]

In these circumstances, the three Greek princes and Queen Marie of Romania decide to made an emergency return to Switzerland. Moved by the situation and probably pushed by his mother, Crown Prince Carol at the last moment decided to travel with them. After being cold and distant with Helen during her stay at Romania, the Crown Prince turns suddenly very attentive to the princess. During the train journey, the two tell their lives and Carol confides in Helen on his affair with Zizi Lambrino. In grief for her brother's death and determined not to return Greece without him, Helen then falls in love with the heir to the Romanian throne.[44][45][46][47]

Restoration and Marriage

Soon after their arrival to Switzerland, Crown Prince Carol asks Helen's hand, making the joy of the Queen of Romania, but not the princess' parents. Helen was determined to accept the marriage proposal, and this caused that King Constantine I showed acceptance to the engagement, but only after the marriage of Carol and Zizi Lambrino could be quickly dissolved. For her part, Queen Sophia was much less favorable to her daughter's wedding. Having no confidence in the Romanian Crown Prince, she tries to convince Helen to reject the proposal. However, she insists, and despite the doubhtsof her mother, the engagement was announced in Zürich in November 1920.[47][48][49][50][51]

Helen and Crown Prince Carol, 1921.

In the meanwhile, in Greece, the Venizelists lose the election in favor of Constantine I's supporters, on 14 November 1920. Desiring to resolve the dynastic question, on 5 December the new cabinet organized a referendum, whose disputed results showed that 99% of the populatuion demanded the restoration of the sovereign.[52] Under these conditions, the royal family returned to Athens and Helen was accompanied by her fiancé in her return. For two months, the two traveled to discover the inner Greece and their ancient ruins. They then go to Bucharest to attend the wedding of Diadochos George with Elisabeth of Romania (27 February 1921) before returning to Athens to celebrate their own wedding in the Metropolitan Cathedral on 10 March 1921.[51][53] Being the first Greek princess to marry in Athens,[54] Helen wore the Romanian 'Greek Key' tiara, a gift from her mother-in-law. The newlyweds then spend their honeymoon in Tatoi, where they remain for two months before returning to Romania, on 8 May 1921.[55][56][57]

Crown Princess of Romania

Installation in Bucharest

Upon her return to Romania, Helen was already pregnant. With Carol, she spent some time at the Cotroceni Palace, where the pomp and protocol of the Court impress and bored her at the same time. Then the couple takes up residence at the Foișor, an elegant Swiss-style chalet built in the surroundings of Peleș Castle, at Sinaia.[56][58] Was there where the Crown Princess gives birth after only seven and a half months after her wedding. Her only child, Prince Michael, named in honor to Michael the Brave, the first unifier of the Danubian Principalities, was born on 25 October 1921; the childbirth was difficult and requires surgery. The ordeal significantly weakens Helen, to whom the doctors forbade a second pregnancy.[55][59][60]

Once the Crown Princess was recovered, in December 1921 the couple moved to Bucharest, in a large villa at the Șoseaua Kiseleff.[61] Despite their significantly different points of interest, Carol and Helen managed to lead, for some time, a bourgeois and happy existence. In the morning, the heir performs his official duties and, in the afternoon, they made their favorite occupations. While the Crown Prince engages in reading and his stamp collections, Helen spend her time in horse riding or on the decoration of their residences.[55][62][63] The Crown Princess was also involved in social work and founded a nursing school in the capital. She was also appointed an Honorary Colonel of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the Roshiori.[64]

Helen reunites with her family

In the meanwhile, the political situation was deteriorating in Greece. During the Greco-Turkish War in 1919, the Hellenic Kingdom spend a period of unrest and the health of King Constantine I was deteriorates again. Worried about the future of her father, Helen asked her husband's permission to return to Greece. The couple and their child thus left for Athens at the end of January 1922. But while Carol leaves Greece in February to attend the betrothal of his sister Maria with King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Helen remains with her parents until April and when she returned to Romania she brings her sister Irene. At that time, the Crown Prince reasumed his affair with his former mistress, the actress Mirella Marcovici.[55][65]

In June 1922, Carol and Helen go to Belgrade with the whole Romanian royal family to attend the wedding of Alexander I and Maria.[66] Back in Bucharest, the Crown Princess then assumes her role as wife of the heir to the throne. She participates in official acts and supports the sovereign and her husband during ceremonies that punctuate the life of the monarchy. Like all women of her rank, Helen was also interested in social works. Nevertheless, she continued to be worried for her family, and even visits her sister Irene, her aunt Maria and her Greek cousins in an futile attempt to console herself from the remoteness of her parents.[62]

In September 1922, a military coup forced King Constantine I to abdicate in favor of his son George II, and to leave in exile. Without any real power and exceeded by the revolutionaries, after a failed coup of a pro-royalist group (the called Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup d'état) in October 1923, the new sovereign in turn was forced to abdicate after only fifteen months of reign. Devastated by these events, Helen didn't think to much, and immediately went to Italy to find her parents in their exile. Shortly after the coronation of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania in Alba Iulia on 15 October 1922, Helen therefore left for Palermo, where she remains until the death of her father, on 11 January 1923.[67][68]

Bored by the absence of his wife, Carol finally invite his mother-in-law to stay in Bucharest. However, the Dowager Queen doesn't arrived alone: with her, came not less than fifteen Greek princes and princesses, without warning, at his home. Increasingly irritated by the invasive presence of his wife's family, Carol was also hurt by Helen's attitude, because she refused to fulfill her marital duties. Jealous, the Crown Prince suspected that his wife began an affair with the charming Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, regular guest of the Greek royal couple in Sicily. In these circumstances, Helen and Carol began their separation and the Crown Princess saves the appearances by devoting more time to the education of her son, Prince Michael.[69]

Abandonment of Crown Prince Carol

In the summer of 1924, Carol meets a courtesan named Helena Lupescu (better known under the name of "Magda" Lupescu), with whom he begins an affair in or around 14 February 1925.[70] Since his marriage, this wasn't the first extramarital relationship of the Crown Prince. However, this time for Carol was a serious bond, a fact that soon worry not only Helen (always of a conciliatory and tolerant disposition with her husband's infidelities) but also the rest of the Romanian royal family, which fears that Lupescu could turn into a new Zizi Lambrino.[71] In November 1925, Carol was sent to the United Kingdom to represent the royal family at the funeral of the Dowager Queen Alexandra. Despite several promises made to his father, King Ferdinand I, he takes advantage of traveling abroad to find his mistress and live their relationship openly.[72][73] Refusing to return to Bucharest, Carol finally officially renounce to the throne and prerogatives as Crown Prince on 28 December 1925.[74][75]

In Romania, Helen was distraught by Carol's attitude,[76][77] especially as Queen Marie makes her partly responsible for the failure of her marriage.[78] The Crown Princess wrote to her husband to convince him to return.[79][80] She also attempts to convince politicians to delay Carol's exclusion to the royal succession and proposed to her in-laws to made herself a trip to meet her husband. However, the Prime Minister Ion Brătianu, who despised the Crown Prince because of his sympathy to the National Peasants' Party, categorically opposed. The Head of government even accelerates the exclusion procedures by summoning both Houses of the Parliament to registered the act of renunciation and appoint little Prince Michael as the new heir to the throne.[81][82]

On 4 January 1926, the Romanian Parliament ratified the acceptance of Carol's renunciation and a royal ordinance was issued giving Helen the title Princess Mother of Romania;[83] in addition, she was included in the Civil list, a privilege previously reserved to the sovereign and the heir to the throne.[84] After King Ferdinand I was diagnosed with cancer, a Regency Council is also formed during Michael's minority with Prince Nicholas as the Head, and the assistance of Patriarch Miron and the magistrate Gheorghe Buzdugan, replaced aftrt his death in 1929 by Constantine Sărățeanu.[85] Despite this, Helen continues to hope the return of her husband and obstinately refused requests for a divorce that he sent to her from abroad.[86][87]

In June 1926, shortly before the death of her father-in-law, Helen went to Italy to attend the funeral of her paternal grandmother, Dowager Queen Olga of Greece, and moved with her mother to the Villa Bobolina in Fiesole. The princess took advantage of her stay in Italy and to try to arranged an encounter with her husband but, having initially accepted to see her, Carol cancels the meeting at the last minute.[88]

First reign of Michael I and Italian exile

Princess Mother of Romania

In the spring of 1927, Queen Marie made an official visit to the United States. During her absence, Helen and her sister-in-law Elisabeth took of care of King Ferdinand I, whose health declined rapidly. The King finally died on 20 July 1927 at Peleș Castle and his 5-years-old grandson succeeded him under the name of Michael I while the Regency Council takes the direction of the country.[89][90] However, in Romania, Carol retains many supporters (soon nicknamed "Carlists") and the National Liberal Party began to feared the return of the Prince.[91]

After long sought to convince her husband to go to Bucharest, Helen gradually changing her attitude towards him. Anxious to preserve the rights of her son and probably convinced by Prime Minister Barbu Știrbey, the princess wants a divorce,[c] whom she gets easily: on 21 June 1928, the marriage was dissolved by the Romanian Supreme Court on the grounds of incompatibility.[92][93][94] Helen also takes her distance from his mother-in-law, who complains of being separated from little King and criticized more openly the Greek entourage of the Princess.[95][96][97] In these circumstances, the Dowager Queen approaches her eldest son and builds ties with the Carlist movement.[95]

After the Regency Council showed being totally unable to govern the country, Carol appears increasingly as a providential man who can solve the problems of Romania. Still, his supporters (as Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu, leader of the National Peasants' Party) continue to demand of his separation from Magda Lupescu and his reconciliation with Helen, which he refused.[98] Thanks to his many supporters in the country, the prince finally organizing his return to Bucharest on the night of 6-7 June 1930. Joyfully welcomed by the population and the political class, he proclaimed himself King then under the name of Carol II.[99][100]

The impossible reconciliation with Carol II

Between scandal and exile

The Standard of the Queen mother of Romania (1941–1947)

On 6 June 1930, Carol returned to Romania. Prime minister Iuliu Maniu resigned in order not to break his oath to King Michael, and Parliament annulled the 4 January bill, proclaiming Carol king on 8 June 1930. Helen continued to live in her own home in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest with her son Michael. There ensued several months of discussion about annulling the divorce. The government and public opinion were most desirous of Carol and Helen restoring their marital relationship. A joint coronation ceremony was planned for mid-September.[101] Helen was even told by the Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu that as a result of the abrogation of the act of 4 January 1926, Carol had legitimately succeeded as king in July 1927, from which point she had automatically ranked as queen.[102]

The government presented a decree to Carol for his signature officially confirming Helen as Her Majesty The Queen of Romania. Carol, however, crossed this out and declared Helen to be Her Majesty Helen (i.e. with the style Majesty, but not the title Queen). Helen refused to allow anyone to use this style in her presence.[103]

Eventually it became clear that Carol himself did not want the divorce annulled and that his lover Madame Lupescu was living with him at the Foishor.[104] Because Helen would not oppose the government's plans to annul the divorce, Carol took measures against her: guards were placed around her residence, those who visited her were persecuted, and she was deprived of her office as honorary colonel of the Roshiori regiment.[105]

Faced with this treatment, Helen decided to go into exile. After a brief visit to London, she went to her mother's villa near Florence.[106] There was ongoing conflict with Carol about how frequently and under what circumstances she should be able to see their son Michael. In October 1932 she returned to Bucharest. Carol initiated a campaign in the press against her, claiming that she had tried to commit suicide twice.[107] The government issued a statement confirming Helen's civil list payment, and officially allowing her to reside in Romania six months each year, and to take her son Michael abroad one month each year.[108]

In spite of the official permission to reside in Romania, Helen was expected to stay in exile and returned to Florence.[109] With her financial situation now stable, she was able to purchase her own villa at the nearby town of San Domenico. In spring 1934 Helen moved into Villa Sparta with her brother Paul and her two sisters.[110] She lived here for the next ten years, seeing her son Michael for roughly two months each year.

Queen Mother of Romania

Villa Sparta, in Fiesole, where the Queen lived more than 30 years

In September 1940 Michael was restored to the throne, although dictator Ion Antonescu exercised most royal and governmental prerogatives. Antonescu recalled Helen to Romania. She received the title Queen Mother of Romania (Regina-mamă Elena) and the style Her Majesty. During World War II she devoted herself to the care of the wounded. In the fall of 1942, Helen played a major role in stopping Antonescu from his plans to deport all of the Jews of the Regat to the German death camp of Bełżec in Poland. According to SS Hauptsturmführer Gustav Richter, the counselor for Jewish Affairs at the German legation in Bucharest in a report sent to Berlin on 30 October 1942:

"The Queen Mother told the King that what was happening . . . was a disgrace and that she could not bear it any longer, all the more so because [their names] would be permanently associated . . . with the crimes committed against the Jews, while she would be known as the mother of "Michael the Wicked". She is said to have warned the King that, if the deportations were not immediately halted, she would leave the country. As a result the King . . . telephoned Prime Minister Ion Antonescu and . . . a meeting of the Council of Ministers took place."[111]

For her efforts to rescue Romanian Jews from the Nazi Germans, she was awarded the status of Righteous Among the Nations.[112]

As a first cousin of the bridegroom, on her father's side, she was a guest at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[113]

In December 1947 Michael was forced to abdicate. Helen returned to San Domenico, at Villa Sparta. Later she resided in Lausanne.

Helen died at the age of 86 in Lausanne in 1982.

Honours

National dynastic honours
National state honours

Ancestry

See also: Royal descendants of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX
Ancestors of Helen of Greece and Denmark
16. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
8. Christian IX of Denmark
17. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
4. George I of Greece
18. Prince William of Hesse
9. Louise of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
19. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
2. Constantine I of Greece
20. Nicholas I of Russia
10. Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaievich of Russia
21. Charlotte of Prussia
5. Olga Konstantinovna of Russia
22. Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
11. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg
23. Duchess Amelia of Württemberg
1. Helen of Greece and Denmark
24. Frederick William III of Prussia
12. William I, German Emperor
25. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
6. Frederick III, German Emperor
26. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
13. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar
27. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia
3. Sophia of Prussia
28. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
14. Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
29. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
7. Victoria, Princess Royal
30. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
15. Victoria of the United Kingdom
31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Notes

  1. ^ Queen Sophia of Greece was a daughter of Victoria, Dowager Empress of Germany and Queen Marie of Romania was a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the German Empress' younger brother.
  2. ^ In 1918, in the middle of World War I, Carol deserted the Romanian army to marry his mistress in Odessa (Marcou 2002, pp. 96–99). This anti-constitutional marriage was then broken by the Romanian justice (Marcou 2002, pp. 103–104) and Carol had to give up his wife to resume his functions as heir to the throne (Marcou 2002, pp. 109–110).
  3. ^ According to Ivor Porter, the change of Helen was partly due to Carol's letter to her family where he accuses his wife to have had a lover before their marriage (Porter 2005, p. 25).

References

  1. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 15.
  2. ^ a b Gould Lee 1956, p. 17.
  3. ^ a b Gould Lee 1956, p. 18.
  4. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 194
  5. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 19–20.
  6. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 21.
  7. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 83
  8. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 62.
  9. ^ a b Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 68–69.
  10. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 69–70.
  11. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 25.
  12. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 70.
  13. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 72–75.
  14. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 26–28.
  15. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 31–32.
  16. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 78–79.
  17. ^ John Grenville, The major international treaties of the twentieth century, London, Taylor & Francis 2001, 3rd edition, p. 50.
  18. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 89–101.
  19. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 35–42.
  20. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 93.
  21. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 87–88.
  22. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 37–39.
  23. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 102–104.
  24. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 49–50.
  25. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 106.
  26. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 107.
  27. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 183.
  28. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 51–57.
  29. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 108–110.
  30. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 113 and 117.
  31. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 115.
  32. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 90.
  33. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 58–64.
  34. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 115–116.
  35. ^ a b Gould Lee 1956, p. 70.
  36. ^ Gelardi 2006, pp. 292–293.
  37. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 117.
  38. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 112 and 122.
  39. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 121–122.
  40. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 183 and 195.
  41. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, p. 122.
  42. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 115 and 117.
  43. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 117–118
  44. ^ a b Gould Lee 1956, pp. 73–74.
  45. ^ a b Porter 2005, p. 9.
  46. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 117–119.
  47. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 196.
  48. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 119 and 122–123.
  49. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 72–74.
  50. ^ Gelardi 2006, pp. 296–298.
  51. ^ a b Porter 2005, p. 10.
  52. ^ Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 126-128.
  53. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 125.
  54. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 83.
  55. ^ a b c d Marcou 2002, p. 126.
  56. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 198.
  57. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 84.
  58. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 88.
  59. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 91
  60. ^ Pakula 1996, pp. 311–312
  61. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 92.
  62. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 199.
  63. ^ Pakula 1996, p. 310.
  64. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 99.
  65. ^ Porter 2005, pp. 12–13.
  66. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 127.
  67. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 128.
  68. ^ Porter 2005, pp. 13–14.
  69. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 129–130.
  70. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 134.
  71. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 138–139.
  72. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 139–140.
  73. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, pp. 199–200.
  74. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 141.
  75. ^ Porter 2005, pp. 17–18.
  76. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 142.
  77. ^ Pakula 1996, p. 335.
  78. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 138.
  79. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 142–143.
  80. ^ Porter 2005, p. 19 and 20.
  81. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 143–145.
  82. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 112–113.
  83. ^ "Prince Charles's Renunciation", The Times (5 January 1926): 11.
  84. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 115.
  85. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 156–157.
  86. ^ Porter 2005, p. 21.
  87. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 200.
  88. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 115–116.
  89. ^ Marcou 2002, p. 159.
  90. ^ Gould Lee 1956, p. 117.
  91. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 161–162.
  92. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 170–171.
  93. ^ Gould Lee 1956, pp. 119–121.
  94. ^ "Prince Carol, Divorce Proceedings in Rumania", The Times (9 June 1928): 14.
  95. ^ a b Marcou 2002, pp. 174–175
  96. ^ Porter 2005, p. 27.
  97. ^ Pakula 1996, pp. 367–368.
  98. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 176-178
  99. ^ Marcou 2002, pp. 184–185.
  100. ^ Porter 2005, pp. 28–31.
  101. ^ Gould, 139.
  102. ^ Gould, 140.
  103. ^ Gould, 141.
  104. ^ Gould, 147.
  105. ^ Gould, 149.
  106. ^ Gould, 155.
  107. ^ Gould, 164-165.
  108. ^ "Princess Helen of Rumania, Settlement Signed", The Times (2 November 1932): 11.
  109. ^ Gould, 166-167.
  110. ^ Gould, 169.
  111. ^ Deletant, Denis Review of The History of the Holocaust in Romania by Jean Ancel pages 502-506 from Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, August 2013 page 505.
  112. ^ Martin Gilbert, The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust (Owl Books, 2003), 240. ISBN 0-8050-6261-0.
  113. ^ Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Room http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/royalwedding1947/object.asp?grouping=&exhibs=NONE&object=9000366&row=82&detail=magnify
  114. ^ "Wedding of King Michael of Romania and Anne of Bourbon-Parma | Royalty ~ Romania | Pinterest". pinterest.com. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  115. ^ "Image: 663579troops1928.jpg, (518 × 480 px)". img10.hostingpics.net. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  116. ^ "Image: queen-marie-king-michael-of-romania-helen-1929.jpg, (393 × 450 px)". noblesseetroyautes.com. 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  117. ^ "Image: elenauniform.jpg, (416 × 639 px)". i73.photobucket.com. 2006-05-02. Retrieved 2015-10-10.

Bibliography

  • Gelardi, Julia (2006), Born to Rule : Granddaughters of Victoria, Queens of Europe, Headline Review ISBN 0755313925
  • Gould Lee, Arthur Stanley (1956), Helen, Queen Mother of Rumania, Princess of Greece and Denmark: An Authorized Biography, London: Faber and Faber
  • Marcou, Lilly (2002), Le Roi trahi : Carol II de Roumanie, Pygmalion ISBN 2857047436
  • Mateos Sainz de Medrano, Ricardo (2004), La Familia de la Reina Sofía : La Dinastía griega, la Casa de Hannover y los reales primos de Europa, Madrid, La Esfera de los Libros ISBN 84-9734-195-3
  • Pakula, Hannah (1996), The Last Romantic : A Biography of Queen Marie of Roumania, Weidenfeld & Nicolson History ISBN 1-8579-98162
  • Porter, Ivor (2005), Michael of Romania. The King and the Country, Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing
  • "Queen Helen of Rumania", The Times (30 November 1982): 12.
  • Van der Kiste, John (1994), Kings of the Hellenes : The Greek Kings, 1863-1974 ISBN 0750921471

External links

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