Hi u guys over here discussing Princess Ileana! Indeed, this picture is terribly sweet. I am from Romania and i feel quite amazed i haven't found it anywhere before. Though i was quite sure it must've existed somewhere on the 'communication lines' of WWW...
It's not at all akward that so many people are interested in Ileana. she was indeed a beauty and also a very intelligent and brave woman. This is why i was rather amazed to find comments here on her alleged sympathy for the communist party. From what i've read on&by Queen Marie as well as from Ileana's own memoirs, i can assure you that all of Mary's children were brought up in the idea that there is no greater evil on earth than Communism, and no fiercer monsters than the leaders of the Russian revolution. Her comments on the issue are absolutely breathtaking, and even though over the years i have gone through dozens of well-documented books and articles on what communism meant, i have to admit that Mary manages to combine in the best possible way a literary valuable account with a politically and socially relevant commentary. As one of you has correctly pointed out, Q Mary had a very special relationship with the Tsar, relationship which dated back from her childhood visits to St. Petersburg. She was 1st degree cousin with both Alix (on her father's side) and Nicholas (on her mother's, GD Maria Alexandrovna). She completely revered Alix's sister, Ella. In her memoirs she dedicates endless pages to the impact the news of their killing had on herself as well as on her family. Over the years, she fostered immense hatred for Lenin as well as for his acollites.Taking in consideration the great influence Mary had on all her children, again, i must say it is doubtful that any of them or even of her grandchildren had any sympathy for Communists.
All in all, i very much doubt that a person as Ileana-who, from day one of Russian occupation (or call it 'liberation' :-/) of Romania, was systematically humilliated (together with all her family - including young king Michael and his mother Helen) and practically confined to her castle in Bran, could've have any sympathy for communist ideas whatsoever. The tiara you see on her head in that picture one of you considered as the most beautiful of her adult years, is the only valuable thing she managed to take with her out of the whole inheritance she received from her mother. She had to hide it in her pijamas and stuff it somewhere in her purse as communists search the members of the royal family on their forced departure to the point of humilliation. That tiara is practically the only thing that she had to sell in order to buy a house for her family and secure a living for the innitial period she lived in the US.
On the issue of her children being all failures. .it's a little harsh. Ileana is actually a good example of accomplished existence. even though she had to live far away from her home country, she did manage to lead a wonderful life and attain a level of inner piece most of her exiled relatives never found. In 1991 she made a visit to Bran, her former residence (that walls of which you can see in most of the sepia photos taken in her youth).
Nicholas married somewhere in Portugal, divorced and died there. they never brought his body back. Carol II-Q Mary's greatest dissappointment, died in Spain. His body was brought back to Romania in spring 2003 (with grat press coverage and much pomp) and burried in the royal necropolis at Curtea de Arges.
Mary, former Queen of Iugoslavia and Elisabeth of Greece both died in exile. their bodies were never brought back to the country.
Indeed, most of their lives in exile must've been a strain, but it's an exaggeration to say they were failures etc.
Regarding Mary's children being the results of adulteries. this is what anti-royalists said in Romania after 1989 and what Q Mary's political opponents said back during her lifetime. many of you probably do not even grasp the intensity of misogynism in Romania at that time and also the extent to which Mary influenced politics. quite a few politicians deliberately tried to minimise her benefic contribution to WWI Romanian politics and even now, these ridiculous rumours (largely fed by her dazzling charisma and social success) are fuelled by various persons.
However, try not to be lured into anything you hear or read.
it any of you would like to know more about Ileana, the tsar's visit to Constanta, or about the Romanian royal family, please feel free to ask. i will be more than happy to answer. Maybe living in Romania will make my comments and explanations more comprehensive.
;)
