King Mihai of Romania and his family

[ilyala]

she never actually got to be a queen... i wonder if she wanted to...

[palimpsest]

I don't know if she wanted to be queen but I bet she would have been a cherished one. She's very… warm.

[palimpsest]

My grandma says that every girl in her high school was crazy about him.

[palimpsest]

Stockholm, 1996, with Princess Margarita.


Copyright © Humanitas

[palimpsest]

With his mother, Queen Elena [1941?].


Copyright © Humanitas

[palimpsest]

I love this photo.

The return of the queen from exile, Michael's first act as a king, 1940.


Copyright © Humanitas

[Marc]

This is a great picture of their wedding!Is there any other glittering picture of Anne?

[palimpsest]

I'll try to find others for you Marc.

[ilyala]

he didn't have it easy for him, that's for sure

[palimpsest]

His father gave him a very good education but deprived him of his mother. Because of that I think he had a pretty sad childhood. He could visit her in Florence from time to time, and those were the only times he would smile [or so they say].

[Finelly]

I'm curious as to what Michael did during the Ceaucescu regime in terms of speaking out for the rights of Romanians, or anything like that?

[palimpsest]

He couldn't have done much; he didn't have much influence outside his royal connections. He was not received by President Truman for example. You probably know of the famous distribution of power after the WWII among the allies. Romania was 90% under the influence of the Soviets.

In the first years of the exile he supported a phantom government. He kept touch with all that was happening in the country, as much as he could.

While in exile he kept a low profile, a sort of an "austere" live, in order to be in solidarity with the sufferings of people and the country.

I remember hearing each January 1 the king's speech to the Romanian people on Radio Free Europe and hoping for better times.

Is it much, is it little? Who can judge?

[Marlene]

When Michael moved to Switzerland, he had to agree to avoid politics while in the country.  Moreover, he had to support a family in exile - he had no private fortune.

Actually, Michael did meet with President Truman.  The meeting took place at the White House on March 22, 1948.  In fact, the president suggested that the king stay longer in DC.  Blair House (the official guest house, across the street from the White House) was offered to Michael and Queen Anne.  But he and his mother traveled out to the Midwest and to Texas.  The first 17 years of his exile, he was able to broadcast New Year's messages on the BBC and Radio Free Europe. In 1979, he was able to send a special message to the Romanian people and again started broadcasting in 1986.  

He couldn't have done much; he didn't have much influence outside his royal connections. He was not received by President Truman for example. You probably know of the famous distribution of power after the WWII among the allies. Romania was 90% under the influence of the Soviets.

In the first years of the exile he supported a phantom government. He kept touch with all that was happening in the country, as much as he could.

While in exile he kept a low profile, a sort of an "austere" live, in order to be in solidarity with the sufferings of people and the country.

I remember hearing each January 1 the king's speech to the Romanian people on Radio Free Europe and hoping for better times.

Is it much, is it little? Who can judge?

[palimpsest]

Thank you Marlene! You are better informed than me.

[grandduchessella]

Apparently the long legal wrangling over compensation for Peles castle has been settled--in Michael's favor. He has been awarded EUR 36 for it.


http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-06-28T174037Z_01_N28542577_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-ROMANIA-KING-DC.XML