Romanian royal family
The Romanian royal family (Romanian: Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until 1947, when the last king, Michael I of Romania, was forced to abdicate and the Parliament proclaimed Romania a republic. Soon after, upon the establishment of the constitution of 13 April 1948, Romania became a people's republic, a state that lasted until 1989.
House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Romanian branch)
House of Hohenzollern-Romania
House of Romania
House of Romania
10 May 1866
30 December 1947
Current members of the former royal family include the daughters of the late, former King Michael of Romania. Some descendants have adopted the surname "of Romania". There are also descendants of Michael's older half-brother Carol Lambrino (also known as "Carol Hohenzollern" and "Carol Mircea Grigore of Romania" or, in Romanian, al României, on his amended, Romanian birth certificate[1]), whose legitimacy was disputed and who were not recognised as royal during the reigns of Ferdinand, Carol II and Michael.
King Michael publicly renounced for himself, the former queen, and their five daughters any claim to the titles of "Prince/Princess of Hohenzollern", styles which were in any case not recognised under German laws since 1919 but had been attributed, along with the Romanian royal titles, to members of the Romanian dynasty in such subsequently published sources as the Almanach de Gotha and Burke's Guide to the Royal Family.[2]
Line of succession[edit]
According to the succession provisions of the Romanian kingdom's last democratically approved monarchical constitution of 1923, upon the death of King Michael without sons, the claim to the Crown devolves once again upon the Hohenzollern family. However, on 30 December 2007, on the 60th anniversary of his abdication, King Michael signed the Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, by which he designated Princess Margareta as his heir.[8][10] The document has no legal standing, as it regulates an institution that is no longer extant.[11][12]
However the Fundamental Rules designated Margareta as heir presumptive to the defunct throne. On the same occasion, Michael also requested that, should the Romanian Parliament consider restoring the monarchy, the Salic law of succession not be reinstated, allowing female succession. According to the new statute of the Romanian Royal House as declared by Michael, no illegitimate descendants or collateral lines may claim dynastic privileges, titles or rank and any such are excluded from the Royal House of Romania and from the line of succession to the throne.[13]
On 10 May 2011, on a background of lawsuits in Germany brought against his family by Michael’s German relatives regarding the former name Hohenzollern-Veringen of his son-in-law, Radu, and of fears[14] expressed by some that the German Hohenzollerns may claim succession to the headship of the Romanian royal house, Michael severed all of the dynastic and historical ties with the princely house of Hohenzollern, changed the name of his family to "of Romania", and gave up all princely titles conferred upon him and his family by the German Hohenzollerns.[15][16]
On 1 August 2015, Michael signed a document removing the title Prince of Romania and the qualification of Royal Highness from his grandson, Nicholas Medforth-Mills, who was also removed from the line of succession. The former king took the decision "with an eye on Romania's future after the reign and life of his eldest daughter, Margareta". The former king hoped that "Nicholas will find in future years a suitable way to serve the ideals and use the qualities that God gave him". Nicholas's mother, Princess Elena, received notification of the former king's decision in a personal letter.[17]