Prince Nicholas of Romania ( ro, Principele Nicolae al României; 5 August 1903 – 9 June 1978), later known as Prince Nicholas of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the fourth child and second son of

King Ferdinand I of Romania Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...

and his wife Queen Marie. In 1927 after the death of his father, Nicholas was appointed as one of the three regents for his minor nephew

King Michael I Michael I ( ro, Mihai I ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last King of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947. Shortly after Michael's ...

. His position as regent ended in 1930 with the return of his older brother Prince Carol to Romania to take over as ''King of Romania''. In later 1930 he was stripped of his titles and privileges and exiled from the Royal Court, due to King Carol II's disapproval of his marriage. In 1942 after the removal of King Carol II from the throne and King Michael's second reign, Nicholas had also been stripped of his Romanian honours and therefore started using the title of ''Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen'' of the house to which he belonged. He died in exile on 9 July 1978 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain.

Early life

Nicholas was born on 5 August 1903 in

Peleș Castle Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugura ...

Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after t ...

as the second son of Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Edinburgh. His siblings were

Carol II of Romania Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Romania (full name ''Elisabeth Charlotte Josephine Alexandra Victoria'': ro, Elisabeta a României, el, Ελισάβετ της Ρουμανίας; 12 October 1894 – 14 November 1956) was a princess of Romania and member of t ...

Queen Maria of Yugoslavia Maria of Yugoslavia (born Princess Maria of Romania; 6 January 1900 – 22 June 1961), known in Serbian as Marija Karađorđević ( sr-cyr, Марија Карађорђевић), was Queen of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Queen of Yugo ...

Princess Ileana of Romania Princess Ileana of Romania, also known as Mother Alexandra (23 December 1908 – 21 January 1991), was the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand I of Romania and his consort, Queen Marie of Romania. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria ...

and

Prince Mircea of Romania Prince Mircea of Romania (; 3 January 19132 November 1916) was the third son and last child of King Ferdinand of Romania and his wife, Marie of Edinburgh and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother. He died aged three in 1916. Bir ...

. Nicholas was named after his mother’s first cousin,

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, the last Emperor of Russia. MIguelBenesCarolIIPabloDeYugoslavia1936

Biography

Nicholas was the younger brother of Carol,

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, who renounced his rights of succession on 12 December 1925. When Ferdinand died in 1927, he was succeeded as king by Carol's five-year-old son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

; Nicholas himself had been proposed as heir-apparent when Carol married the commoner

Zizi Lambrino Joanna Marie Valentina "Zizi" Lambrino (3 October 1898 – 11 March 1953) was the first wife of the later King Carol II of Romania. They had one son, Carol, born in 1920, in Bucharest. Life Born in the former Byzantine, Phanariot Rangabe-Lambr ...

in 1918 (a marriage later annulled). Given Michael's youth, a

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

council had to be formed (20 July), and Prince Nicholas was forced to abandon his career in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in order to return home to serve on the council, alongside

Gheorghe Buzdugan Gheorghe V. Buzdugan (February 10, 1867 – October 7, 1929) was a Romanian jurist and politician. Born in Focșani, Buzdugan studied law at the University of Bucharest, after which he served as a judge. Assigned to Piatra Neamț in early 1892, ...

and

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

Miron Cristea Miron Cristea (; monastic name of Elie Cristea ; 20 July 1868 – 6 March 1939) was a Romanian cleric and politician. A bishop in Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, Cristea was elected Metropolitan-Primate of the Orthodox Church of the newly unifie ...

Standard of the Regent of Romania (1927-1930)

Although unofficially referred to as "the first-ranking regent", Nicholas resented having to abandon his naval career and had no interest in politics. He tried to continue his father's cooperation with the National Liberals (PNL), and to contain the opposition of the

National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...

(PNŢ) to the regency by appointing a

national government A national government is the government of a nation. National government or National Government may also refer to: * Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions * Federal governme ...

under

Ion I. C. Brătianu Ion Ionel Constantin Brătianu (, also known as Ionel Brătianu; 20 August 1864 – 24 November 1927) was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on seve ...

. Refused by Brătianu, he witnessed a change in Carol's stance in mid-1927, when the latter argued that he had been forced to give up his throne. The cooperation between Carol and the PNŢ was successfully neutralized by the PNL, but Brătianu's death in 1927 restored contacts and increased the appeal of the PNŢ. By then, the regency was widely perceived as consisting of figureheads, and, after Constantin Sărăţeanu (an appointee of PNŢ leader

Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Un ...

) succeeded the deceased Buzdugan in 1929, it was believed to be torn apart by contrasting political ambitions. According to

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

, Miron Cristea himself had said:

"The Regency does not work because it has no head. The Prince smokes his cigarettes, Sărăţeanu looks through his books, and I, as a priest, can only try to reconcile."

Nicholas was at first delighted when Carol returned home to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

on 8 June 1930 (becoming ''King Carol II'' and thus putting an end to the regency arrangement). He welcomed the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

session that voted to repeal the 1926 legislation, and accompanied his newly arrived brother from Băneasa Airfield to

Cotroceni Palace Cotroceni Palace (Romanian: ''Palatul Cotroceni'') is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Museum. History The ...

. However, the cordial relations between Nicholas and Carol were short-lived. Nicholas wanted to marry Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti, a divorced woman belonging to a

Tohani Gura Vadului is a commune in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hunga ...

landowning family, but was aware it might prove embarrassing for the king to authorize such a marriage. Carol himself suggested that the couple should marry without first seeking his consent (even though members of the royal family were required to obtain the king's consent before marrying). Carol had intimated that under these circumstances he would accept the marriage as a ''

fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...

'', but after the wedding Carol promptly used it as an excuse to deprive Nicholas of his royal privileges and titles and to exile him from Romania. He left for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and ultimately settled in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Nicholas was married twice. His first marriage took place in

, Romania, on 7 November 1931, the bride being Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti (

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, 24 September 1910 –

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, 19 February 1963). Dumitrescu-Doletti's first husband had been Romanian politician Radu Săveanu (son of Nicolae Săveanu), whom she married on 11 December 1924. Nicholas' second marriage took place on 13 July 1967 in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian Maria Thereza Lisboa Figueira de Mello (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 10 June 1913 –

, 30 March 1997), daughter of Col. Jerónimo de Ávila Figueira de Melo and his wife, Cândida Ribeiro Lisboa, and the sister of Francisco Lisboa Figueira de Melo, former ambassador of Portugal to Germany (b.

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 12 March 1912). Figueira de Mello's first husband was Venezuelian heir Andrés Boulton Pietri (

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, 1910–1998), whom she married in

on 2 July 1936, a union that produced four children: Roger (1937), Maria Thereza (1939), Andres (1943) and William (1945). The Prince also took an interest in

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

, competing in the

1933 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 11th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 17 and 18 June 1933. Up against five strong privateer entries from Alfa Romeo, the opposition looked fairly weak, mostly being of 1920s ...

and the

1935 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 13th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 15 and 16 June 1935. The race was won by Johnny Hindmarsh and Luis Fontés in a British Lagonda, breaking the run of four consecutive A ...

driving his own Duesenberg Model SJ.

Honours

National

* : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Carol I The Order of Carol I (Romanian: Ordinul Carol I) was the highest ranking of the Romanian honours of the Kingdom of Romania until the abolition of the monarchy in 1947. It was instituted on 10 May 1906 by King Carol I to celebrate the Ruby Jubilee ...

- Revoked * : Knight of the Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

- Revoked * : Knight Officer of the Order of the Crown - Revoked * : Knight Officer of the

Order of Faithful Service The National Order of Faithful Service ( ro, Ordinul Național "Serviciul Credincios") is the second highest national order of Romania, with the Order of the Star of Romania being the highest national order. Originally it was established as the Me ...

- Revoked *

House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ( en, Nothing without God) , national_anthem = , common_languages = German , religion = Roman Catholic , currency = , title_leader = Prince , leader1 ...

: Knight Grand Cross of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

* : Air marshal Badge of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

- Post Revoked

Foreign

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* : Knight Grand Cross in Obedience of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle * Yugoslavian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle * : Great Cross of the Order of St Alexander (Grand Necklace) (1934)https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BASA-3K-2-123-244-Recipients_of_the_Bulgarian_Order_of_Saint_Alexander,_1912-1935.JPG ;Honorary Military Rank and other awards * : Honorary Lieutenant Badge of

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

* : 1'st President of the Romanian kennel club

Ancestry

References

External links

Young Nicholas as seen by an American visitor

in ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', 1929
Prince Nicholas photo archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas Of Romania, Prince 1903 births 1978 deaths People from Sinaia Romanian expatriates in Spain Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Regents of Romania Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian princes Royal Navy officers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Presidents of the Romanian Athletics Federation Sons of kings