Helen of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ελένη, ''Eleni''; ; 2 May 1896 – 28 November 1982) was the
queen mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also u ...
of Romania during the reign of her son
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 ...
(1940–1947). She was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, which led to her being awarded by the
State of Israel with the
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
of ''
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
'' in 1993.
Daughter of
King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess
Sophia of Prussia
Sophia of Prussia (Sophie Dorothea Ulrike Alice, el, Σοφία; 14 June 1870 – 13 January 1932) was Queen consort of the Hellenes from 1913–1917, and also from 1920–1922.
A member of the House of Hohenzollern and child of Frederick III, ...
, Helen spent her childhood in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the overthrow of her father by the
Allies in 1917 permanently marked her and also separated her from her favorite brother, the young
Alexander I of Greece. Exiled in
Switzerland along with most members of the royal family, Helen then spent several months caring for her father, plagued by disease and depression. In 1920, the princess met
Carol, Crown Prince of Romania, who quickly asked her hand in marriage. Despite the bad reputation of the prince, Helen accepted and moved to
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, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, where she soon gave birth to their only son, Prince
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 ...
, in 1921.
The situation of her family, however, continued to worry Helen, who made several trips abroad to visit her parents when they did not simply reside with her in
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 ...
. In doing this, she distanced herself from her husband, whose multiple affairs ended when he fell in love with
Magda Lupescu
Magda Lupescu (born Elena Lupescu; 3/15 September 1899 – 29 June 1977), later officially known as Princess Elena of Romania, was the mistress and later wife of King Carol II of Romania.
Early life and family
Many of the facts relating to he ...
in 1924. Finally, in 1925, Crown Prince Carol abandoned his wife and renounced the throne in order to live openly with his mistress. Distraught, Helen tried to persuade her husband to return to her but eventually she accepted the divorce in 1928. In the meanwhile, Helen was proclaimed "Queen Mother of Romania" in 1927, as her son Michael ascended to the throne under the regency of his uncle
Prince Nicolae. However, the political situation in
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, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
was complicated and Carol took advantage of the increased instability to return to
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 ...
in 1930 and be 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
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
,
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
. Always close to her family, she hosted her sisters
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
and
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
and brother
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, who stayed with her intermittently until the restoration of the
Greek monarchy
The monarchy of Greece ( el, Μοναρχία της Ελλάδας, Monarchía tis Elládas) or Greek monarchy ( el, Ελληνική Μοναρχία, Ellinikí Monarchía) was the government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of ...
in 1935. The outbreak of World War II, the deposition of Carol II and the subsequent dismemberment of
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
in 1940, however, brought Helen back to be with her son in Bucharest. Subject to the dictatorship of
General Antonescu and vigilance of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, the king and his mother were cautious in their dealings with the fascist regime. They did not show their opposition to the participation of Romania in the
invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
and the deportation of Jews. Finally, King Michael organized a
coup against Antonescu on 23 August 1944 and Romania turned against the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
; however, the country was, in the end,
occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...
by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
.
For Helen and her son, the
post-war period was marked by the interference of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in
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, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n political life. In March 1945, the king was forced to accept a communist government headed by
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
while the following year, the rigged
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
confirmed the hegemony of the
PCR in the country. Finally,
Michael I Michael I may refer to:
* Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767
* Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844)
* Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantin ...
was forced to abdicate on 30 December 1947 and the royal family took the path of exile. She then returned to the Villa Sparta, where she divided her time among her family, gardening and the study 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.
Princess of Greece and Denmark
A Greek childhood
The third child and eldest daughter of
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
Constantine of Greece and Princess
Sophia of Prussia
Sophia of Prussia (Sophie Dorothea Ulrike Alice, el, Σοφία; 14 June 1870 – 13 January 1932) was Queen consort of the Hellenes from 1913–1917, and also from 1920–1922.
A member of the House of Hohenzollern and child of Frederick III, ...
, Helen was born on 2 May 1896 in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
during the reign of her grandfather,
King George I.
[Gould Lee 1956, p. 17.] From birth, she received the nickname "Sitta" as her brother
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
failed to correctly pronounce the English word "sister".
[Gould Lee 1956, p. 18.][Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 194] Growing up, Helen developed a special affection for Alexander, only three years her senior.
Helen spent most of her childhood in the Greek capital. Every summer, the princess and her family travelled to the Hellenic Mediterranean aboard the royal yacht ''Amphitrite'' or visited Sophia's mother, the
Dowager Empress Victoria in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
From the age of 8, Helen began to spend part of the summer in Great Britain, in the regions of
Seaford and
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
.
[Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 83] The princess grew up in a strongly
anglophile
An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents.
Etymology
The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...
environment, among a cohort of British tutors and governesses, including Miss Nichols, who took special care of her.
From the Goudi coup to the Balkan Wars
On 28 August 1909 a group of Greek officers, known as the "Military League," organized a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
(called the
Goudi coup
The Goudi coup ( el, κίνημα στο Γουδί) was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in mod ...
) against the government of
King George I, Helen's grandfather. While declaring to be monarchists, the League members, led by
Nikolaos Zorbas, asked the king to dismiss his son from military posts.
[Van der Kiste 1994, pp. 68–69.] Officially, this was to protect the ''Diadochos'' from the jealousy that could stem from his friendship with some soldiers. But the reality was quite different: the officers blamed Constantine for the defeat of Greece against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
during the
Thirty Days' War of 1897.
The situation was so tense that the sons of George I were finally forced to resign from their military posts to save their father from the shame of their being expelled. The ''Diadochos'' also decided to leave Greece with his wife and children. For several months, the family moved to the
''Schloss Friedrichshof'' at
Kronberg
Kronberg im Taunus is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy was absorbed into Prussia. Kronberg lies at t ...
in Germany. It was the first of many times that the 14-year-old Helen would have to go into exile.
After much tension, the political situation eventually subsided in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
and Constantine and his family were allowed to return to their homeland. In 1911, the ''Diadochos'' was restored in his military duties by the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Eleftherios Venizelos. A year later, the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
broke out, which allowed Greece to annex large territories in
Macedonia,
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
,
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
and the
North Aegean
The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...
. It was also at the end of this conflict that King George I was assassinated in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
on 18 March 1913 and Helen's father succeeded him on the Hellenic throne as King Constantine I.
After these events, Helen spent long weeks touring Greece, of which she previously only knew the main towns and the island of
Corfu. With her father and brother Alexander, she travelled in
Greek Macedonia
Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
and the various battlefields of the First Balkan War. However, this period of calm was short-lived as the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
broke out in June 1913. Once again, Greece emerged victorious from the conflict, allowing it to significantly expand its territory, which grew by 68% after the signing of the
Treaty of Bucharest.
World War I
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, King Constantine I first sought to maintain Greece in a position of
neutrality. He considered that his country was not yet ready to participate in a new conflict after the Balkan Wars. But, educated in Germany and linked to
Emperor William II (who was his brother-in-law), Constantine I was quickly accused of supporting the
Triple Alliance and wishing for the defeat of the
Allies. The king quickly fell out with his Prime Minister Venizelos, who was convinced of the need to support the countries of the
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...
to fulfill the so-called ''
Megali Idea
The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popu ...
''. In October 1916, Venizelos, protected by the Entente countries, and in particular by the French Republic, formed a
parallel government in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. Central Greece was occupied by the allied forces and the country was soon in the middle of a civil war, the so-called
National Schism
The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding the foreig ...
.
Weakened by all these tensions, Constantine I became seriously ill in 1915. Suffering from
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
aggravated by a
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
, he remained in bed for several weeks and nearly died. In Greece, public opinion was affected by the rumor, spread by Venizelists, that the king was not 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 declined so much, that a ship was sent to the Island of
Tinos
Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.
Tinos ...
in order to seek the miraculous Icon of the Virgin and Child, which was supposed to heal the sick. After kissing the holy picture, the king partially recovered his health. But the situation remained worrying and the king was in need of surgery before he could reassume his duties. These events had a special impact on Princess Helen, who was very close to her father: impressed by his recovery, she developed a deep religiosity, a trait that she would retain throughout her life.
Despite these difficulties, Constantine I refused to change his policies and was faced with the increasingly clear opposition of the Triple Entente and Venizelists. Thus, on 1 December 1916 the so-called
Greek Vespers took place where the Allied soldiers fought against Greek reservists in Athens and the French fleet bombarded the
Royal Palace. On this occasion, Helen was nearly killed by a gunfire from the
Zappeion
The Zappeion ( el, Ζάππειον Μέγαρο, Záppeion Mégaro, ) is a large, palatial building next to the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and priva ...
. After hearing the gunshots and worried for the life of her father, the princess ran to the gardens of the royal palace but was saved by the royal
Garde du Corps
A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard) is a military unit, formed of guards. A '' Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was used in several German states and also, for example, in th ...
which took her back inside the palace.
Finally, on 10 June 1917,
Charles Jonnart, the Allied High Commissioner in Greece, asked the king for his abdication. Under the threat of an invasion in
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
, the king agreed and went into exile, but without formally abdicating. The Allies did not wish to establish a Republic in Greece, so one of the members of the royal family had to stay and succeed him. Because the ''Diadochos''
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
was also considered pro-German like his father, they wanted someone considered malleable, as a
puppet ruler
A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is either loyal to or controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case ...
of Constantine I's enemies. Finally the younger brother of the ''Diadochos'', Prince
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, was chosen by Venizelos and the Triple Entente as the new king.
From exile to the Romanian wedding
Life in Switzerland
On 11 June 1917 the Greek royal family secretly fled from their palace, surrounded by a loyalist mob that refused to see them go. In the days that followed, Constantine I, Queen Sophia and five of their children left Greece from the port of
Oropos
Oropos ( el, Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece.
The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of ...
and took the road to exile. This was the last time that Helen saw her favorite brother. In fact, on their return to power, the Venizelists prohibited any contact between
King Alexander I and the rest of the royal family.
After crossing the
Ionian Sea and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Helen and her family settled in Switzerland, mainly among the cities of
St. Moritz,
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
and
Lucerne.
[Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 90.] In exile, Helen's parents were soon followed by almost all members of the royal family, who left 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 fell ill. In 1918, he contracted
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
and again was close to death.
Very concerned about the fate of their father, Helen and her sisters Irene and Katherine spent a long time with him to distract him from his worries.
Helen also sought to reconnect with Alexander I. She tried to take advantage of 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 refused to pass along either her communications or those of other members of the royal family.
[Gould Lee 1956, p. 70.]
Meeting with Crown Prince Carol of Romania
In 1920, the Greek exiles were visited in Lucerne by Queen
Marie of Romania (Sophia's first cousin) and her daughters
Elisabeth,
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
and
Ileana. Worried about the future of her eldest and still single son, the ''Diadochos'' George, who had already proposed to Princess Elisabeth a few years earlier, Queen Sophia was anxious for him to marry. Homeless, penniless and without any real political value since his exclusion from the Greek throne in 1917, Helen's elder brother reiterated his request of marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who, despite her initial reticence, finally decided to accept. Pleased with the union, the Queen of Romania then invited her future son-in-law and his sisters Helen and
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
to go to
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 ...
in order to publicly announce the royal engagement. The princesses accepted and the departure was set to 2 October. In the meanwhile, another member of the Romanian royal family arrived to Lucerne. This was Elisabeth's brother, the Crown Prince Carol, who had just completed a trip around the world which he had undertaken in order to forget his morganatic wife
Zizi Lambrino and
their son Carol.
In
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, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
George, Helen and Irene were received with pomp by the royal family. Housed at
Pelișor Castle
The Pelișor Castle (Romanian: ''Castelul Pelișor'', ) is a castle in Sinaia, Romania, part of the same complex as the larger castle of Peleș.
History
The castle was built in 1899–1902 by order of King Carol I, as the residence for his ...
, they were a 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 arrived which announced the death in Zurich of
the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was the mother of the queen of Romania. The very next day, another message arrived informing the Greek princes that Alexander I had suddenly died in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, following a monkey bite.
[Gould Lee 1956, pp. 73–74.][Porter 2005, p. 9.]
Under these circumstances, the three Greek princes and Queen Marie of Romania decided to make 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 along with them. After being cold and distant to Helen during her stay at Romania, the crown prince suddenly turned very attentive to the princess. During the train journey, the two told their life stories to each other and Carol confided in Helen about his affair with Zizi Lambrino. Helen likewise told him of her life and of family matters, including her great grief for her brother Alexander's death and how she did not want to return to Greece now that her only real friend, her beloved brother, was dead. This opening of the hearts to each other had the result that Helen fell in love with the heir to the Romanian throne.
[Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 196.]
Restoration and marriage
Soon after their arrival in Switzerland, Crown Prince Carol asked for Helen's hand in marriage, much to the joy of the queen of Romania, but not to the princess' parents. Helen was determined to accept the marriage proposal, therefore King Constantine I assented 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 tried to convince Helen to reject the proposal. However, Helen insisted, and despite the doubts of her mother, the engagement was announced in Zürich in November 1920.
[Porter 2005, p. 10.]
Meanwhile, in Greece, the Venizelists lost 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, the disputed results of which showed that 99% of the population demanded the restoration of the sovereign. Under these conditions, the royal family returned to Athens and Helen was accompanied by her fiancé on her return. For two months, the two traveled discovering inner Greece and its ancient ruins. They then went 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.
Being the first Greek princess to marry in Athens, Helen wore the Romanian 'Greek Key' tiara, a gift from her mother-in-law. The newlyweds then spent their honeymoon in
Tatoi, where they remained for two months before returning to Romania, on 8 May 1921.
[Marcou 2002, p. 126.][Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 198.]
Crown Princess of Romania
Installation in Bucharest
Upon her return to Romania, Helen was already pregnant. She spent some time with Carol at the
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
T ...
, where the pomp and protocol of the Court both impressed and bored her at the same time. The couple then took up residence at the Foișor, an elegant Swiss-style chalet built in the surroundings of
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 inaugu ...
, at
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 aft ...
.
It was there that the crown princess gave birth after only seven and a half months after her wedding. Her only child, Prince
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 ...
, named in honor to
Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
, the first unifier of the
Danubian Principalities, was born on 25 October 1921; the childbirth was difficult and required surgery. The ordeal significantly weakened Helen, and the doctors forbade her from having a second pregnancy.
Once Helen had recovered, in December 1921 the couple moved to Bucharest, in a large villa at the
Șoseaua Kiseleff. Despite their significantly different points of interest, Carol and Helen managed, for some time, to lead a bourgeois and happy existence. In the mornings, the heir performed his official duties and in the afternoons, they enjoyed their favorite past times. While the crown prince engaged in reading and his stamp collections, she spent her time engaged in horseback riding or on the decoration of their residences.
[Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 199.] The crown princess was very 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 ''Roșiori''.
Reunion with family
In the meantime, the political situation was deteriorating in Greece. The Hellenic Kingdom endured a period of unrest during the
Greco-Turkish War, and by 1919 the health of King Constantine I was deteriorating once again. Worried about the future of her father, Helen asked for her husband's permission to return to Greece. The couple and their child thus left for
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
at the end of January 1922. But while Carol left Greece in February to attend the betrothal of his sister
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
to King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yu ...
, Helen remained with her parents until April, when she returned to Romania, bringing her sister Irene. By that time, the crown prince had resumed his affair with his former mistress, the actress Mirella Marcovici.
In June 1922, Carol and Helen went to
Belgrade with the whole Romanian royal family to attend the wedding of Alexander I and Maria. Back in Bucharest, the crown princess then resumed her role as wife of the heir to the throne. She participated in official acts and supported the sovereign and her husband during ceremonies that punctuated the life of the monarchy. Like many women of her rank, Helen was also interested in social works. Nevertheless, she continued to be worried for her family, and even visited her sister Irene, her aunt
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
and her Greek cousins in an futile attempt to console herself about the remoteness of her parents.
In September 1922, a military coup forced King Constantine I to abdicate in favor of his son
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
, and to go into exile. Without any real power and dominated by the revolutionaries, after a failed coup of a pro-royalist group (the so-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 immediately went to Italy to be with her parents in their exile. Shortly after the coronation of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania in
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...
on 15 October 1922, Helen left for
Palermo, where she remained until the death of her father, on 11 January 1923.
Bored by the absence of his wife, Carol finally invited his mother-in-law to stay in Bucharest. However, the dowager queen did not arrive alone: with her, and without warning, came no fewer than 15 Greek princes and princesses, to his home. Increasingly irritated by the invasive presence of his wife's family, Carol also was hurt by Helen's attitude because she refused to fulfil her marital duties. Jealous, the crown prince suspected that his wife had begun an affair with the charming
Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, a regular guest of the Greek royal couple in Sicily. It was due to these circumstances that Helen and Carol began their separation, though the crown princess saved appearances by devoting more time to the education of her son, Prince Michael.
Abandonment of Crown Prince Carol
In the summer of 1924, Carol met Elena Lupescu (better known under the name of
"Magda" Lupescu), with whom he began an affair in or around 14 February 1925. This was not the first extramarital relationship of the crown prince since his marriage. However, for Carol, this time there was a serious bond, a fact that would 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 feared that Lupescu could turn into a new Zizi Lambrino. In November 1925, Carol was sent to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to represent the royal family at the funeral of the Dowager Queen
Alexandra. Despite several promises made to his father, King Ferdinand I, he took advantage of traveling abroad to find his mistress and openly live out their relationship. Refusing to return to Bucharest, Carol finally officially renounced the throne and prerogatives as crown prince on 28 December 1925.
In Romania, Helen was distraught by Carol's attitude, especially as Queen Marie made her partly responsible for the failure of her marriage. The crown princess wrote to her husband to convince him to return. She also attempted to convince politicians to delay Carol's exclusion to the royal succession and proposed to her in-laws that she herself take a trip to meet with her husband. However, the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Ion Brătianu
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
, who despised the crown prince because of his sympathy to 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 ...
, categorically opposed. The head of government even accelerated the exclusion procedures by summoning both Houses of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
to register the act of renunciation and appoint little Prince Michael as the new heir to the throne.
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 of Romania;
["Prince Charles's Renunciation", ''The Times'' (5 January 1926): 11.] in addition, she was included in the
Civil list, a privilege previously reserved to the sovereign and the heir to the throne. After King Ferdinand I was diagnosed with cancer, a Regency Council was also formed during Michael's minority with
Prince Nicholas
Nicholas Teo () is a Malaysian Chinese singer under Good Tengz Entertainment Sdn Bhd. (Malaysia)
Career
Pre debut
Before returning to Malaysia, Nicholas was studying in Taiwan, where he won the Best Singer in a competition among all the Tai ...
as the Head, assisted by
Patriarch Miron and the magistrate
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, ...
, replaced after his death in 1929 by Constantine Sărățeanu. Despite this, Helen continued to hope for the return of her husband and obstinately refused requests for a divorce that he sent to her from abroad.
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 arrange for an encounter with her husband but, having initially accepted to see her, Carol canceled the meeting at the last minute.
First reign of Michael I and Italian exile
Crown Princess of Romania
In the spring of 1927, Queen Marie made an official visit to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. During her absence, Helen and her sister-in-law
Elisabeth took care of King
Ferdinand I, whose health declined rapidly. The king died on 20 July 1927 at
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 inaugu ...
and his 5-year-old grandson succeeded him under the name of Michael I while the Regency Council took over the direction of the country. However, in Romania, Carol retained many supporters (soon nicknamed "Carlists") and the
National Liberal Party began to fear the return of the Prince.
After trying to convince her husband to go to Bucharest, Helen gradually changed her attitude towards him. Anxious to preserve the rights of her son and probably convinced by Prime Minister
Barbu Știrbey
Prince Barbu Alexandru Știrbey (; 4 November 1872 – 24 March 1946) was 30th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania in 1927. He was the son of Prince Alexandru Știrbey and his wife Princess Maria Ghika-Comănești, and grandson of another ...
, the princess requested a divorce, which she easily obtained. On 21 June 1928, the marriage was dissolved by the
Romanian Supreme Court on the grounds of incompatibility. Helen also distanced herself from her mother-in-law, who complained of being separated from the young king and criticized more openly the Greek entourage of the Princess.
[Marcou 2002, pp. 174–175.] Under these circumstances, the dowager queen approached her eldest son and built ties with the Carlist movement.
After the Regency Council failed to govern the country, Carol appeared increasingly as a providential man who could solve the problems of Romania. Still, his supporters (as Prime Minister
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 U ...
, leader 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 ...
) continued to demand his separation from Magda Lupescu and his reconciliation with Helen, which he refused. Thanks to his many supporters in the country, the prince finally organized his return to Bucharest on the night of 6–7 June 1930. Joyfully welcomed by the population and the political class, he then proclaimed himself king under the name of Carol II.
Impossible reconciliation with Carol II
When he came to power, Carol II initially refused to see Helen though he expressed his desire to meet his son, demoted to the rank of heir-apparent to the throne with the title of ''Grand Voivod of
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...
'' by the Romanian Parliament (8 June 1930). In order to be reunited with Michael, the king therefore resolved to meet his former wife. Accompanied by his brother Nicholas and his sister Elizabeth, he visited the princess in her villa in the Șoseaua Kiseleff. At the sight of her former husband, Helen showed coldness but she had no other alternative than to offer him her friendship for the sake of their child.
In the following weeks, Helen suffered the combined pressures of politicians and the
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
, who were trying to persuade her to resume her conjugal life with Carol II and accept to be crowned along with him at a ceremony in Alba Iulia, scheduled on 21 September 1930. Despite her reluctance, the princess agreed to a reconciliation and reconsidered the annulment of her divorce, but under the condition of having a separate residence. These were the circumstances under which the former spouses lived and while Carol II sometimes went to Helen for lunch with her, the princess would, from time to time, have tea with him in the royal palace. In July, the king, his former wife and son traveled together in
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 aft ...
but while Carol II moved to ''Foișor'', Helen and Michael stayed at Peleș Castle. Each day, the family gathered for tea and, on 20 July, Carol II and Helen appeared publicly together on the occasion of a ceremony in memory of King Ferdinand I.
In August 1930, the government presented a decree to Carol II for his signature officially confirming Helen as ''Her Majesty, the Queen of Romania.'' The king, 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. Due to these circumstances, the proposed coronation of the two former spouses was postponed.
[Marcou 2002, p. 192.] The return of Magda Lupescu to Romania finally put an end to the reconciliation efforts of the pair.
Soon the king was able to get Michael moved to his side, and Helen was allowed to see her son every day in exchange for her political silence.
Increasingly isolated, the princess was forced into exile by her former husband, she consented to a separation agreement in October 1931. In exchange for her silence, and through the mediation of her brother, the former King
George II of Greece, and her sister-in-law
Elisabeth, Helen then obtained a substantial monetary compensation. With the approval of Carol II, she obtained the right to stay four months a year in Romania and to receive her son abroad during two months of the year. She retained her residence in Bucharest and the king agreed to fund its maintenance during his absence. Especially, Helen received a sum of thirty million
lei to buy a home abroad and in addition she obtained an annual pension of seven million lei.
Between scandal and exile
In November 1931, Helen left Romania for Germany, where she went to the bedside of her mother, the Dowager Queen Sophia of Greece, seriously ill with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. After her death on 13 January 1932, Helen bought her house in
Fiesole
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
,
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
, which she used as her main residence. In this large house, that she renamed Villa Sparta, the princess received the visit of her sisters Irene and Katherine and her brother Paul, who remained with Helen on long stays.
[Van der Kiste 1994, p. 151.]
Despite the distance, the friction between Helen and Carol II continued. In September 1932, a visit from Michael and his mother to the United Kingdom was used by Helen as an opportunity for a new, very public conflict, which soon made the headlines of the international press, just as Helen wanted. The king wanted the crown prince not to wear shorts in public, and that he not be photographed in the company of his mother. Helen was incensed at the second stipulation and, as was her wont, took the trouble to aggravate the situation by defying the first stipulation as well. She made sure her son was dressed in shorts and posed for the cameras with him at her side for an extended photo opportunity. After seeing the spectacle of the crown prince in shorts published in the newspapers, the king demanded that the heir to the throne be brought back to Bucharest. Helen now decided to grant an interview to the ''
Daily Mail'' "in the hope," she said, "that public opinion would help to preserve her parental rights". This was followed by a violent press campaign, which enraged the king. Despite these events, Helen chose to return to Romania for Michael's birthday and threatened to go to the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
if Carol II did not allow her to see their son.
Back in Bucharest, the princess tried, without much success, to get the government involved in a case against the king. She then turned again to her sister-in-law, the former queen of the Hellenes. However, the latter was deeply shocked by the interview given to the ''Daily Mail'', and the two women had a violent fight during their reunion, where Elisabeth even slapped Helen. Carol II then considered his former wife as a political opponent, and in order to undermine her prestige, the king initiated a campaign in the press against her, claiming that she had tried to commit suicide twice. After only a month in the country, Carol II imposed a new separation agreement (1 November 1932), under which Helen was denied the right to return to Romania and the next day, finally forced her into permanent exile in Italy. During the following years, she had no contact with her former husband, who only briefly told her by telephone of the death of Queen Marie in 1938. Despite the tensions, Prince Michael was able to see his mother every year in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
for two months.
In Fiesole, the life of Helen and her sisters was relatively retired, even though they were frequently visited by the Italian
House of Savoy, which had always been welcoming to the Greek royal family during its exile. The Greek princesses also used their connections to find a wife for ''Diadochos''
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, who remained single. In 1935, they took advantage of the presence in Florence of Princess
Frederica of Hanover
Frederica of Hanover (''Friederike Luise''; ; 18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981) was Queen consort of Greece from 1947 until 1964 as the wife of King Paul, thereafter Queen mother during the reign of her son, King Constantine II.
Early life
...
to arrange an encounter between her and their brother. Their good efforts paid off and Frederica quickly fell in love with the ''Diadochos''. However, the princess' parents were reluctant to approve this relationship and it was not until 1937 that Paul and Frederica were finally allowed to get engaged. In the meantime, the Greek monarchy was restored and George II once again became King of Greece, but his wife Elisabeth, who filed for divorce on 6 July 1935, remained in Romania.
Queen Mother of Romania
World War II and the dictatorship of Antonescu
In Tuscany, Helen found real stability, despite the absence of her son most of the year. However, the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
again disrupted her daily routine. In accordance with the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
forced Romania to
cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to them on 26 June 1940, and a few weeks later, the country was also forced to surrender
Northern Transylvania to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
(
Second Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...
, 30 August 1940) and the
Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral ( Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silis ...
to
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
(
Treaty of Craiova
The Treaty of Craiova ( bg, Крайовска спогодба, Krayovska spogodba; ro, Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its te ...
, 7 September 1940); these territorial losses ended the
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, created at the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Unable to maintain the territorial integrity of his country and under pressure from the
Iron Guard, a fascist party supported by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, Carol II became increasingly unpopular and finally was forced to abdicate on 6 September 1940. His son Michael, aged 18, became king while General
Ion Antonescu established a dictatorship with the support of members of the Iron Guard.
Eager to obtain the favor of the new sovereign (and some legitimation to his dictatorship), Antonescu granted Helen the title of "Queen Mother of Romania" (''Regina-mamă Elena'') with the style "Her Majesty" on 8 September 1940 and sent the diplomat
Raoul Bossy to Fiesole to persuade her to return to Bucharest (12 September 1940).
[Marcou 2002, pp. 300–301.] Back in Romania (14 September 1940), Helen found herself, however, subject to the whim of the dictator, determined to keep the royal family in a purely ceremonial role.
Indeed, in the years that followed, Antonescu systematically excluded the king and his mother from political responsibility and didn't even bother to warn them of his decision to declare war on the Soviet Union in June 1941.
In this difficult context, Michael I was at times prone to bouts of depression and Helen then concentrated all of her efforts to make him more active. Aware of his shortcomings, the queen mother appealed to historians of the right to train her son in his role as sovereign. She also guided the king in his talks and pushed him to oppose Antonescu when she deemed that his policies endangered the crown. Alerted by the Rabbi
Alexandru Șafran
Alexandru Şafran (or Alexandre Safran; 12 September 1910 – 27 July 2006) was a Romanian and, after 1948, Switzerland, Swiss rabbi. As chief rabbi of Romania (1940–1948), he intervened with authorities in the Fascism, fascist government of Ion ...
about the anti-Jewish persecutions, Helen personally appealed to the German ambassador
Manfred Freiherr von Killinger
Manfred Freiherr von Killinger (July 14, 1886 – September 2, 1944) was a German naval officer, ''Freikorps'' leader, military writer and Nazism, Nazi politician. A veteran of World War I and member of the ''Marinebrigade Ehrhardt'' during th ...
and Antonescu to convince them to halt the deportations, being supported in her efforts by
Patriarch Nicodim. For his part, the king vigorously protested to the ''Conducător'' at the time of the
Odessa massacre and notably obtained the release of
Wilhelm Filderman
Wilhelm Filderman (last name also spelled Fieldermann; 14 November 1882 – 1963) was a lawyer and the leader of the Romanian-Jewish community between 1919 and 1947; in addition, he was a representative of the Jews in the Romanian parliament.
Ear ...
, president of the Romanian Jewish community.
Despite these few attempts of emancipation, Helen and her son spent most of the conflict playing as hosts of the German officers passing through Bucharest. The queen mother even met
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
twice: firstly informally, with her sister Irene, to discuss the fate of Greece and Romania within the
new Europe (December 1940) and secondly formally with Michael I during a trip in Italy (winter of 1941). Above all, Helen and her son had no choice but to officially support the dictatorship of Antonescu. Thus, it was Michael I who gave the ''Conducător'' the title of Marshal (21 August 1941) after the reconquest of
Bessarabia by the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...
.
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
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. According to SS ''Hauptsturmführer''
Gustav Richter
Gustav Richter (12 November 1913 – 5 June 1997) was an aide to Adolf Eichmann, an adviser on Jewish affairs (''Judenberater''), during Nazism era. He was a member of the Nazi Party and of the '' SS'', the paramilitary organization of the Na ...
, 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 heir names
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officially ...
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."
Coup of Michael I and end of the war
From 1941, the participation of the Romanian army in the
invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
further damaged the relations between Antonescu and the royal family, who disapproved of the
conquests of Odessa and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. However, it was the
Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) and the losses incurred by the Romanian side that finally forced Michael I to organize around him a resistance against the dictatorship of the ''Conducător''. During an official speech on 1 January 1943, the sovereign publicly condemned the participation of Romania in the
war against the Soviet Union, triggering the wrath of both Antonescu and the
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, who accused Helen of being behind the royal initiative. In retaliation, Antonescu tightened his control over Michael I and his mother, and threatened the royal family with the abolition of the monarchy if any further provocation were to occur.
Over the next few months, the suspicious death of Tsar
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
(28 August 1943) and the successive arrests of princesses
Mafalda of Savoy (23 September 1943) and
Irene of Greece
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, ( el, Ειρήνη; born 11 May 1942) is the youngest child and second daughter of Paul of Greece and his wife Queen Frederica. She is the younger sister of Queen Sofía of Spain and of the deposed Const ...
(October 1943) after the
overthrow of Mussolini by King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...
(25 July 1943), proved to Michael I and his mother just how dangerous opposition to the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
was. The
return of the Soviets in Bessarabia and the American bombing over Bucharest forced the king, despite everything, to break with the regime of Antonescu. On 23 August 1944 Michael I organized a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
against the ''Conducător'', who was imprisoned. In the process, the king and his new government declared war on the Axis powers and asked the Romanian forces not to resist the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
, which nevertheless continued its invasion into the country.
In retaliation against this betrayal, the
''Luftflotte'' bombed Bucharest and ''Casa Nouă'', the main residence of the sovereign and his mother since 1940, which was largely destroyed (24 August 1944). Nevertheless, the Romanian forces gradually managed to push the Germans out of the country and also attacked Hungary in order to liberate
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
(
Siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budape ...
, 29 December 1944 – 13 February 1945). However, the
Allies did not immediately recognize the reversal of Romania and the Soviets entered the capital on 31 August 1944. An armistice was finally signed with Moscow on 12 September 1944, which forced the kingdom to accept the
Soviet occupation
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
. A climate of uncertainty swept the country while the Red Army increased their demands.
Visiting
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 aft ...
at the time of the royal coup d'état, Helen found her son the next day at
Craiova. Back in Bucharest on 10 September 1944, the king and his mother moved into the
residence
A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside.
Residence may more specifically refer to:
* Domicile (law), a legal term for residence
* Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...
of
Princess Elizabeth, whose relations with Helen remained tense despite their reconciliation in 1940. With the increased instability in Romania, the queen mother was extremely concerned about the safety of her son, fearing that he could eventually be killed, like
Prince-Regent Kiril of Bulgaria, shot by the Communists on 1 February 1945. The queen mother also disapproved of the influence of Ioan Stârcea over the sovereign and, following information from one of the palace servants, accused him of espionage on behalf of Antonescu. She was also concerned about the machinations of Carol II, who apparently waited for the end of the war to return to Romania, and observed with anxiety the political crisis that prevented King
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
from regaining power in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. In this difficult context, Helen had the joy of learning that her sister Irene and her little nephew
Amedeo Amedeo is an Italian given name meaning "lover of God", "loves God", or more correctly "for the love of God" and cognate to the Latin name Amadeus and the Spanish and Portuguese Amadeo.
People with this name include:
* A number of rulers and nob ...
were alive, although still in German hands.
Despite these political and personal concerns, the queen mother continued her charitable activities. She provided support to Romanian hospitals, and managed to save some of the equipment of the Red Army requisitions. On 6 November 1944 she inaugurated a
soup kitchen in the ballroom of the Royal Palace, which served not less than 11,000 meals to children in the capital over the next three months. Finally, despite Moscow's opposition, the queen mother sent aid to
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
, where a terrible epidemic of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
was raging.
Imposition of a communist regime
With the Soviet occupation, the staff of the
Romanian Communist Party, which counted only a few thousand members during the coup of Michael I, exploded and demonstrations against the government of Constantin Sănătescu multiplied. At the same time, acts of sabotage were occurring all over the country, preventing the Romanian economy from recovering. Faced with the combined pressures of the representative of the Soviet Union,
Andrey Vyshinsky
Andrey Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky (russian: Андре́й Януа́рьевич Выши́нский; pl, Andrzej Wyszyński) ( – 22 November 1954) was a Soviet politician, jurist and diplomat.
He is known as a state prosecutor of Joseph ...
, and the
People's Democratic Front (offshoot of the Communist Party), the king needed to build a new government and named
Nicolae Rădescu
Nicolae Rădescu (; 30 March 1874 – 16 May 1953) was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-Communist Romania, communist rule List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of Romania, serving from 7 December 1944 ...
as the new Prime Minister (7 December 1944). Nevertheless, the situation remained tense in the country and when the new head of the government called for municipal elections on 15 March 1945, the Soviet Union resumed its destabilizing operations in order to impose a government of their liking. The
refusal of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to intervene on his behalf led the sovereign to consider abdication but he abandoned the idea on the advice of representatives of the two major democratic political forces,
Dinu Brătianu
Dinu Brătianu (January 13, 1866 – May 20, 1950), born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian engineer and politician who led the National Liberal Party (PNL) starting in 1934.
Life Early career
Born at the estate of ''Florica'', in ...
and
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 U ...
. On 6 March 1945 Michael I finally called
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
, leader of the
Ploughmen's Front
The Ploughmen's Front ( ro, Frontul Plugarilor) was a Romanian left-wing agrarian-inspired political organisation of ploughmen, founded at Deva in 1933 and led by Petru Groza. At its peak in 1946, the Front had over 1 million members.
Histor ...
, as the new head of a government which had no association with any representative of either the
Peasants
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
and the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
parties.
Satisfied with this appointment, the Soviet authorities were more conciliatory with Romania. On 13 March 1945 Moscow transferred the administration of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
to Bucharest. A few months later, on 19 July 1945, Michael I was decorated with the
Order of Victory
The Order of Victory (russian: Орден «Победа», translit=Orden "Pobeda") was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only ...
, one of the most prestigious Soviet military orders. Still, the Sovietization of the kingdom was accelerated. The purge of "fascist" personalities continued while censorship was strengthened. A
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
was also implemented, causing a drop in production which ruined agricultural exports. The king, however, managed to temporarily prevent the establishment of
People's Tribunals and the restoration of the death penalty.
After the
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
and the reaffirmation by the Allies of the need to establish democratically elected governments in Europe, Michael I demanded the resignation of Petru Groza, who refused. Faced with this insubordination, the sovereign began a "royal strike" on 23 August 1945 during which he refused to countersign the acts of the government. With his mother, he locked himself in the
Elisabeta Palace
Elisabeta Palace () is a palace on Kiseleff Road in Bucharest, Romania. Built in 1936, it is the official residence in Romania of Margareta of Romania, her husband Prince Radu, and her sister Princess Maria.
The Palace was designed in 1930 b ...
for six weeks before departing to
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 aft ...
. The resistance of the monarch, however, was not supported by the West, who after the
Moscow Conference of 25 December 1945, asked Romania to allow two opposition figures to enter the government. Disappointed by the lack of courage of London and Washington, the sovereign was shocked by the attitudes of Princesses Elisabeth and Ileana, who openly supported the communist authorities. Disgusted by all these betrayals, Helen, in turn, encouraged fewer meetings with Soviet officials and worried every day for the life of her son.
The year 1946 was marked by the strengthening of the Communist dictatorship, despite active resistance of the sovereign. After several months of waiting, the
parliamentary elections were held on 19 November 1946 and were officially won by the Ploughmen's Front. After that date, the situation of the king and his mother became more precarious. In their palace, they had no access to running water for three hours a day and the electricity was off most of the day. This did not prevent Helen from maintaining her charitable activities and continuing to send food and clothing to Moldavia. In early 1947, the queen mother also obtained permission to travel abroad to visit her family. She then reunited with her sister Irene, weakened after her deportation to Austria, attended the funeral of her elder brother, King George II, and participated in the marriage of her youngest sister, Princess
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, with British Major Richard Brandram.
The signing of the
Paris Peace Treaties, on 10 February 1947, marked a new stage in the sidelining of the royal family by the Communist regime. Deprived of any official duties, the king was found even more isolated than during the "royal strike". Under these conditions, the queen mother considered exile with more determination but she was concerned that they did not possess any foreign resources, because her son refused to save money outside of Romania. As guests to the marriage of Princess
Elizabeth of the United Kingdom with
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (Helen's first-cousin) on 20 November 1947, Michael I and his mother were provided with an opportunity to travel together abroad. During this stay, the king fell in love with Princess
Anne of Bourbon-Parma, with whom he became engaged much to Helen's delight.
[Porter 2005, pp. 170–175] This trip was also an opportunity for the queen mother to place two small paintings of
El Greco from the royal collections in a Swiss bank.
Abolition of the Romanian monarchy and Michael I's wedding
Deposition of Michael I and the first months of exile
Despite the advice of their relatives, who urged them not to return to Romania in order to escape the communists, the king and his mother returned to Bucharest on 21 December 1947. They were coldly greeted by the government, which secretly hoped to see them stay abroad in order to abolish the monarchy. Their plan did not work, so Prime Minister Petru Groza and General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
decided to compel the sovereign to abdicate. On 30 December 1947 they asked for an audience with the king, who received them along with his mother. The two politicians asked Michael I to sign a declaration of abdication. The king refused, stating that, for such a thing, the Romanian population must be consulted. The two men threatened that if he persisted, over 1000 students arrested would be executed in retaliation. Thousands of people, including many students, were arrested in November 1946, after clashes with the Communist forces. The pro-democracy and freedom population defeated the Communist forces which were sent to the protests by the Communist government, but in return, many protesters were arrested by Communist authorities, with the help of the Red Army. The heavy clashes ensued in Bucharest and other big cities in Romania after the Communist Party falsified the votes for the 1946 Parliament elections, which the National Peasant's Party (PNȚ) had won with over 70%. Forced with this blackmail, Michael I renounced the crown. Only hours after the announcement, the
Romanian People's Republic
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peopl ...
was proclaimed. Michael I and Helen left Romania with some partisans on 3 January 1948. Despite their close links with the Communists, Princesses Elisabeth and Ileana were also forced to leave the country a few days later, on 12 January.
In exile, Michael I and Helen settled for some time in Switzerland, where the deposed sovereign bitterly observed the Western acceptance of the establishment of a communist republic in Romania.
[Porter 2005, p. 192.] For her part, Helen was mostly concerned with the state of their finances because the Communists allowed them to part with almost nothing.
[Porter 2005, p. 195.] Despite their promises, the new Romanian authorities nationalized the properties of the former royal family (20 February 1948) and deprived the former monarch and his relatives of their nationality (17 May 1948).
[Porter 2005, p. 201.] At the same time, the king and his mother had to deal with the intrigues of Carol II, who still considered himself the only legitimate sovereign of Romania and accused his ex-wife of keeping him away from their son. To achieve his ends, Carol II did not hesitate to involve
Frederick, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Head of the
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
) and
Prince Nicholas of Romania
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 and his wife Que ...
in his intrigues. These concerns did not prevent Michael I and his mother from undertaking several political trips to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to meet with government leaders and
representatives of the Romanian diaspora.
Marriage of Michael I and Anne of Bourbon-Parma
Another source of concern from Michael I and his mother during their first months of exile was his marriage with Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma. To discredit the former monarch, the Romanian authorities promoted rumors that Michael I gave up his dynastic rights in order to marry the woman of his heart, as his father did in 1925.
Added to this, the most serious difficulties were related to religion. Being a Roman Catholic, Princess Anne had to obtain a
papal dispensation
In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often arising from the ...
to marry an Orthodox. However, the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
had been extremely reluctant to grant consent because, for dynastic reasons, the couple's children would have to be raised in Michael I's religion. After
Prince René of Bourbon-Parma
Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (17 October 1894 – 30 July 1962) was the seventh surviving son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. In 1921, he married Princess Margaret of Denmark. They had four chil ...
, father of the bride, failed in his negotiations with the Vatican, Helen decided to go to Rome with
Princess Margaret of Denmark
Princess Margaret of Denmark (Margrethe Françoise Louise Marie Helene; 17 September 1895 – 18 September 1992) was a Danish princess by birth and a princess of Bourbon-Parma as the wife of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma. She was the youngest g ...
(Anne's mother) to meet
Pope Pius XII. However, the meeting ended badly and the Pope refused to agree to the marriage.
Under these circumstances, Princess Anne had no choice but to override the pontifical will and abandon a Catholic marriage. In doing so, she incurred the wrath of her uncle,
Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma
Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, known in France before 1974 as Prince Xavier de Bourbon-Parme, known in Spain as Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y de Braganza or simply as Don Javier (25 May 1889 – 7 May 1977), was the head of the ducal Ho ...
, who forbade the members of his family to attend the royal wedding under threat of being excluded from the
House of Bourbon-Parma
The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...
. Once again, the queen mother tried to mediate, this time with Anne's family, but without success.
Helen had better luck with her own family. Her brother, King
Paul I of Greece
Paul ( el, Παύλος, ''Pávlos''; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.
Paul was first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and ...
, offered to organize Michael's wedding in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, despite official protests from the Romanian government. The wedding was finally celebrated in the Greek capital on 10 June 1948 with
Archbishop Damaskinos
Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou ( el, Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δαμασκηνός Παπανδρέου), born Dimitrios Papandreou ( el, Δημήτριος Παπανδρέου; 3 March 1891 – 20 May 1949) was the archbishop of Athen ...
himself officiating the ceremony. Celebrated in the throne room of the Royal Palace, the wedding brought together most of the members of the Greek dynasty but no representative of the Houses of Bourbon-Parma or Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. In fact, Carol II was not invited to the wedding, despite Helen having written to him about the marriage.
Exile and later years
Return to Villa Sparta
After the marriage of Michael I and Anne, Helen returned to Villa Sparta in Fiesole.
Through 1951, she hosted her son and his family, who visited with her at least twice a year.
[Porter 2005, p. 227.] Over the years, the family of the former king grew with the successive births of princesses
Margareta (1949),
Elena
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
(1950), Irina (1953), Sophie (1957) and Maria (1964). From 1949 to 1950, Helen also housed her sister Irene and her nephew Amedeo, who later settled in a neighboring residence. Over the years, the two Greek princesses retained a strong bond, which ended with the death of the duchess of Aosta in 1974. Throughout her life, Helen also remained deeply attached to Amedeo and his first wife,
Princess Claude of Orléans.
Helen also made many trips abroad to visit her relatives. She traveled regularly to the United Kingdom to see her granddaughters, who were schooling there. Despite her sometimes stormy relationship with her sister-in-law, Queen Frederica, Helen also spent long periods in Greece and participated in the cruise of the Kings (1954), the marriage of
Princess Sophia with the future King
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
(1962) and the events organized to mark the centenary of the Greek dynasty (1963).
Despite this, Helen's life was not solely devoted to her family. Passionate about
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
and painting, she spent much of her time visiting monuments and museums. She also dedicated herself to creating artistic objects, for example an engraving made with a dentist's drill on an ivory billiard ball. A gardening enthusiast, she devoted long hours to the flowers and shrubs of her residence. A regular guest of the British Consulate, she also frequented the intellectuals who, like
Harold Acton
Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in C ...
, had settled in the region of Florence. From 1968 to 1973, Helen had a romantic relationship with the twice-widower King
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, with whom she shared a love of art and plants. At one point, the Scandinavian sovereign asked her to marry him, but she refused.
In 1956 Helen consented for Arthur Gould Lee to publish her biography. At this point, her life was marked by financial difficulties which continued to worsen over time. Despite still being deprived of income by the Romanian authorities,
the queen mother economically supported her son, and also helped him to find jobs, first as a
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
in Switzerland, then as a
broker
A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...
on
Wall Street. Helen also supported the studies of her eldest granddaughter Margareta, and even welcomed her at Villa Sparta for a year before she entered a British university. To do this, Helen was forced to sell her assets one by one and in the early 1970s, she hardly had anything left. In 1973, she mortgaged her residence and three years later, she sold the two
Greco
Greco may refer to:
People
* Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname
* a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name
* Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria
Wine ...
paintings that she had brought with her from Romania in 1947.
Life in Switzerland and death
Becoming too old to live alone, Helen finally left Fiesole in 1979. She then moved to a small apartment in
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 ...
, located 45 minutes from the residence of Michael I and Anne, before moving in with them at
Versoix
Versoix () is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, which sits on the north-west side of Lake Geneva, north-east of the city of Geneva.
Geography
Versoix has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.1% is used for agricultural purpo ...
in 1981. Helen, queen mother of Romania, died one year later on 28 November 1982, aged 86. She was buried without pomp in the
Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery
The Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery ( French ''Cimetière du Bois-de-Vaux'') is the principal burial ground of Lausanne in Switzerland.
Laid out by the architect Alphonse Laverrière between 1922 and 1951, the cemetery lies to the south of the town and ...
and the funerals were celebrated by
Damaskinos Papandreou, the first
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
Metropolitan of Switzerland.
Eleven years after her death, in March 1993, the State of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
gave Helen the title of ''
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
'' in recognition for her actions during World War II towards Romanian Jews, several thousands of whom she managed to save from 1941 to 1944. The announcement was made to the royal family by
Alexandru Șafran
Alexandru Şafran (or Alexandre Safran; 12 September 1910 – 27 July 2006) was a Romanian and, after 1948, Switzerland, Swiss rabbi. As chief rabbi of Romania (1940–1948), he intervened with authorities in the Fascism, fascist government of Ion ...
, then Chief Rabbi of
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
.
In January 2018, it was announced that the remains of
King Carol II
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 of Romania, Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I of Roman ...
would be moved to the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral, along with those of Queen Mother Helen. In addition, the remains of
Prince Mircea would also be moved to the new cathedral. His remains are currently interred at the
Bran Castle's Chapel.
Queen Mother Helen of Romania was reburied at the New Episcopal and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș on 19 October 2019.
Archives
Queen Helen's correspondence with the Romanian diplomat George I. Duca between 1940 and 1982 is preserved in the "George I. Duca Papers" collection in the Hoover Institution Archives (Stanford, California, USA).
Honours
*
House of Hohenzollern-Signaringen-Romania: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the
Royal Order of Carol I
Ancestry
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Besse, Jean-Paul (2010), ''Ileana, l'archiduchesse voilée'', Versailles, Via romana
* Gelardi, Julia (2006), ''Born to Rule : Granddaughters of Victoria, Queens of Europe'', Headline Review
*
* Marcou, Lilly (2002), ''Le Roi trahi : Carol II de Roumanie'', Pygmalion
* 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
* Pakula, Hannah (1996), ''The Last Romantic : A Biography of Queen Marie of Roumania'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson History
*
* "Queen Helen of Rumania", ''The Times'' (30 November 1982): 12.
* Van der Kiste, John (1994), ''Kings of the Hellenes : The Greek Kings, 1863–1974''
External links
Royal House of GreeceRoyal House of Romania– description of her activity at
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Of Greece And Denmark
1896 births
1982 deaths
House of Glücksburg (Greece)
Queen mothers
Greek princesses
Danish princesses
Romanian women in World War II
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
Recipients of the Military Virtue Medal
Greek Righteous Among the Nations
Romanian Righteous Among the Nations
Romanian people of German descent
Romanian people of Greek descent
Eastern Orthodox Righteous Among the Nations
Members of the Church of Greece
Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Nobility from Athens
Daughters of kings
Royal reburials
Burials at Curtea de Argeş Cathedral