Elisabeta Palace () is a palace on Kiseleff Road 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 ...

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 ...

. Built in 1936, it is the official residence in Romania of

Margareta of Romania Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania (; born 26 March 1949) is the eldest daughter of King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania. She assumed her father's duties in March 2016, upon his retirement, and has claimed the headship of the Hou ...

, her husband Prince Radu, and her sister Princess Maria. The Palace was designed in 1930 by the architect

Duiliu Marcu Duiliu Marcu (25 March 1885 – 9 March 1966) was a Romanian architect, one of the most well known and prolific of the interwar period. With a career spanning from 1912 to 1966, he is said to have designed 150 public and private projects across Rom ...

and built in 1936 for Princess Elisabeth, the daughter of King Ferdinand I and his wife Queen Marie, and also the aunt of King Michael I, who was forced to abdicate on 30 December 1947. In 2001, the Romanian Senate passed a bill which states that the Palace would be awarded to the former king for use as a residence during his lifetime. Since then, members of the former Royal Family have been living there. Foreign heads of state, royalty and politicians are received there, as well as Romanian political, cultural, economic and academic figures when special events are conducted.

History

In July 1935, Princess Elisabeth, former

Queen Consort of Greece Consorts of the Kings of Greece were women married to the rulers of the Kingdom of Greece during their reign. All monarchs of modern Greece were male.The exception is King Otto, who was styled ''King of Greece''. Amalia, accordingly, is the only pe ...

, divorced her second cousin, the deposed King George II of Greece. After her divorce, she moved to Romania, where she stayed at Banloc Castle. In 1930, the plans for Elisabeta Palace were made by Romanian architect Duiliu Marcu, who had designed

Victoria Palace The Victoria Palace () is a government building on the large Victory Square () in Bucharest, housing the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet. The Victory Palace was designed in 1937 to house the Foreign Ministry, and nearly complete in 1 ...

as well as many other buildings, but all building plans were brought to a halt in the early 1930s due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Construction finally started in 1936, with the edifice inaugurated in December 1937. For Elisabeth, the Palace was the achievement of a long elusive dream, heightened during the dearth years spent in Greece. In her memoirs, she wrote: "Perhaps the only thing that I really want is a house of my own something that I can call mine. It has always been my greatest longing since the age of 17. My house to create, to improve, to make perfect and love, offering hospitality to and rejoicing with all those who would love it too. I think the possession of a house would really make me happy. I lived on that hope when I came back to Romania". The Palace was the official residence of Princess Elisabeth until 1944, when King Michael I performed his coup and overthrew the Nazi-supporting government. After the coup, he left Royal Palace of Bucharest, the official royal residence of the

King of Romania The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romani ...

, and moved into Elisabeta Palace with his mother to be directly in the centre of the capital; Princess Elisabeth had moved to Copăceni Castle. On the evening of 30 December 1947, King Michael abdicated. Much later, he claimed that he was forced to do it at gunpoint, with the Palace surrounded by troops from the Tudor Vladimirescu Division, an army unit loyal to the Communists. Following King Michael's abdication and throughout the period of the "

Socialist Republic of Romania 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 Peop ...

", the Palace fell into disuse until 2001, when the former Royal Family returned to Romania after nearly five decades of exile. At that time, they were given official use of the Palace by a bill signed by

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...

, 4th

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...

, and approved by the Romanian Senate.

Present

Today Elisabeta Palace is the working residence of

and Prince Radu. It is also the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Household Association (), an NGO recognised by the Government of Romania as 'an Organization of Public Utility' which supports the activities of the Royal Family. Margareta's sisters also carry out engagements from the Elisabeta Palace when in Bucharest. Margareta and the Royal Family frequently receive cultural and political leaders at the Elisabeta Palace who have included The President of Romania and the Prime Minister among many others. The Royal Family also receive foreign leaders at the Palace as well as hosting receptions, investitures and dinners. An annual Garden Party is given by Margareta in the grounds of the Palace on 10 May to celebrate Monarchy Day. In June 2021 the Royal Family held a Reception to mark 20 years since they returned to the Elisabeta Palace. From 2020 the Palace was opened to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday at certain points in the year between April and November for guided tours of the public rooms and grounds.

Image gallery

File:Plaque Elisabeta Palace monument.jpg, The trilingual plaque at the main gate, briefly tells the story of the building. File:Elisabeta Palace Dining Room2.jpg, The dining room File:Romanian Royal Standard seen from Herăstrău Park 1.jpg, The personal flag of Crown

Princess Margareta of Romania Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania (; born 26 March 1949) is the eldest daughter of King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania. She assumed her father's duties in March 2016, upon his retirement, and has claimed the headship of the Hous ...

flying over the palace File:EPG1.jpg, The garden

References

External links

Photo gallery

Asociaţia Casa Majestăţii Sale
Her Majesty's Household Association based at the Elisabeta Palace.
Online Journal of the Romanian Royal Family
Covering events held at the Elisabeta Palace {{Coord, 44.4708, N, 26.07965, E, display=title Royal residences in Romania Palaces in Bucharest Buildings and structures in Bucharest Art Nouveau architecture in Bucharest Art Nouveau houses

History

Present

Image gallery

See also

References

External links