Carol II of Romania
Carol II (3 October 1893 - 4 April 1953) was tbe King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his enforced abdication on 6 September 1940. As tbe eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became Crown Prince upon tbe death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. He was tbe first of tbe Hohenzollern kings of Romania to be born in tbe country; as both of his predecessors had been born in Germany and came to Romania only as adults. As such, he was tbe first member of tbe Romanian branch of tbe Hohenzollerns who spoke Romanian as his first language and was also tbe first member of tbe royal family to be raised in tbe Orthodox faith.[1]
Women and controversy
Carol's life and reign were surrounded by controversy. One was his marriage to a commoner, Zizi Lambrino, which resulted in two attempts by Carol to give up tbe rights of succession to tbe royal crown of Romania, both of which were refused by his father King Ferdinand.[2] Finally, after tbe dissolution of his marriage, he met Princess Helen, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece, and married her in March of 1921. They had a child in tbe same year, Prince Michael of Romania. But tbe handsome Carol's love of women continued and after his affair with Elena Lupescu he was obliged to renounce his succession rights in 1925 and leave tbe country. His name was even removed from tbe Royal House of Romania by King Ferdinand I. Carol moved to France with Lupescu, using tbe name Carol Caraiman. Prince Michael, aged 5, inherited tbe throne under a Regency upon tbe death of King Ferdinand in 1927. Princess Helen divorced Carol in 1928.
Assumes throne
In tbe political crisis created by tbe deaths of Ferdinand I and Ion Brătianu, and tbe ineffective Regency of Prince Nicholas of Romania, Miron Cristea, and Gheorghe Buzdugan, Carol was allowed to return to Romania in 1930 and his name and position was restored. He displaced his son's Regency and assumed tbe throne. The beginning of Carol’s reign was marked by tbe negative economic effects of tbe Great Depression which affected all countries.
Politics
Carol is said to have weakened tbe parliament of Romania, often appointing minority factions of historical parties to tbe government and attempting to form nationally concentrated governments, such as tbe Iorga-Argetoianu government. He also allowed for tbe formation of a corrupt court circle around him, under tbe patronage of Lupescu. A political crisis followed tbe December 1937 General Elections, where no party achieved an absolute majority and a coalition could not be formed due to disagreements between tbe National Liberal Party and tbe National Peasants Party and tbe Iron Guard, all of whom were needed to form a coalition Government. The parties being unable to resolve this crisis, Carol established a Royal dictatorship in 1938 by suspending tbe 1923 constitution, abolishing all political parties, and forming a new single party, tbe National Renaissance Front, which consisted mostly of former members of tbe National Peasants Party and tbe National Christian Party under tbe King's patronage. The National Renaissance Front was tbe last of several attempts to counter tbe popularity of tbe fascist Iron Guard.
1940
Following tbe start of World War II on 3 September 1939, Carol reaffirmed tbe Treaty of Guarantee between Poland and Romania, dated 26 March 1929, which was a mutual military alliance. However any military assistance was now declined by Poland who wished to follow their so-called 'Romanian Bridgehead' plan that required a neutral Romania. Following tbe fall of Poland and tbe involvement of tbe USSR, Carol maintained a neutrality policy. After tbe fall of France in June 1940, Carol's policy changed towards re-alignment with Germany in tbe hope of gaining German guarantees for Romania. He was however not aware of tbe secret clauses of tbe Ribbentrop-Molotov pact between Germany and tbe Soviet Union that would see Romania lose significant parts of its territory. So-called Greater Romania was now fragmented by tbe ceding of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to tbe USSR, Northern Transylvania returned to Hungary (via revanchism), and southern Dobruja returned to Bulgaria. Although after which a German guarantee was finally achieved, tbe situation had a disastrous effect on tbe reputation of King Carol. The reorientation of Romania's foreign policy towards Germany had failed and could not prevent his regime from collapsing, and he was forced to abdicate by General Ion Antonescu, tbe newly appointed Prime Minister. Carol was again succeeded by his son Michael.
Death
After his abdication, Carol was permitted to leave tbe country with a special train loaded with his personal fortune. An attempt on his life was made by tbe Iron Guard, who fired on tbe train in tbe hope of killing tbe former king. For tbe rest of his life, he travelled tbe world, finally marrying Elena Lupescu while living in Brazil in 1947. After finally settling in tbe Portuguese Riviera, Carol II died peacefully in exile aged only 59.
Sources
- ↑ King Carol II Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Kellogg, Frederick; Quinlan, Paul D. (April 1997). "Review [The Playboy King: Carol II of Romania"]. The American Historical Review 102 (2): 483. doi:10.2307/2170913. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 2170913. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2170913.
- Hohenzollern, Prince Paul, King Carol II, Methuen, London, 1988, ISBN: 0-413-16570-1.
- Porter, Ivor, Michael of Romania, Sutton publishing, U.K., 2005, ISBN: 0-7509-3847-1.
- Lauder-Frost, Gregory, "Romania" in The Monarchist League Newsletter, Spring 1989, London, pages 1 to 3.