[Remarque : les opinions exprimées dans cet article sont celles de l’auteur uniquement.]
Le 7 novembre 2017, le roi Michel de Roumanie se mourait dans sa résidence d'Aubonne, en Suisse. Des membres de la famille royale se rendirent dans sa résidence suisse pour être à ses côtés. Des cinq filles de Michel, toutes sauf une (Irina) purent lui rendre visite. Des cinq petits-enfants du roi, un seul (Nicolas) tenta de voir son grand-père.
Hélas, la fille aînée de Michael, Margarita, était présente à la résidence et, pour des raisons qu'elle seule connaît, elle s'est comportée de la manière la plus belliqueuse envers son neveu. Les personnes présentes à la résidence Aubonne ont refusé à Nicholas la possibilité de dire au revoir à son grand-père. Margarita était la tutrice de son père et était devenue citoyenne suisse en juin 2017. Après que Nicholas eut refusé de voir son grand-père, le bureau de presse de Margarita à Bucarest a publié une déclaration alléguant que son neveu avait « agressé physiquement et verbalement le personnel ». Il a été annoncé que Margarita avait déposé une plainte auprès de la police suisse contre son neveu et son filleul. À ce jour, Margarita poursuit son procès frivole contre son neveu, malgré le fait que les trois principaux témoins de l'affaire aient retiré leurs déclarations initiales soutenant les accusations de Margarita . La réponse de Nicolas à cet événement dévastateur fut très simple et sincère : « Je suis profondément attristé et je ne comprends pas l’agressivité de la Maison royale qui fait tout son possible pour m’empêcher de voir mon grand-père et pour discréditer mon image. Je ne vais pas entrer dans ce jeu déloyal. Je choisirai de respecter mon grand-père dans ces moments difficiles, car c’est nécessaire et chrétien. Je suis venu en tant que petit-fils du roi et je voulais simplement le voir. » Cependant, ce comportement froid de la part de la maison du palais Elisabeta avait également été vécu par d’autres membres de la famille royale roumaine.
On 2 March 2016, Margarita of Romania assumed the title of Custodian of the Romanian Crown and announced that she would officially be taking over her father’s duties. In actuality, the princess had been acting in this capacity for some years. In this same communiqué, the public relations team at Elisabeta Palace, headquarters for Princess Margarita and her husband Radu, finally made public that King Michael was suffering from cancer. In fact, His Majesty had already received this diagnosis in 2015. The Custodian of the Crown’s staff in Bucharest has not always been completely truthful when Romanians desired news of the wellbeing and health of their king and queen.
As aforementioned, it was clear by March 2016 that King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania were both in ill health. At this point, one of the couple’s grandchildren took to a public forum to comment on the issues that were faced by family members who were not in favour with the Custodian of the Crown and her consort. Angelica de Roumanie Kreuger, the only daughter of Princess Irina of Romania, wrote: “I’m sure as long as his grandchildren from Irina are allowed to visit they will. I know the king has meet [sic] his first great-grand child but so far no others.” The same day, Angelica left the following insightful comment: “I’m sure if the royal family was more family oriented then the family would be closer.” When I posited that Queen Anne seemed to have been the unifying force trying to keep the family together, her granddaughter replied: “Yes, unfortunately the daughters didn’t get along for many years. Just sad that it made the grandchildren so distant. Hopefully the family will find a way to keep together for the next generation.” These comments from Angelica Kreuger made it clear that a number of the family members of King Michael and Queen Anne were kept from seeing their loved ones.
On 1 August 2016, Queen Anne of Romania passed away at Morges, Switzerland. She was ninety-two years-old. In poor health for some years, and dealing with dementia, the ultimate cause of the queen’s death was lung cancer, according to several private sources close to the royal household. However, Elisabeta Palace made no mention of the queen’s illness. Indeed, they made a concerted effort to quash sources who knew of Queen Anne’s cancer in an attempt to keep this knowledge from the Romanian public. [Like her cousin Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Anne of Romania was an inveterate smoker and quite fond of Marlboros. Anne once endearingly quipped: “The only way I could ever stop smoking is if they hypnotized me into thinking I had never had a cigarette in my life.“]
The Custodian of the Romanian Crown does not appear to have extended an invitation to all of her sisters, nieces, and nephews to be present to bid farewell to the last Romanian Queen, who was born a Princess of Bourbon-Parma. To illustrate this point, Anne’s granddaughter Angelica Kreuger again weighed in on the situation: “I’m sure in this horrible time Irina and her children will likely not attend to spare and [add] more stress to the family. [This is] due to past issues, since grief can make unresolved issues come to light. Right now, people need to realize that this woman wasn’t just a Queen, she was a mother and grandmother. While the country grieves for their loss of a Queen the family grieves for the family. Anne’s loss will be felt in everyone who knew her. A little light has dimmed in the world, but it is our duty as people to keep her light bright and remember what she stood for. Especially in this world, we live to make it brighter, not darker.” Given this commentary, it should not come as a surprise that neither Princess Irina nor her two children were guests at the funeral of Queen Anne of Romania on 13 August 2016 at Bucharest.
Aged ninety-six, King Michael of Romania died on 5 December 2017 at Aubonne, Switzerland. His funeral was held in Bucharest on 16 December. All five of his daughters were in attendance: the Princesses Margarita, Helen, Irina, Sophie, and Marie. Of his five grandchildren, only two were present: Nicholas of Romania with his wife, Alina-Maria, as well as his sister Karina. The Custodian of the Crown again made a public point of sidelining her family. When King Michael’s coffin was transported from Bucharest to Curtea de Argeş aboard the Royal Train, Margarita did not allow her nephew and his wife to be onboard the train with the rest of the family. However, the princess managed to make space for her brother-in-law, Dr. Dan Duda.
The rapid disintegration of the Romanian royal family is rather mind-boggling. In 2007, King Michael of Romania introduced the Fundamental Rules: this act abolished Salic succession and allowed for his five daughters and five grandchildren to become dynasts and to succeed, should their time ever arrive, as Head of the Royal House. In April 2010, in accordance with His Majesty’s express wishes, the King witnessed his grandson take up his role as HRH Prince Nicholas of Romania during a ceremony in Bucharest. During his time as an active member of the royal family, Prince Nicholas carried out hundreds of engagements on behalf of the Romanian royal house.
The first signs of turbulence arrived on 29 October 2014, when Princess Irina of Romania and her two children were unceremoniously stripped of their place in the line of succession. In January 2015, Princess Marie of Romania relocated from her home in the United States to her father’s country, and she eventually began public engagements. On 10 August 2015, Prince Nicholas of Romania was suddenly stripped of his position. The royal house thus lost its most popular and viable hope for the future. In the fall of 2018, Princess Sophie of Romania and her daughter Elisabeta left their home in France so that Sophie could take up a supporting role in Casa Regala. By the end of 2019, anonymous sources confirmed that Princess Marie had stepped back from her role as an active member of the royal house. At this point, the Custodian of the Crown has whittled down the royal house to one other member, her Princess Sophie. Yet, even Sophie’s position is not without difficulty, as sources have alleged that her daughter Elisabeta is having difficulties adjusting to life in Romania. Last, but not least, Princess Helen of Romania has always maintained her residence in the United Kingdom, and there has been no indication that Helen ever intends to be a part of Romanian public life. Despite being Margarita’s direct heiress, Helen only appears in the country for certain family events and, otherwise, rarely travels to Romania.
Many might think that 2020 has been another annus horribilis for the British royal family. Arguably, 2020 could prove to be the ultimate horrible year for the Romanian royals. If Princess Margarita finds herself incapable of unifying her family, then she is likely to go down in royal history as an abject failure as a Head of a Royal House. It is the duty of the Custodian of the Romanian Crown to guarantee the future of the dynasty. In the spirit of Christian reconciliation, it is her responsibility to bring together her sisters, her nephews, and her nieces, in order that they can all strive to perpetuate the legacy of the Kings and Queen of Romania into future generations. Margarita of Romania must embrace the maxim, “Duty first, self second.” If the Margarita is unable to adapt her behaviour, then her tenure as Head of the Romanian Royal House will not be looked upon kindly by history.
FrançaisEn avril 2015, lors de la fête des trente ans du prince Nicolas, sa tante Margarita a porté ce toast en hommage à son dévouement pour la Roumanie : « Le prince Radu et moi sommes très fiers de Nicolae, qui est comme notre fils spirituel (…) Le pays ne l'a pas encore beaucoup adopté, mais il a déjà adopté la Roumanie, même s'il n'est pas né ici. Et c'est tout simplement merveilleux. » Le chapitre III, article 11 des Règles fondamentales de la Maison royale roumaine stipule : « Le chef de la Maison royale de Roumanie gouverne la famille en bon parent. » La gardienne de la Couronne doit commencer à se comporter comme une marraine, une sœur et une tante attentionnée si elle veut honorer l'héritage du roi Michel et de la reine Anne. Nihil sine Deo.
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