Kingdom of Romania
Romania, 1881–1947. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Romania was a constitutional monarchy that existed from 1881 until the abdication of King Michael I in 1947. The country gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire during the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War. Greater Romania included the provinces that became part of the state after World War I: Bessarabia, Banat, Bukovina and Transylvania. Following the abolishment of the 1923 constitution by King Carol II in 1938, the Kingdom of Romania became an absolute monarchy, only to become a military dictatorship under Ion Antonescu in 1940.
Seat of power: Bucharest
Rulers
Carol I of Romania
King of Romania, 1881–1914
He personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo-Romanian army during the siege of Plevna. The country achieved internationally recognized independence via the Treaty of Berlin, 1878 and acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in 1913. In 1883 the king entered a top-secret military alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, despite popular demands against Hungary.
Portrait of Carol I of Romania: Unknown photographer, Public domain, file
Ferdinand I of Romania
King of Romania, 1914–1927
He ruled Romania during World War I, choosing to side with the Triple Entente against the Central Powers. Ferdinand was crowned king of Greater Romania in a grand ceremony in 1922. In the years following the establishment of Greater Romania, Romanian society went through a series of major transformations, especially to the application of the agrarian reform and of the universal vote.
Portrait of Ferdinand I of Romania: Bain News Service, Public domain, file
Michael I of Romania
King of Romania, 1927–1930
In July 1927, following the death of his grandfather Ferdinand I, Michael ascended the throne at age five, the youngest crowned head in Europe. As Michael was still a minor, a regency council was instituted, composed of his uncle Prince Nicolas, Patriarch Miron Cristea and Chief Justice Gheorghe Buzdugan. The council proved to be ineffective and, in 1930, Carol returned to Romania and replaced his son as monarch.
Portrait of Michael I of Romania: Jozef Trylinski, Public domain, file
Carol II of Romania
King of Romania, 1930–1940
Carol II was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 following a coup that deposed his son, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. Carol established a royal dictatorship in 1938 by suspending the 1923 constitution, abolishing all political parties, and forming a National Renaissance Front. The year 1940 marked the fragmentation of Greater Romania by the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, Northern Transylvania to Hungary and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria.
Portrait of Carol II of Romania: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Michael I of Romania
King of Romania, 1940–1947
Carol II was forced to abdicate in 1940, and Michael once again became king. In 1944, Michael participated in a coup against Antonescu, appointed Constantin Sănătescu as his replacement, and subsequently declared an alliance with the Allies. On the morning of 30 December 1947, Groza met with Michael and compelled him to abdicate, while the monarchy was abolished.
Portrait of Michael I of Romania: Jozef Trylinski, Public domain, file
Culture
- Peleș became the world's first castle fully powered by locally produced electricity.
- The first three design plans submitted for Peleș were copies of other palaces in Western Europe, and King Carol I rejected them all as lacking originality and being too costly.
- German architect Johannes Schultz won the project by presenting a more original plan.
- The castle was declared a museum in 1953.
Picture
Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance palace in the Royal Domain of Sinaia in the Carpathian Mountains.
Image: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.