Margareta of Romania
Princess of Romania
| House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen House of Romania |
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| Carol I |
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| Ferdinand I |
| Carol II |
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| Michael I |
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| Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania |
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Princess Margarita of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern (b. at Lausanne March 26 1949) is the eldest daughter of Michael (Mihai) I, Prince of Hohenzollern[1][2], the deposed King of the Romanians, and of his wife, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma. She is 82nd in line of succession for the British throne. Her father changed the House Law in 1997 and named her his heir to the leadership of the Royal House. She has no children. Her heiress is her next sister, Princess Elena of Romania. Margarita and her sisters cannot succeed to the Romanian Throne, as the last democratic royal Constitution of 1923 which King Michael swore to uphold establishes succession by salic law.
Personal life
She was married in Lausanne on September 21 1996 to Radu Duda, since 1999 also known as Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen. In her youth at the University of Edinburgh, she was involved in a romantic relationship with the Labour Party member Gordon Brown, whom she did not cease to love, but left anyway[3]: "It was a very solid and romantic story. I never stopped loving him but one day it didn't seem right any more, it was politics, politics, politics, and I needed nurturing."
Education and work
After graduation from the University of Edinburgh, she worked in a number of British universities, specialising in medical sociology and public health policy, later on participating in an international research program co-ordinated by the World Health Organisation, focused on developing health policy recommendations and preventive pilot projects. In 1983 she moved to Rome and joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UN), where, as a member the World Food Day project team, she worked on the public awareness campaign concerning agricultural programs, nutrition, and poverty alleviation. Three years later she joined the International Fund for Agricultural Development. In the autumn of 1989 she gave up her UN career and moved to Geneva to work with her father, devoting herself entirely to charity work for Romania.
Controversies
Two donors of Princess Margarita's charitable Foundation were involved in an international corruption scandal surrounding the purchase by the Romanian Government of two decomissioned UK Royal Navy frigates, for which an alleged £ 7 million bribe was paid[4]. The Princess was accused[5][6] of having contributed to her husband's lobbying the Romanian Government in favor of the refurbisher of the frigates BAE Systems, which is also a sponsor of her humanitarian foundation[7] and with whose leadership Prince Radu met many times in his official capacity as the Government's Special Representative[8][9]. In an official communique[10], Prince Radu denies any such lobbying activities.
Princess Margarita first visited Romania in January 1990. In February 1990, she was reportedly[11] prevented by the Bucharest airport customs officers from smuggling out of Romania paintings belonging to the national patrimony, which she had seemingly hidden in her suitcase.
| Romanian royal family |
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| ‡Status disputed |
| Styles of Princess Margarita of Romania | |
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Political support
The British expert in Romanian politics and history[12] and Encyclopaedia Britannica editor[13] Tom Gallagher reported that HRH Prince Charles of Wales was offered the Romanian Throne, supposedly by Romanian monarchists disillusioned with Princess Margarita and Prince Radu[14], an offer which was reportedly turned down by Charles[15]. The offer could be interpreted as as a result of the Romanian monarchists' disillusionment with King Michael's heiress, Princess Margarita, and her husband, Prince Radu, since Michael has not given up the hope for himself or his family of returning to the throne: "We are trying to make people understand what Romanian monarchy was and what it can still do[16]." It could also be interpreted as King Michael asking his cousin Prince Charles to accept the Throne, thus ensuring someone close to the Romanian royal family being in control of any potential restoration attempt.
References
- ^ "Compression," Time, January 12, 1948
- ^ "Milestones," Time, June 21, 1948
- ^ "Gordon Brown profiled", The Guardian, March 6, 2001
- ^ "Bribery inquiry may force £7m refund to Romania," The Guardian, June 15, 2006
- ^ "BAE Royal Sponsor" (in Romanian), Gardianul, June 16, 2006
- ^ "Prince Duda, Classmate at The National Defence University with The Signer of The BAE Contract" (in Romanian), Gardianul, June 17, 2006
- ^ "2004 Annual Report," Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation website
- ^ Press Release, Prince Radu's Office, March 14, 2003
- ^ Prince Radu's Agenda for September 2004 (in Romanian)
- ^ "Prince Duda, Classmate at The National Defence University with The Signer of The BAE Contract" (in Romanian), Gardianul, June 17, 2006
- ^ "Messy Charity" (in French), l'Humanite, February 8, 1990
- ^ "The Balkans In The New Millenium," Radio Romania International
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica articles on Romania by Tom Gallagher - Google results
- ^ "PNTCD Plans The Restoration of Monarchy through Prince Nicholas" (in Romanian), Ziua, March 1, 2002
- ^ "The European Scapegoat" (in Romanian), by Tom Gallagher, Romania Libera, June 30, 2006
- ^ "King Mihai I Turns 85", Ziua, October 25, 2006
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