by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Radu Duda is the husband of Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, the eldest of the five daughters of the late former King Michael I of Romania who abdicated in 1947 when Romania ceased to be a monarchy. King Michael named his eldest daughter as the heir to the throne with the title of Crown Princess of Romania with the caveat that if the monarchy is ever restored in Romania, the Salic Law forbidding female succession should be abolished. King Michael has bestowed upon his eldest daughter’s husband the style and title His Royal Highness Prince of Romania. Following her father’s death in December 2017, Margareta became Head of the House of Romania and is formally styled as Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown.
Radu was born on June 7, 1960, in Iaşi, Romania to Rene Duda and Gabriela Duda née Constandache. He graduated from the University of Drama and Film in Bucharest, Romania in 1984. Radu worked with abandoned children in an orphanage using art therapy and it was there, in 1994, that he met Margareta who was visiting the orphanage because the art therapy program was supported by the Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation. On September 21, 1996, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Radu married Margareta. The couple does not have any children.
Photo source: ProAlba
Prince Radu has helped organize and plan official tours undertaken by King Michael, played a role in integrating Romania into NATO, and is a special representative of the Romanian government for integration, cooperation, and sustainable development. He has written several books on the culture and history of Romania. Radu lectures and speaks on Romania’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, defense, security, geopolitics, diplomacy, culture, economics, and education. He is particularly interested in the issue of ethnic minorities, especially the Romani (or Romany) minority known to English-speaking people as “Gypsies” (or Gipsies)
Margareta and Radu live at the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, Romania, and undertake public engagements in Romania and in other countries that help contribute to the successful modernization of Romania, reconcile with the past, and link Romania to other countries.
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