Kingdom of Romania Index

King Michael (Mihai), last King of Romania in 2007, reigned 1927 – 1930 & 1940 – 1947, died in 2017; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of political unrest in what was then called the Romanian United Principalities, the Ruling Prince, Alexander Ioan Cuza, was forced to abdicate in February 1866. Due largely to the familial relationship with the French Emperor Napoleon III and the Prussian monarchs, Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was elected by the Romanian government to become the new Ruling Prince. Karl arrived in Romania on May 10, 1866, and declared his allegiance to his new country, taking on the more Romanian spelling of his name, Carol. In 1881, the Romanian parliament declared Romania a kingdom, and Prince Carol became King Carol I. Romania remained a monarchy until 1947 when King Mihai I was forced to sign a document of abdication by the Communist regime. A year later, he publicly announced that his abdication was invalid, as it had been forced upon him, and that he remained the rightful King of Romania.

It would be 43 years before Mihai set foot on Romanian soil again. In December 1990, Mihai was given permission for a 24-hour visit. However, this ended up being cut short and he was forced to leave early. He visited Romania in again 1992 but the mass outpouring of crowds and supporters concerned the current government and he was banned again for several years. Finally, in 1997, the Romanian government restored Mihai’s citizenship and in the following years, several properties were returned to the royal family.

Below is an indexed listing with links to biographical articles about the Romanian Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty.  If it says “Notable Issue” before a name, that means not all of the children for the parent of that person are listed. Also listed below are links to Romanian Miscellaneous Articles, and various Romanian Content Areas.

House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1881 – 1947)

Family of King Carol I of Romania

Family of King Ferdinand I of Romania

Family of King Carol II of Romania

Family of King Mihai I of Romania

Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania

Pretenders to the Throne

Romanian Miscellaneous Articles

Romanian Content Areas