by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2020
Magda Lupescu was the mistress, and then third wife of King Carol II of Romania. The couple was married several years after Carol abdicated the Romanian throne.
Magda and Carol. source: Wikipedia
Elena “Magda” Lupescu was born in Iaşi, Romania on September 16, 1899 to Nicolae Lupsecu and Elise Falk. Her father was born Jewish but converted to Orthodoxy and had changed his name to Lupescu. Her mother was also born Jewish but had converted to Roman Catholicism prior to the couple’s marriage. Magda had one younger brother, Constantin. Raised Catholic, Magda attended a Catholic boarding school in Bucharest.
On February 17, 1919, she married Ion Tâmpeanu, an officer in the Romanian Royal Army. They had no children and were divorced by 1923. Sometime in 1923, Magda also met Crown Prince Carol, and by early 1925 a relationship had developed. By this time, Carol had already been married twice – first to Zizi Lambrino – a marriage which had been annulled, and was currently married to the former Princes Helen of Greece with whom he had one son – the future King Mihai. And once again, his romantic involvement caused a great scandal in Romania. Unhappy in his marriage to Helen, Carol wanted to divorce her and marry Magda. However, the Romanian constitution forbade him from marrying a Romanian citizen. Unable to overcome that restriction, Carol formally renounced his rights to the Romanian throne in December 1925, and was removed from the Royal House by his father, King Ferdinand. Carol and Magda were forced to leave Romania, settling in Paris.
In June 1930, Carol returned to Romania. Following a coup, his previous renunciation was invalidated and he was proclaimed King on June 8, 1930. Soon after, Magda also returned, taking up residence in a villa – Aleea Vulpache – in Bucharest, where she hosted the highest of Romanian society. Despite the very public acknowledgment of their relationship, Magda had no official titles or styles, nor did she accompany the King at official functions.
After 10 years on the throne, Carol was forced to abdicate in September 1940, with his young son Mihai returning to the throne. Once again forced to leave the country, Carol and Magda traveled to Spain and Portugal before settling in Mexico for several years.
After moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1944, Magda and Carol were finally married there, in a hotel room, in the summer of 1947. She became known as Princess Elena of Romania, however, this was simply by courtesy, as there was never a formal grant of such a title or style.
source: The Times
Magda and Carol soon moved again, this time settling in Estoril, Portugal, where they would both live the rest of their lives. The former King Carol died suddenly of a heart attack in 1953, and his coffin was placed in the Pantheon of the House of Brangza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal.
Magda survived her husband by 24 years, dying in Estoril on June 29, 1977. Her coffin was placed beside her husband’s. In 2003, both Magda’s and Carol’s coffins were returned to Romania and interred at the Curtea de Argeş Monastery – the traditional burial site of the Romanian royal family. While Carol’s coffin was placed in the Royal Chapel, Magda’s was interred in the surrounding cemetery.
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