- Princess Margarita of Romania
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Princess Margarita 
Spouse Radu Duda House House of Romania Father Michael I Mother Anne of Bourbon-Parma Born 26 March 1949
Lausanne, SwitzerlandReligion Romanian Orthodox Styles of
Princess Margarita of Romania
Reference style Her Royal Highness Spoken style Your Royal Highness Alternative style Ma'am Princess Margarita of Romania (born 26 March 1949, Lausanne, Switzerland), also styled as Crown Princess of Romania, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, former[1][2] Princess of Hohenzollern, is the eldest daughter of Michael I (Mihai), King of Romania (now deposed), former Prince of Hohenzollern,[3][4] and of his wife, Anne of Bourbon-Parma. Princess Margarita's father, King Michael, named her the heiress-presumptive to the private royal family in 1997.
Margarita has no children. Her heiress-presumptive is her next sister, Princess Elena of Romania. According to the defunct last democratic royal Constitution, that of 1923, which established succession by salic law, Margarita and her sisters cannot succeed to the throne of Romania (see also "Line of succession to the Romanian throne").
On 30 December 2007,[5][6] King Michael designated Princess Margarita as heiress-presumptive to the throne with the titles of "Crown Princess of Romania" and "Custodian of the Romanian Crown" through an act which, during the republican form of government and in the absence of its approval by the Parliament, would be considered null and void.[7][8] On the same occasion, Michael also asked the Romanian Parliament that, should it consider restoring the Monarchy, it should also abolish the salic law of succession.
Contents
Private life
On 21 September 1996 in Lausanne Margarita married Radu Duda, created first Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen in 1 January 1999,[9] and now called HRH Radu, Prince of Romania[5] in 30 December 2007, future Prince Consort of Romania,[5] who either in her company or most often alone,[10] represents the Royal Family publicly on various occasions. In her youth at the University of Edinburgh, Margarita was involved in a romantic relationship with Gordon Brown, who was later to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2007–2010). Margarita said about it: "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."[11]
Education and work
- HRH The Crown Princess*
HRH Prince Radu* - HRH Princess Elena
- HRH Princess Irina
- HRH Princess Sofia
- HRH Princess Maria
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 coordinated 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.
In 1990 Princess Margarita founded The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation, a non-profit organisation that has contributed to the development of civil society in Romania.
Currently active in 6 countries (Romania, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Belgium and the US) the Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation develops programs that:
- improve the living conditions of children and young people, families at risk and the elderly;
- stimulate intergenerational solidarity and create bridges of communication between the young and the elderly;
- contribute to the institutional development of NGOs working with children and seniors;
- foster local creativity and talent.
During its existence, The Princess Margarita Foundation has collected more than 5 million Euro, through which it has contributed to the development of the Romanian civil society.[12]
Controversies
BAE Systems,[13] one of the donors to her charity, and its representatives, have been involved in a corruption scandal regarding the purchase by the Romanian government of two decommissioned UK Royal Navy frigates refurbished by BAE, for which an alleged £ 7 million bribe was paid,[14] some of which, it is also alleged,[15] ended up in the pockets of the royal family of Hohenzollern to which Margarita belongs. The "Gardianul" newspaper,[16][17] noting that both Princess Margarita and her husband, as Special Representative of the Government, had met a number of times with the BAE Systems representatives before and after the signing of the governmental contract, inquired whether the royal family was involved in any lobbying on behalf of the company. In an official communique sent to the newspaper,[17] Prince Radu denied any such lobbying activities, stating that as patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce in which BAE Systems is a member, he met with this as well as other British companies' representatives.
Political support
The main pro-monarchist party PNŢCD, currently extra-parliamentarian, is ambiguous in its support for Princess Margarita. In 2002, it rejected any role for her or her husband in a restored monarchy,[18][19] while in 2003 the Cluj branch of PNŢCD officially invited her to be its electoral candidate to the Senate of the Republic[20][21] in the upcoming elections.
King Michael has not given up the hope for himself or his family of returning on the throne: "We are trying to make people understand what Romanian monarchy was and what it can still do."[22]
Ancestors
See also
References
- ^ (Romanian) King Michael I anounces the severance of all historical and dynastic ties to the House of Hohenzollern, Adevarul, 11 May 2011
- ^ (Romanian) The history of the conflicts between the Royal House of Romania and the Princely House of Hohenzollern, Adevarul, 11 May 2011
- ^ "Compression," Time, 12 January 1948
- ^ "Milestones," Time, 21 June 1948
- ^ a b c Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania
- ^ (Romanian) "Princess Margarita, heiress to the throne of Romania," Evenimentul Zilei, 30 December 2007
- ^ (Romanian) "The King and Margareta – On The "Day of the Republic" The King Designated His Successor", Jurnalul National, 2 January 2008
- ^ (Romanian) "The Actor Duda in The Role of A Lifetime: Prince Consort of Romania," Cotidianul, 3 January 2008
- ^ (Romanian) "The Prime Minister proposed Radu Duda a seat as a Senator of the Democrat Social Party (ruling party in Romania)," MEDIAFAX AGENCY, 6 August 2004
- ^ (Romanian) "10 May – Sad Destiny, Memorable Date", Dilema Veche, 12 May 2006
- ^ "Gordon Brown profiled", The Guardian, 6 March 2001
- ^ (Romanian) 2006 Annual Report, The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation website
- ^ "Blair hit by Saudi 'bribery' threat," The Sunday Times, 19 November 2006
- ^ "Bribery inquiry may force £7m refund to Romania", The Guardian, 15 June 2006
- ^ (Romanian) Zeamă de dude, "Mulberry Juice", Gândul, 21 June 2006
- ^ (Romanian) BAE – sponsor regal, "BAE: Royal Sponsor", Gardianul, 16 June 2006
- ^ a b (Romanian) Principele Duda, coleg la Colegiul de Apărare cu semnatarul contractului cu BAE, "Prince Duda, Classmate at The National Defence University with The Signer of The BAE Contract", Gardianul, 17 June 2006
- ^ (Romanian) PNŢCD gândeşte revenirea la monarhie prin Prinţul Nicolae, "PNŢCD Plans The Restoration of Monarchy through Prince Nicholas", Ziua, 1 March 2002
- ^ (Romanian) PNŢCD caută un Rege, "PNŢCD Is Looking for A King", Evenimentul Zilei, 1 March 2002
- ^ (Romanian) Principesa Margareta invitată să candideze, "Princess Margarita Invited to Run for Office" , Ziarul Financiar, 24 July 2003
- ^ (Romanian) "The Princess in The Senate", Evenimentul Zilei, 25 July 2003
- ^ "King Mihai I Turns 85", Ziua, 25 October 2006
External links
- Royal House of Romania
- The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation website
- The official website of The Romanian Royal Family
Princess Margarita of RomaniaHouse of RomaniaBorn: 26 March 1949Romanian royalty Preceded by
first in lineLine of succession to the Romanian throne according to the 2007 Statute
1st positionSucceeded by
Princess Elena of RomaniaPreceded by
Benjamin Ferner BeckmanLine of succession to the British throne Succeeded by
Princess Elena of RomaniaRomanian princesses by birth 1st Generation Princess Maria2nd Generation 3rd Generation none4th Generation Categories:- 1949 births
- Living people
- House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
- House of Romania
- Romanian princesses
- HRH The Crown Princess*
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