Carol II of Romania

Carol II of Romania, (15 October 1893 – 4 April 1953) reigned as King of Romania from June 8, 1930 until September 6, 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand I, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria.

The "playboy king"

Known more for his romantic misadventures than for any leadership skills, Carol (Romanian for "Charles") first married in Odessa, Ukraine, 31 August, 1918, in contravention of royal law, Joanna Marie Valentina Lambrino, ("Zizi" Lambrino) (1898–1953), daughter of a Romanian general; they had one son, Mircea Gregor Carol Lambrino, and the marriage was annulled by royal decree in 1919. He next married, in Athens, Greece, (10 March, 1921), Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, in Romania Crown Princess Elena, but the marriage soon collapsed in the wake of the king's affair with Elena Wolff (1895–1977, known as "Magda Lupescu" — Lupescu is the Romanian equivalent of the German Wolff), a daughter of Nicolas Grünberg, a Jewish pharmacist, who adopted the name Nicolas Wolff, and his wife née Elizei Falk. Elena Wolff had formerly been the wife of Army officer Ion Tampenu. As a result of the scandal, he renounced his right to the throne in December 1925 in favour of his son by Elena, Michael, who became King in July 1927. Carol and Helena were divorced in 1928. He had additional illegitimate children by a mistress, Maria Martini.

Related Topics:
Romanian - Odessa, Ukraine - 31 August - 1918 - "Zizi" Lambrino - Mircea Gregor Carol Lambrino - 10 March - 1921 - Helen of Greece - Elena Wolff - Ion Tampenu - December - 1925 - Michael - July - 1927

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Through all these adventures, he became known above all as a playboy king. Purported eyewitnesses even claim him to have gone with a famous prostitute, Foamea Neagr?, from the Crucea de piatr? district. A fictionalized version of the episode is narrated by Petru Dumitriu in his novel Cronic? de familie (Family Chronicle).

Related Topics:
Playboy - Petru Dumitriu

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