Carol II of Romania

Carol II of Romania
Name	Carol II
Title	King of Romania
Reign	8 June 1930 – 6 September 1940
Predecessor	Michael I
Successor	Michael I
Birth date	15 October 1893
Birth place	Peleș Castle, Sinaia, Kingdom of Romania
Death date	4 April 1953
Death place	Estoril, Portugal
Burial place	Curtea de Argeș Cathedral
Spouse	Zizi Lambrino (m. 1918; ann. 1919), Princess Helen of Greece (m. 1921; div. 1928), Elena Lupescu (m. 1947)
Issue	Carol Lambrino, King Michael I
House	Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Father	Ferdinand I
Mother	Marie of Edinburgh

Carol II of Romania. He was the King of Romania from 1930 until his forced abdication in 1940. His reign was marked by political instability, the rise of the Iron Guard, and his own authoritarian experiment, the Front of National Renaissance. His personal life, involving scandalous relationships and exiles, deeply impacted the monarchy's prestige and the nation's trajectory during the critical pre-World War II years.

Early life and family

Born at Peleș Castle in Sinaia, he was the eldest son of Crown Prince Ferdinand and Marie of Edinburgh. His early education was overseen by tutors, including the historian Nicolae Iorga, before he attended the University of Oxford. His upbringing was influenced by the complex political landscape of the Kingdom of Romania and the ambitions of his British-born mother. The family was part of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, which had ruled Romania since the reign of Carol I of Romania.

First marriage and exile

In 1918, while serving as a lieutenant in the Romanian Army during World War I, he caused a major scandal by eloping with Zizi Lambrino, a commoner, in Odessa. This marriage, performed by an Orthodox priest, was swiftly annulled by the Romanian government and the Romanian Orthodox Church. As a result, he was removed from the line of succession, forced to renounce his rights, and began a period of exile, living in Paris and traveling across Europe with Lambrino, with whom he had a son, Carol Lambrino.

Return to Romania and accession

Following the deaths of his grandfather Carol I and father Ferdinand, his young son Michael ascended the throne under a regency. Political maneuvering by figures like Iuliu Maniu and a perceived need for a strong monarch led to a campaign for his return. In 1930, he flew to Bucharest aboard a plane chartered by Ion Gigurtu and, with the support of the Parliament of Romania, was proclaimed king, replacing his son in a controversial move that destabilized the constitutional order.

Reign and political policies

His reign was characterized by economic turmoil from the Great Depression and violent political strife, primarily with the fascist Iron Guard. He dissolved political parties and in 1938 established a royal dictatorship under the Front of National Renaissance. He promulgated a new authoritarian constitution and brutally suppressed the Iron Guard during the 1938 purge of the Iron Guard, ordering the execution of its leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. In foreign policy, he initially aligned with the Little Entente and Poland but, after the fall of France in 1940, was compelled to cede territory to the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary through the Second Vienna Award.

Personal life and marriages

His personal life remained a source of controversy. After the annulment of his first marriage, he wed Princess Helen of Greece in 1921, producing an heir, the future King Michael I. The marriage was unhappy, and he abandoned his family for his longtime mistress, Elena Lupescu, which led to further scandal and his initial renunciation of succession rights. He finally married Lupescu in 1947, after his abdication. His relationship with his son Michael was distant and politically fraught.

Abdication and later life

The territorial losses of 1940, particularly the cession of Northern Transylvania to Hungary, destroyed his political credibility. Under pressure from Prime Minister Ion Antonescu and facing widespread popular discontent, he was forced to abdicate on 6 September 1940 in favor of his son Michael. He fled Romania with Elena Lupescu, initially to Mexico and Brazil, before settling permanently in Portugal. He lived in exile in Estoril, largely detached from Romanian affairs, until his death from a heart attack in 1953.

Legacy

His legacy is largely viewed negatively by historians. His reign is seen as a period of constitutional crisis and authoritarianism that weakened Romania's democratic institutions and failed to prevent the ascendancy of military fascism under Ion Antonescu. The scandal surrounding his personal life damaged the prestige of the Romanian monarchy, contributing to its eventual abolition by the Communist Party of Romania in 1947. He is often contrasted with the more stable reigns of Carol I and Ferdinand I.

Category:Kings of Romania Category:House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Category:20th-century Romanian monarchs