Ferdinand I (King of Romania)

Son of Leopold Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Antonia Maria of Portugal . Nephew of Carol I , was on the throne due to the renunciation of the inheritance rights of his father ( 1880 ) and older brother William ( 1888 ). At the same time, while managing the Orthodox country, Ferdinand remained a Catholic, with the condition that his children be brought up in the Orthodox faith. This circumstance somewhat overshadowed the prince's reputation, very shy and timid in nature, becoming the basis for the spread of rumors about his alcoholism. Rarely admitted to public affairs, Ferdinand spent a lot of time studying botany, and achieved great success.

Post block . Romania , 1993 . King Ferdinand I

In 1893 he married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh ( 1875 - 1938 ). For the family of the heir to the throne, Carol I ordered the construction of the Pelishor Castle near the royal residence.

The reign of Ferdinand began shortly after the outbreak of World War I ; unlike an uncle, a German supporter, he maintained a neutral position, and in 1916, after long negotiations, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente (which was perceived by William II as a betrayal of the Hohenzollern house). Soon after the October Revolution and Russia's withdrawal from the war, Romania was defeated, and Austro-German troops occupied Bucharest ; Ferdinand was forced to emigrate for a while.

The 1920s saw the period of stabilization of the state economy in the Kingdom of Romania. It coincided with the return to power of the National Liberal Party. In January 1922, its long- standing leader, Ionel Bratianu , became the Prime Minister of Romania for the fourth time. As usual, when he came to power, he dissolved the parliament, and in March of the same year in Romania new parliamentary elections were held, as a result of which the overwhelming majority of seats in the legislative assembly went to the national liberals. In view of this, and also taking into account the economic upsurge in the country, the Bratianu family, according to Ferdinand I himself, became "the second dynasty in the kingdom." Despite this characteristic, the king invariably supported the National Liberal Party and was greatly influenced by Bretianu. This allowed the latter to become the de facto dictator of the country, whom he was until his death.

The postwar years were also overshadowed by the conflict of Ferdinand with his son and heir, Crown Prince Karol , who entered into a scandalous marriage with one of his mistresses and left the country. Depriving the son of the throne, Ferdinand made the immediate successor to the young grandson, Mihai I. However, three years after the death of Ferdinand in 1930, Crown Prince Karol returned from abroad, removed his son and began to reign as Karol II.

In the fiction about Ferdinand I, the French classic Henri Barbusse wrote the story Ferdinand.

Children of Ferdinand and Mary of Edinburgh:

• Carol ( 1893 - 1953 ), future king of Romania Carol II
• Elizabeth ( 1894 - 1956 ), in 1921 married King of Greece George II of Glucksburg .
• Maria ( 1900 - 1961 ), in 1922 married the King of Yugoslavia Alexander I Karageorgievich ,
• Nicholas ( 1903 - 1978 ), in 1931 married Jeanne Dimitrescu-Tohani
• Ileana ( 1909 - 1991 ), in 1931 married Archduke Anton of Habsburg-Tuscany, in a second marriage to Etienne Issarescu
• Mircea ( 1913 - 1916 ), died in early childhood from typhoid fever.

• Newspaper clippings about Ferdinand I of Romania