1. University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest
Engineering and Management in Public Alimentation and Agro-Tourism
KING FERDINAND THE I OF ROMANIA
Born in Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany,
the Roman Catholic Prince Ferdinand Viktor
Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
The name was later shortened simply to
Hohenzollern after the extinction of the
Hohenzollern-Hechingen branch in 1869.
Ferdinand, a complete stranger in his new home, started
to get close to one of Queen Elisabeth's ladies in waiting,
Elena Văcărescu. Elisabeth, the Queen consort of
Romania, very close to Elena herself, encouraged the
romance, although she was perfectly aware of the fact
that a marriage between the two was forbidden by the
Romanian constitution (according to the 1866
Constitution of Romania, the heir-presumptive to the
throne was not allowed to marry a Romanian).
The affair caused a sort of dynastic crisis, in 1891. The
result of this was the exile of both Elisabeth (in Neuwied)
and Elena (in Paris), as well as a trip by Ferdinand
through Europe in search of a suitable bride, whom he
eventually found in Queen Victoria's granddaughter,
Princess Marie of Edinburgh.
A new period of Romanian history began on the day of the Union of Transylvania with
Romania (Great Union Day, Marea Unire). This period would eventually come to an end
with the international treaties that led up to World War II. These ceded parts of Romania
to its neighbors. As such, they are widely seen as an attempt to provoke the country into
taking sides and joining the war.
Ferdinand died from cancer in Sinaia in 1927, and was
succeeded by his grandson Crown Prince Michael, under
a regency. The regency had three members, one of whom
was Ferdinand's second son, Prince Nicholas. Students of group 8116:
Mihaela Mandas
Tănănău Ionela
Bucharest
2018
