Catherine Caradja

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Princess Catherine Olympia Caradja (born Ecaterina Olimpia Caragea; January 28, 1893—May 26, 1993) was a celebrated Romanian aristocrat, philanthropist, and expatriate to the United States, who spent much of her later life in the Hill Country of Texas.

The daughter of Princess Irina Cantacuzino and Prince Radu Creţulescu, she was born in Bucharest and educated in England, France, Romania, and Belgium. She married Prince Constantin Caragea, a Romanian Army officer and member of the Caragea family, in 1914.

The princess first became known internationally as a result of her opposition to Romania's alliance with Nazi Germany during World War II (see Romania during World War II). When the oilfields at Ploieşti were bombed by the Allies in 1943, she personally took custody of surviving Allied crews, saw that they were cared for in her hospitals, and facilitated their escape to Italy.