| Helen of Greece and Denmark | |
|---|---|
| Queen Mother of Romania | |
| Spouse | Carol II |
| Issue | |
| Michael I | |
| House | House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
| Father | Constantine I of Greece |
| Mother | Sophia of Prussia |
| Born | 2 May 1896 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 28 November 1982 (aged 86) Lausanne, Switzerland |
Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark (Greek: Πριγκίπισσα Ελένη της Ελλάδας και Δανίας) (2 May/3 May 1896 – 28 November 1982) was the wife of King Carol II of Romania and the mother of King Michael I of Romania. She held the title Queen Mother of Romania.
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Helen was born in Athens, the third child of Crown Prince Constantine of Greece (later King Constantine I) and of his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. Helen had three brothers each of whom reigned as kings of Greece - George II, Alexander, and Paul - and two sisters, Irene and Katherine.
In 1910 Helen went into exile with her parents and siblings as a result of a military plot to put her father on the Greek throne in place of her grandfather King George I of Greece.[1] The family spent the summer at Schloss Friedrichshof, the home of Helen's maternal aunt Margaret, Landgravine of Hesse. They spent the winter at a hotel in Frankfurt before returning to Athens.
In 1917 Helen and her family went into exile a second time as a result of her father not supporting the Allies in World War I.[2] After a brief stay at St. Moritz, the family moved to a villa near Zurich. Their movements were severely restricted by the Allies; they had to reside in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, their French and English staff had to be dismissed, and they were not permitted contact with other French and English people.
In December 1919 Helen met Crown Prince Carol of Romania in Lucerne; he was returning from a world tour after his forced divorce from his first wife.[3] Helen accompanied Carol to Romania to celebrate the formal engagement of her brother George to Carol's sister Elisabeth. In November 1920 Carol visited Zurich and asked King Constantine for Helen's hand in marriage. The match was not an arranged one; indeed, Helen's mother was against it.[4]
In December 1920 King Constantine I was restored to his throne in Greece and Helen returned to Athens. On 10 March 1921 Helen married Crown Prince Carol of Romania in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. She was the first princess of Greece to marry in Athens.[5] The couple honeymooned at Tatoi before sailing for Bucharest at the beginning of May.[6]
Helen and Carol had an apartment in the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, but they spent most of their time at the Foishor, a Swiss chalet in the grounds of the Peleş Castle in Sinaia.[7] The marriage was at first happy, but soon soured.[8]
On 25 October 1921, Helen and Carol's first and only child Michael was born at the Foishor. "There were complications and for a while neither mother nor child were expected to pull through".[9] The baby was rumored to have been born premature (he was born only seven and a half months after his parents' wedding), but the fact that he weighed nine pounds at birth fueled speculation that Helen had become pregnant before the wedding.
In December 1921 the family moved to a house in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest.[10] Helen tried to establish a nursing school to improve standards in Romania. She was also appointed honorary colonel of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the Roshiori.[11]
In 1925 Carol began an affair with Elena "Magda" Lupescu. In December 1925 he renounced his rights to the throne and left Romania. On 4 January 1926, the Romanian Parliament ratified the acceptance of Carol's renunciation and passed a bill giving Helen the title Princess of Romania.[12] Helen remained in Romania with her son Michael who was now heir to the throne. The following summer she went to Italy to try to arrange a meeting with Carol but failed.[13]
In July 1927 Helen's five-year old son Michael succeeded as king of Romania. Other than her rank as a princess of Romania, Helen held no official position; she was not a member of the regency council. In December 1927 Carol asked Helen for a divorce.[14] At first she refused, but eventually she gave in to government advice. On 21 June 1928, the marriage was dissolved by the Romanian Supreme Court on the grounds of incompatibility.[15]
| House of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch) |
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| Constantine I |
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On 6 June 1930, Carol returned to Romania and was proclaimed king, with the help of politicians like Iuliu Maniu. Helen continued to live in her own home in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest with her son Michael. There ensued several months of discussion about annulling the divorce. The government and public opinion were most desirous of Carol and Helen restoring their marital relationship. A joint coronation ceremony was planned for mid-September.[16] Helen was even told by the Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu that as a result of the abrogation of the act of 4 January 1926, Carol had legitimately succeeded as king in July 1927, from which point she had automatically ranked as queen.[17]
The government presented a decree to Carol for his signature officially confirming Helen as Her Majesty The Queen of Romania. Carol, however, crossed this out and declared Helen to be Her Majesty Helen (i.e. with the style Majesty, but not the title Queen). Helen refused to allow anyone to use this style in her presence.[18] They ended up divorcing in 1928.
Eventually it became clear that Carol himself did not want the divorce annulled and that his lover Madame Lupescu was living with him at the Foishor.[19] Because Helen would not oppose the government's plans to annul the divorce, Carol took measures against her: guards were place around her residence, those who visited her were persecuted, and she was deprived of her office as honorary colonel of the Roshiori regiment.[20]
Faced with this treatment, Helen determined to go into exile. After a brief visit to London, she went to her mother's villa near Florence.[21] There was ongoing conflict with Carol about how frequently and under what circumstances she should be able to see their son Michael. In October 1932 she returned to Bucharest. Carol initiated a campaign in the press against her, claiming that she had tried to commit suicide twice.[22] The government issued a statement confirming Helen's civil list payment, and officially allowing her to reside in Romania six months each year, and to take her son Michael abroad one month each year.[23]
In spite of the official permission to reside in Romania, Helen was expected to stay in exile and returned to Florence.[24] With her financial situation now stable, she was able to purchase her own villa at the nearby town of San Domenico. In spring 1934 Helen moved into Villa Sparta with her brother Paul and her two sisters.[25] She lived here for the next ten years, seeing her son Michael for a month or so each year.
In September 1940 Michael was restored to the throne. Now aged eighteen, he recalled his mother to Romania. She received the designation Queen Mother of Romania (Regina-mamă Elena). During World War II she devoted herself to the care of the wounded. For her efforts to rescue Romanian Jews from the Nazi Germans, she was awarded the status of Righteous Among the Nations.[26]
In December 1947 Michael was forced to abdicate. Helen returned to San Domenico. Later she lived at Lausanne and Florence.
Helen died at the age of 86 in Lausanne in 1982.
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