MICHAEL OF RUMANIA

Evening Star, Issue 19658, 10 September 1927, Page 19

MICHAEL OF RUMANIA

“LETS GO HOME, MAMMA”

A little boy, not yet six, the fairhaired son of" the ousted Prince Caro], is riding through the crowded streets of Bucharest in an open automobile, on his way to be proclaimed King of Rumania after the death of his grandfather, King Ferdinand. The child is sitting between his mother, Princess Helen of Greece, and his grandmother, the Dowager Queen Marie/ Vast multitudes are cheering him, and his chubby face is - wreathed in halffrightened smiles. Against the deep black worn by the two Royal women the boy’s white sailor suit is like a fleck of sunshine amidst dark shadows. As his mother leads the child by the hand into the great Parliament House an impressive scene makes him catch his breath. The members of both legislative houses, all the military and civil dignitaries, the whole diplomatic corps, as well as the regents who are to guide the boy King until he is eigh x teen, are assembled iu solemn state; and between him and them stands a small altar, on which the regents are to swear their allegiance to him. The little fellow hesitates, halts, and seems on the verge of tears.

FATHER AND SON DIFFER

The story of how Rumania happens to have a boy king, while the boy’s father. Prince Carol,, who should have boon king, is disinherited and living near Paris in voluntary exile, _is a tragic bit of contemporary history which the Press of the world is now tolling and retelling in many keys. Several writers point out that the youthful, romance of the late King Ferdinand and that of his wayward son are curiously similar, save for the vital difference that Ferdinand relinquished a woman and gained a throne, while his son lost the throne in order to live a woman not his wife. Both romances have a direct bearing on the fortunes of little King Michael. Prince Carol’s first love was a Rumanian girl, Milo Zizi Lambi’ino, whom he married in 1918, and by whom he had' a son. When that marriage was annulled he took for his wife Princess Helen of Greece, mother of the present King. He renounced the throne, in 1925, to live with Madame Lupescu, : n Paris, When King Ferdinand’s will was read it cut off his eldest son from all inheritance of Rumanian property, such as the houses and castles which would have been his in the natural order of events. The regal fortune, estimated at. 70,000,000 dollars, is left

FERDINAND THE JUST

That this sorrow was on King Ferdinand’s mind to the end is shown by a letter which he wrote to Premier Bratiano two days before his death. It ends with this paragraph:— _ “My son Carol must seek to impose respect for the present regime on all desirous to injure or destroy it. _ The situation created by his renunciation of the throne was brought about . in such a way as to make it his most imperative duty as a Rumanian, as a son, and as a parent to respect the undertaking entered into of his own free will without being influenced by anyone.” The judgment of thoughtful observers regarding the predicament of tins young man is voiced by a Paris correspondent as follows: “ Unless there is a definite movement in Rumania for the return of Prince Carol it is unlikely that this 'exile will ever set foot again in his native land. He hasn’t either the character or force, and certainly not the reputation, necessary for the making of a successful revolution in his

“ Remember you arc a king and tho son of kings,” his mother says in a low voice. Straightening up Ms puny shoulders, the child ascends tho fifteen stops of the royal tribunal,:' sits in the big throne-like chair, and faces the assembled dignitaries with apparent unconcern. Cheers burst forth from the boy King’s future subjects. His mother, dressed in deep mourning, stands beside him, pale and evidently laboring under great emotion, but selfcontrolled, erect, and queenly. PrinceNicholas, the twenty-three-year-old brother of the boy’s absent father, is the first to take the oath of allegiance, and then follow Patriarch Christea, head of the Rumanian OrthodoxChurch, and Judge Buzdugan, President or the Supreme Court. Bach repeats tho single sentence: “I swear fidelity to King Michael.” Thon_ Princess Helen, whoso tears are discernible beneath her veil, loads the child forward and out into his new kingdom. King Michael breathes a long sigh of relief, hugs his mother’s arm tight, and remarks; “Let’s go home, mamma; I’m hungry.”

to % his little son Michael.; The dead King’s will, however, bequeaths to Prince Carol about 400,000 dollars in cash and stocks. The change in his will, made in January, 1926, after his son had made the momentous decision to renounce the throne, is accompanied by tho following expression of sorrow, as reported by the Bucharest correspondent of the Paris ‘ Matin ’ ‘ ‘ It was tho Lord’s will to impose this trifil upon the country and myself and range great sorrow to the Queen by the Crown Prince’s renunciation of the throne. Never until the end of my days will I forgot the grief wMch overwhelmed me when I saw myself forced to take cognisance of that decision, while realising that unfortunately the measure was necessary in the interests of the State and the Crown interests, which have always. guided me in all circumstances. The change thus brought about in the succession to the throne obliges me to make the following modifications and add the following codicils to my testament: [Then follow the cancellation of the bequest of his castles and domains to Carol in favor of the new King, and the codicils end with the words:] I pray to God to help my darling son Carol in the new life he has chosen against our will, and to make the consequences of his choice the easiest possible.”

favor. Even those in Rumania who, either because of opposition to the Bratiano regime or because they fear the. consequences of a long minority and rule by the Regency, would like to have Prince Carol back have become discouraged by his obstinate persistence in preferring tho easy life of exile and personal gratification to his duties as a king and husband.” Thus did Ferdinand’s wayward son, we are told, furnish material for many sad thoughts as he lay slowly dying of cancer in the beautiful Pelisor Castle, the summer residence _ of the royal family at Sinaia. Ferdinand the Just, his people called him, and his decision to exile his son is given as one of the reasons for this popular title. Another was his action in entering the World War on the side of the Allies, despite his family ties as a Hohenzollern, because the Rumanian people dqsired it. Still another is found by some editors in the fact that he favored universal suffrage and helped to give it to his people.

on Wednesday, the 14th inst.,at2.3U p.mi The purposes of the league are for using up old garments and woollen goods, and converting them into warm apparel for the West Ham Mission for the ■■ Poor, and the Soldiers'. Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families’ Association of Great Britain. The warm clothing that this willing band of workers has converted out of discarded woollen goods is an eyeopener to any person who has never realised what can be made out pf cast-off apparel. Letters of appreciation of their efforts have been forwarded by those.in control of these missions.