Carol I of Romania
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons21

Carol I of Romania

Monarch of Romania from 1866 to 1914

Carol I or Charles I of Romania (Romanian: Carol I; Romanian: [ˈkarol ɨnˈtɨj], born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), nicknamed the King of Independence (Romanian: Regele Independenței; Romanian: [ˈre.d͡ʒe.le in.de.penˈden.t͡sej] ); was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d'état.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Carol I of Romania (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Apr 20, 1839, died Oct 10, 1914.1

About

In May 1877, Romania was proclaimed an independent and sovereign nation. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire (1878) in the Russo-Turkish War secured Romanian independence, and he was proclaimed King on 26 March [O.S. 14 March] 1881. He was the first ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, which ruled the country until the proclamation of a socialist republic in 1947.

During his reign, Carol I personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo-Romanian army during the siege of Plevna. The country achieved internationally recognized independence via the Treaty of Berlin, 1878 and acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in 1913. In 1883 the king entered a top-secret military alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, despite popular demands against Hungary. When World War I broke out he was unable to activate the alliance. Romania remained neutral and in 1916 joined the Allies.

Domestic political life was organized around the rival Liberal and Conservative parties. During Carol's reign, Romania's industry and infrastructure were much improved, however this process also resulted in major scandals, including the Strousberg Affair which personally implicated Carol. Overall, the country still had an agrarian-focused economy and the situation of the peasantry failed to improve, leading to a major revolt in 1907, bloodily suppressed by the authorities.

He married Princess Elisabeth of Wied on 15 November 1869. They only had one daughter, Maria, who died at the age of four. Carol never produced a male heir, leaving his elder brother Leopold next in line to the throne. In October 1880 Leopold renounced his right of succession in favour of his son William, who in turn surrendered his claim six years later in favour of his younger brother, the future King Ferdinand I.

From Wikipedia’s article on Carol I of Romania, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedPrussian Military Academy3

The future King Carol was born on 20 April 1839 in the town of Sigmaringen in southern Germany as Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Born into the Catholic Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the second son of Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and his wife, Princess Josephine of Baden. His family was therefore related to the royal family of Prussia, but his family was also related to the Bonaparte family, the French imperial family. His maternal grandmother, Stéphanie de Beauharnais, was a Beauharnais, Empress Joséphine's niece-in-law and Napoléon I's adoptive daughter, whereas his paternal grandmother, Marie Antoinette Murat, was a Murat, Joachim Murat's niece, and the family thus enjoyed very good relations with Emperor Napoleon III of France.

Prince Karl's father, Prince Karl Anton, would later serve as Minister President of Prussia from 1858 to 1862, a period in Prussian history characterized by a moderate liberal reform policy.

After finishing his elementary studies, Prince Karl entered the Cadet School in Münster. In 1857 he was attending the courses of the Artillery School in Berlin. Up to 1866, when he accepted the crown of Romania, he was a Prussian officer. He took part in the Second Schleswig War, including the assault of the Fredericia citadel and Dybbøl, an experience which would be very useful to him later in the Russo-Turkish war.

Although he was described as quite frail and not very tall, Prince Karl was reported to be the perfect soldier, healthy and disciplined, and also a very good politician with liberal ideas. He was familiar with several European languages.

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Background

Between 1875 and 1877 anti-Ottoman revolts took place in several Balkan countries, most notably Bulgaria, where the April Uprisings of 1876 were brutally suppressed by irregular bashi-bazouks. The international outrage at the Bulgarian massacre – particularly on the part of Russia, who saw itself as a protector of Orthodox Christians in general and Bulgarians in particular – triggered several diplomatic efforts over the next year. After the failure of these diplomatic attempts, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 24 April 1877, launching the Russo-Turkish War, which is known in Romanian historiography as the War of Independence.

At the behest of then foreign minister Mihail Kogălniceanu and against the advice of his Crown Council, Carol decided to permit Russian troops to pass through its territory on the way to Bulgaria. This resulted in Turkish bombardments of Romanian towns on the Danube. At this point, Romania was de facto independent, being "bound to the Ottoman Empire only by the payment of tribute (which had dropped to 1% of the country's budget) and a number of largely formal prerogatives in matters of foreign policy."

From Wikipedia’s article on Carol I of Romania (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: military personnel, monarch, art collector.13

  • 1881 to 1914King of Romania12
  • 1866 to 1881Prince of Romania12
  • Date not recordedFounded Bucharest University of Economic Studies4
  • Date not recordedFounded Order of Carol I5
  • Date not recordedFounded Institutul Geologic al României6
  • Date not recordedFounded Pelișor Castle7
  • Date not recordedFounded Romanian Royal Family8
  • Date not recordedFounded House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Romania)9
  • Date not recordedFounded Church of St. Nicholas from Calafat10
  • Date not recordedFounded Peleș Castle11

Personal life

  • BornApr 20, 1839, Sigmaringen14
  • DiedOct 10, 1914, Peleș Castle15
  • CitizenshipPrincipality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Kingdom of Romania16
  • SpouseElisabeth of Wied married 186917

When he was elected prince of Romania, Carol was unmarried. In 1869, the prince started a trip around Europe and mainly Germany, to find a bride. During this trip he met and married Princess Elizabeth of Wied at Neuwied on 15 November 1869. Their marriage was strange, with Carol being a cold and calculating man while Elizabeth was a notorious dreamer who published literature under the name of Carmen Sylva. They had one child, Princess Maria, born in 1870, who died 9 April (N.S.) 1874. She had no prospect of inheriting her father's throne; as mentioned above, the Constitution limited succession to the male line. This led to the further estrangement of the royal couple, Elizabeth never completely recovering from the trauma of losing her only child.

After the proclamation of the Kingdom (1881), the succession was a very important matter of state. Since Carol's brother, Leopold (in 1880), and his oldest son, William (in 1886), declined their rights, the second son of Leopold, Ferdinand, was named prince of Romania and heir-presumptive to the throne, in 1886.

Towards the end of Carol's life Carol and Elizabeth finally found a way to understand each other and were reported to have become good friends.

Carol died on 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914, at the age of 75 years old.

From Wikipedia’s article on Carol I of Romania (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 1879Knight of the Order of the Elephant18
  • 1869Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold18 19
  • Date not recordedHouse Order of Hohenzollern18
  • Date not recordedKnight grand cross of the order of the crown of Italy18
  • Date not recordedKnight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus18
  • Date not recordedKnight of the Order of the Golden Fleece18
  • Date not recordedMilitary Merit Cross III. Class18
  • Date not recordedMilitary Merit Cross18
  • Date not recordedOrder of Bravery18
  • Date not recordedOrder of Ludwig I18
More awards (15)
  • Date not recordedOrder of Saint Alexander Nevsky18
  • Date not recordedOrder of Saint Stanislaus18
  • Date not recordedOrder of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-apostles18
  • Date not recordedOrder of St. Andrew18
  • Date not recordedOrder of St. George, 3rd class18
  • Date not recordedOrder of St. George, 4th class18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Black Eagle18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Garter18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Golden Fleece18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Most Holy Annunciation18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Saxe-Ernestine18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Star of Karađorđe18
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Star of Romania18
  • Date not recordedPour le Mérite18
  • Date not recordedRoyal Order of the Seraphim18

Sources

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