Restoration of the Monarchy in Romania

[Cory]

How do you know Radu is popular among the youth?
It is true people like Princess Margareta who is a wonderful person.
To say Monarchy is very popular in Romania it is little bit exxagerated.
How do you know where do I live and how much am I informed?

[Lenora]

The next year is planned an anniversary regarding Romanian royal family,I'd like to know if in Romania there were some polls or something alike regarding monarchy restoration

[ClaudiaE]

Originally Posted by PalaceWatcher

That is nonsense. Princess Margarita is perfectly acceptable to Romanians who like the idea of Monarchy (and of women). It has nothing to do with her husband having stood for president, most people understood his position very well. Prince Radu is certainly not unpopular and the couple are especially liked by the younger generation. I appreciate you as you always keep the site up to date by posting news about the RF of Romania, but you are woefully uninformed about the general image and popularity of Princess Margarita and Prince Radu in the country, now. This is probably due to the fact that you don't live in Romania so aren't up to date, but mainly I think it has to do with your own prejudice against Radu.

The fact that Romanian people doesn't like the ideea of Princess Margareta on the throne has nothing to do with the sexiest point of view.
Maybe she is a wonderful person but we don't know about her very much because always is about her husband. He wants to be the center stage. Very poor choice... IMO of course. And I live in Romania and I am part of younger generation. But I don't understand how King Mihai accept his behavior. He does a lot of deservice for Romanian Royal House.

[Cory]

Crown Princess Margareta should be in the center of the royal stage but the royal sites speak mostly about her husband.

[Maura724]

I've just gotten interested in some of the non-reigning royal families. From the little I have read, Princess Margarita seems like someone who cares very much about the country and who would make a good Queen. I don't know very much about Radu, other than that he was an actor and at one point briefly ran for President. I'm curious why exactly he's considered unpopular?

[maria-olivia]

The King of Roumania turns 90 this year . Will the House celebrate his birthday ?

[Cory]

The King will have special celebration this year but he lives mostly in Switzerland with the Queem lately.

[CSENYC]

A few random thoughts:

(1) King Michael should have been restored to the throne years ago because what the Communists did to Romania (and other countries) should be completely undone.

If the Communists had invaded Great Britain and had driven out Queen Elizabeth, I'd sure hope that she'd have been restored when they left, just as prewar governments were restored at least in Western Europe after WWII.

(2) King Michael seems like a fundamentally good person who has done good for Romania, by overthrowing Ion Antonescu, by helping save the Jews during WWII, by trying to stop the Communists from passing legislation after WWII and more. Romanians recognize this, right?

(3) What would it have taken for King Michael to have been restored? If he had led events immediately after the overthrow of Ceaucescu, would that have been enough?

(4) In Afghanistan, the government decided to honor its last king (who had been overthrown year before) about 10 years ago by passing a law, giving the king a ceremonial title as "Father of the Country" or the like, and recognizing all he had done for the country.

Why can't Romania do something like this? (Father of the Country is a bit much, but just letting him be "officially" called King, without giving him any role or power (and requiring no constitutional changes), would be a good thing- he's earned it.) In the US, legislatures constantly just pass proclamations like this (recognizing sports teams, recognizing national days of whatever, etc.)

I am not one to think that there's anything special about royals, but someone like King Michael just seems to be such a good person who has done so much good in the world. I'm a fan. I'd like to meet him!

[David V]

Originally Posted by CSENYC

A few random thoughts:

(1) King Michael should have been restored to the throne years ago because what the Communists did to Romania (and other countries) should be completely undone.

If the Communists had invaded Great Britain and had driven out Queen Elizabeth, I'd sure hope that she'd have been restored when they left, just as prewar governments were restored at least in Western Europe after WWII.

(2) King Michael seems like a fundamentally good person who has done good for Romania, by overthrowing Ion Antonescu, by helping save the Jews during WWII, by trying to stop the Communists from passing legislation after WWII and more. Romanians recognize this, right?

(3) What would it have taken for King Michael to have been restored? If he had led events immediately after the overthrow of Ceaucescu, would that have been enough?

(4) In Afghanistan, the government decided to honor its last king (who had been overthrown year before) about 10 years ago by passing a law, giving the king a ceremonial title as "Father of the Country" or the like, and recognizing all he had done for the country.

Why can't Romania do something like this? (Father of the Country is a bit much, but just letting him be "officially" called King, without giving him any role or power (and requiring no constitutional changes), would be a good thing- he's earned it.) In the US, legislatures constantly just pass proclamations like this (recognizing sports teams, recognizing national days of whatever, etc.)

I am not one to think that there's anything special about royals, but someone like King Michael just seems to be such a good person who has done so much good in the world. I'm a fan. I'd like to meet him!

Such admirable sentiments I agree with for most part. You are right, the post-Communist states are still dealing with that awful legacy which will take a long time to wash away, some also dealing with a more recent past of conflict, that they are in need of a complete break- so a "go back to go forward" attitude not surprisingly exists in that part of the world. And none of those countries ever abolished their monarchies by vote, it was done by force. (Only Greece and Italy voted for it, out of exceptional circumstances.)

[AureliaC]

Our government is corrupt enough and adding a monarchy to the mixture its the perfect recipe for disaster. I dont know much about the "Romanian" royals, they dont even live here and as far as I know some of its members dont even speak Romanian.

So no, no monarchy restoration for us.

[jonc93]

Originally Posted by AureliaC

Our government is corrupt enough and adding a monarchy to the mixture its the perfect recipe for disaster. I dont know much about the "Romanian" royals, they dont even live here and as far as I know some of its members dont even speak Romanian.

So no, no monarchy restoration for us.

Is the Royal Family known in Romania or not really? If you were to ask an average citizen would they even know they exist? I always find it interesting to hear opinions on restoration from people who live in former monarchies! :)

[AureliaC]

Well it really depends I must say, I found out we had a royal family several years ago. Some people were like "They've been around" and others were like "HUH? Really?"

Most people know how they are, max they'll now the King and Queen's names. Radu is more popular than them I must say but that's becuase of his political involvement not becuase he's married to the Crown Princess.
We know they are there, living somewhere in Europe but some people dont care, it was abolished in the late 40's, its ancient history.

[jonc93]

So I guess there's no chance of a restoration liker there is in Serbia? If that's what the people want then that's how it should in fact be..

[David V]

Originally Posted by AureliaC

Our government is corrupt enough and adding a monarchy to the mixture its the perfect recipe for disaster.

It would not. The reasons for restoring the monarchy would be that it would stand above the machinations of politicians. It would give the people a tentpole to rally around.

[AureliaC]

What do the monarchs really do??? Nothing right?? They dont have political power, they just represent our country. And the people pay them with their taxes.

We don't need that and our country is certainly not in that condition. It may work for others but I strongly believe it wont work for us.

[Toscany]

Originally Posted by Cory

The King will have special celebration this year but he lives mostly in Switzerland with the Queem lately.

King Mihai is extremely busy these days! He is barely in Switzerland, except on the weekends, when there are not other functions he is invited to.

Just last week he was in Romania the entire time. His itinerary included Brasov, Bran Castle, and Bucharest.

He is in excellent health, supervised by his grand daughter, a doctor of nutrition living in Brasov.

[Toscany]

Originally Posted by jonc93

Is the Royal Family known in Romania or not really? If you were to ask an average citizen would they even know they exist? I always find it interesting to hear opinions on restoration from people who live in former monarchies! :)

Absolutely! The people of Romania know of King Mihai, and his family. I have personally asked Romanians, randomly, and each one knew King Mihai. Each one was approximately 20 years old. Each one said that they would like to see a return of the family to Romania.

[Toscany]

Originally Posted by AureliaC

What do the monarchs really do??? Nothing right?? They dont have political power, they just represent our country. And the people pay them with their taxes.

We don't need that and our country is certainly not in that condition. It may work for others but I strongly believe it wont work for us.

Aurelia,

From what I see and know of the Family you speak, they are quite to the contrary. As I mentioned above, on a few posts, Mihai, his children, and grand children, are all in your country, working on bringing business and enterprise to boost the ailing economy. They are the ones trying to bring employment back to the people.

Even relatives are trying to help! Archduke Dominic Von Hapsburg spends most of his time in and around Brasov, Bran Castle, building one of the primary industries that the Romanian government can not seem to market....Tourism! Do you realize the amount of Tourism the UK has, simply for the fact that it has a Constitutional Monarch? The moment that you realize what the 'investment' would do to improve the social, economic development of Romania, the sooner the country will flourish!

Princess Jenna, a Doctor of Nutrition, is internationally involved in educating health & nutrition. She is also an "Animal Activist", helping save animals. If you recall, she also organized a pro-Monarchy rally,that attracted 70,000 participants. Did you not see the film footage of this?

I am amazed at the unemployment level in Romania, and the people whom you say, "do nothing", seem to be doing everything!

Originally Posted by AureliaC

Well it really depends I must say, I found out we had a royal family several years ago. Some people were like "They've been around" and others were like "HUH? Really?"

Most people know how they are, max they'll now the King and Queen's names. Radu is more popular than them I must say but that's becuase of his political involvement not becuase he's married to the Crown Princess.
We know they are there, living somewhere in Europe but some people dont care, it was abolished in the late 40's, its ancient history.

Aurelia,

I could not disagree with you more! This is where education and technology works side by side. Without the two, societies and cultures, the world over would plummet.

I recall in graduate school, taking courses entitled: "Geography For Teachers". It was appalling to me that students in the class, here in America, could not identify the 50 states in the Union, much less spell them or identify their capitols. Now, America is a huge country, however Romania, is not. Romania, however, has centuries of documented history over America. There are many people of Romanian descent here in The United States. Many of the people we are speaking of, eventually immigrated to America because of what happened to King Mihai in 1947.

I realize, being born in 1954, must be "ancient" for you! However, I must ask you this: Who do you expect to learn from?

Yes, there are more important priorities in our day to day lives, however, if what has happened occurred in a different timeline, would you be here today? Think about it. Think about your grand parents, and their parents. Did you know them?

Originally Posted by AureliaC

What do the monarchs really do??? Nothing right?? They dont have political power, they just represent our country. And the people pay them with their taxes.

We don't need that and our country is certainly not in that condition. It may work for others but I strongly believe it wont work for us.

AureliaC,

You may find this link interesting. It is a fact sheet on your country. Perhaps it will allow you to become more pro-active. It is what it is, until the people start to change it...

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/ro.html

[AureliaC]

Its funny that you base your arguements on the Romanian Americans that you know, "Americans" is the key word here, or some Romanian tourist whatever. I'm just saying what I hear around people my age, older and younger, I've lived in Romania my whole life.

I dont need you to attach a "fact sheet" of my own country, I know enough. And I personally believe as a Romanian that the monarchy should not be restored and thats also the opinion of my friends who range from 17-30 years old.

You are an outsider, I know very well what's going out politically in my country which is way more important than the charity the royal family is doing and seriously usually what those people do to "boost" our economy, well I havent seen it yet. I'm interested in more important issues, the corruption in my country will not be resolved with a monarchy.
I rather see a unification of Moldova and Romania if that's the case.

And yes I know my whole family, I know where I come from and I can trace them as far as the late 1700's I'm mostly of Moldovan( which is the same to me), Hungarian, and Armenian ancestry.

And its impossible for me to believe that many people immigrated becuase of the abolishment (legal or illegal) of a monarchy. The country was a wreck, many people wanted to immgrate becuase of the poor situation they were living in. My grandparents themselves immigrated to Romania from Moldova during the Soviet era and they planned to immigrate to another European country but they failed miserably. That became a really funny story in our family how we stayed here in Romania by accident and ended up loving it. Personally I love living here regardless of its situation and I am pro active I just dont care at all about the royal family. That doesnt make me an ignorant.

[Toscany]

AureliaC

You appear to have mistaken my comments from the beginning! The Romanians I speak of, ALL live in Romania!

Indeed, you have a family history, and from it, you learned how your grandparents failed at fleeing an intolerable environment for them. Why else would they attempt to immigrate?

Further, no one was "flamed" during the protest in Bucharest, where 70,000 attended. I am connected, with the family of the exiled King Mihai. They tell me that your government hates the royals. Hatred, my dear, adds to ignorance. Using a statement, "I don't care", is indeed a sign of lack of interest.