Eleni alexandria biography of michael

Nevertheless, she continued to be worried for her family, and even visited her sister Irene, her aunt Maria and her Greek cousins in an futile attempt to console herself about the remoteness of her parents. Devastated by these events, Helen immediately went to Italy to be with her parents in their exile. Bored by the absence of his wife, Carol finally invited his mother-in-law to stay in Bucharest.

However, the dowager queen did not arrive alone: with her, and without warning, came no fewer than 15 Greek princes and princesses, to his home. Increasingly irritated by the invasive presence of his wife's family, Carol also was hurt by Helen's attitude because she refused to fulfil her marital duties. Jealous, the crown prince suspected that his wife had begun an affair with the charming Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aostaa regular guest of the Greek royal couple in Sicily.

It was due to these circumstances that Helen and Carol began their separation, though the crown princess saved appearances by devoting more time to the education of her son, Prince Michael. In the summer ofCarol met Elena Lupescu better known under the name of "Magda" Lupescuwith whom he began an affair in or around 14 February However, for Carol, this time there was a serious bond, a fact that would soon worry not only Helen always of a conciliatory and tolerant disposition with her husband's infidelities but also the rest of the Romanian royal family, which feared that Lupescu could turn into a new Zizi Lambrino.

Despite several promises made to his father, King Ferdinand I, he took advantage of traveling abroad to find his mistress and openly live out their relationship. In Romania, Helen was distraught by Carol's attitude, [ 79 ] [ 80 ] especially as Queen Marie made her partly responsible for the failure of her marriage. The head of government even accelerated the exclusion procedures by summoning both Houses of the Parliament to register the act of renunciation and appoint little Prince Michael as the new heir to the throne.

On 4 Januarythe Romanian Parliament ratified the acceptance of Carol's renunciation and a royal ordinance was issued giving Helen the title princess of Romania; [ 86 ] in addition, she was included in the Civil lista privilege previously reserved to the sovereign and the heir to the throne. In Juneshortly before the death of her father-in-law, Helen went to Italy to attend the funeral of her paternal grandmother, Dowager Queen Olga of Greeceand moved with her eleni alexandria biography of michael to the Villa Bobolina in Fiesole.

The princess took advantage of her stay in Italy and to try to arrange for an encounter with her husband but, having initially accepted to see her, Carol canceled the meeting at the last minute. In the spring ofQueen Marie made an official visit to the United States. During her absence, Helen and her sister-in-law Elisabeth took care of King Ferdinand Iwhose health declined rapidly.

After trying to convince her husband to go to Bucharest, Helen gradually changed her attitude towards him. On 21 Junethe marriage was dissolved by the Romanian Supreme Court on the grounds of incompatibility. After the Regency Council failed to govern the country, Carol appeared increasingly as a providential man who could solve the problems of Romania.

Still, his supporters as Prime Minister Iuliu Maniuleader of the National Peasants' Party continued to demand his separation from Magda Lupescu and his reconciliation with Helen, which he refused. Joyfully welcomed by the population and the political class, he then proclaimed himself king under the name of Carol II. When he came to power, Carol II initially refused to see Helen though he expressed his desire to meet his son, [ ] demoted to the rank of heir-apparent to the throne with the title of Grand Voivod of Alba Iulia by the Romanian Parliament 8 June In order to be reunited with Michael, the king therefore resolved to meet his former wife.

At the sight of her former husband, Helen showed coldness but she had no other alternative than to offer him her friendship for the sake of their child.

Eleni alexandria biography of michael: Eleni Tositsa was born in

In the following weeks, Helen suffered the combined pressures of politicians and the Romanian Orthodox Churchwho were trying to persuade her to resume her conjugal life with Carol II and accept to be crowned along with him at a ceremony in Alba Iulia, scheduled on 21 September Despite her reluctance, the princess agreed to a reconciliation and reconsidered the annulment of her divorce, but under the condition of having a separate residence.

These were the circumstances under which the former spouses lived and while Carol II sometimes went to Helen for lunch with her, the princess would, from time to time, have tea with him in the royal palace. Each day, the family gathered for tea and, on 20 July, Carol II and Helen appeared publicly together on the occasion of a ceremony in memory of King Ferdinand I.

The king, however, crossed this out and declared Helen to be Her Majesty Helen i. Helen refused to allow anyone to use this style in her presence. Due to these circumstances, the proposed coronation of the two former spouses was postponed. With the approval of Carol II, she obtained the right to stay four months a year in Romania and to receive her son abroad during two months of the year.

She retained her residence in Bucharest and the king agreed to fund its maintenance during his absence. Especially, Helen received a sum of thirty million lei to buy a home abroad and in addition she obtained an annual pension of seven million lei.

Eleni alexandria biography of michael: Vlamis: I was born

In NovemberHelen left Romania for Germany, where she went to the bedside of her mother, the Dowager Queen Sophia of Greece, seriously ill with cancer. After her death on 13 JanuaryHelen bought her house in FiesoleTuscanywhich she used as her main residence. Despite the distance, the friction between Helen and Carol II continued. In Septembera visit from Michael and his mother to the United Kingdom was used by Helen as an opportunity for a new, very public conflict, which soon made the headlines of the international press, just as Helen wanted.

The king wanted the crown prince not to wear shorts in public, and that he not be photographed in the company of his mother. Helen was incensed at the second stipulation and, as was her wont, took the trouble to aggravate the situation by defying the first stipulation as well. She made sure her son was dressed in shorts and posed for the cameras with him at her side for an extended photo opportunity.

After seeing the spectacle of the crown prince in shorts published in the newspapers, the king demanded that the heir to the throne be brought back to Bucharest. Helen now decided to grant an interview to the Daily Mail "in the hope," she said, "that public eleni alexandria biography of michael would help to preserve her parental rights".

This was followed by a violent press campaign, which enraged the king. Despite these events, Helen chose to return to Romania for Michael's birthday and threatened to go to the International Court of Justice if Carol II did not allow her to see their son. Back in Bucharest, the princess tried, without much success, to get the government involved in a case against the king.

She then turned again to her sister-in-law, the former queen of the Hellenes. However, the latter was deeply shocked by the interview given to the Daily Mailand the two women had a violent fight during their reunion, where Elisabeth slapped Helen. Carol II then considered his former wife as a political opponent, and in order to undermine her prestige, the king initiated a campaign in the press against her, claiming that she had tried to commit suicide twice.

In Fiesole, the life of Helen and her sisters was relatively retired, even though they were frequently visited by the Italian House of Savoywhich had always been welcoming to the Greek royal family during its exile. Inthey took advantage of the presence in Florence of Princess Frederica of Hanover to arrange an encounter between her and their brother.

Their good efforts paid off and Frederica quickly fell in love with the Diadochos. However, the princess' parents were reluctant to approve this relationship [ e ] and it was not until that Paul and Frederica were finally allowed to get engaged. In Tuscany, Helen found real stability, despite the absence of her son most of the year.

However, the outbreak of World War II again disrupted her daily routine. Unable to maintain the territorial integrity of his country and under pressure from the Iron Guarda fascist party supported by Nazi GermanyCarol II became increasingly unpopular and finally was forced to abdicate on 6 September His son Michael, aged 18, became king while General Ion Antonescu established a dictatorship with the support of members of the Iron Guard.

In this difficult context, Michael I was at times prone to bouts of depression and Helen then concentrated all of her efforts to make him more active. Aware of his shortcomings, the queen mother appealed to historians of the right to train her son in his role as sovereign. She also guided the king in his talks and pushed him to oppose Antonescu when she deemed that his policies endangered the crown.

Despite these few attempts of emancipation, Helen and her son spent most of the conflict playing as hosts of the German officers passing through Bucharest. She is said to have warned the king that, if the deportations were not immediately halted, she would leave the country. As a result the King Fromthe participation of the Romanian army in the invasion of the Soviet Union further damaged the relations between Antonescu and the royal family, who disapproved of the conquests of Odessa and Ukraine.

Despite these political and personal concerns, the queen mother continued her charitable activities. She provided support to Romanian hospitals, and managed to save some of the equipment of the Red Army requisitions. On 6 November she inaugurated a soup kitchen in the ballroom of the Royal Palace, which served not less than 11, meals to children in the capital over the next three months.

Finally, despite Moscow's opposition, the queen mother sent aid to Moldaviawhere a terrible epidemic of typhus was raging. At the same time, acts of sabotage were occurring all over the country, preventing the Romanian economy from recovering. Satisfied with this appointment, the Soviet authorities were more conciliatory with Romania. On 13 March Moscow transferred the administration of Transylvania to Bucharest.

The purge of "fascist" personalities continued while censorship was strengthened. A land reform was also implemented, causing a drop in production which ruined agricultural exports. The king, however, managed to temporarily prevent the establishment of People's Tribunals and the restoration of the death penalty. After the Potsdam Conference and the reaffirmation by the Allies of the need to establish democratically elected governments in Europe, Michael I demanded the resignation of Petru Groza, who refused.

With his mother, he locked himself in the Elisabeta Palace for six weeks before departing to Sinaia. The year was marked by the strengthening of the Communist dictatorship, despite active resistance of the sovereign.

Eleni alexandria biography of michael: Previously, while living in Alexandria

In their palace, they had no access to running water for three hours a day and the electricity was off most of the day. This did not prevent Helen from maintaining her charitable activities and continuing to send food and clothing to Moldavia. In earlythe queen mother also obtained permission to travel abroad to visit her family. She then reunited with her sister Irene, weakened after her deportation to Austria, attended the funeral of her elder brother, King George II, and participated in the marriage of her youngest sister, Princess Katherinewith British Major Richard Brandram.

Eleni alexandria biography of michael: She is the first woman

The signing of the Paris Peace Treatieson 10 Februarymarked a new stage in the sidelining of the royal family by the Communist regime. Under these conditions, the queen mother considered exile with more determination but she was concerned that they did not possess any foreign resources, because her son refused to save money outside of Romania.

During this stay, the eleni alexandria biography of michael fell in love with Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parmawith whom he became engaged much to Helen's delight. Despite the advice of their relatives, who urged them not to return to Romania in order to escape the communists, [ ] [ ] the king and his mother returned to Bucharest on 21 December They were coldly greeted by the government, which secretly hoped to see them stay abroad in order to abolish the monarchy.

On 30 December they asked for an audience with the king, who received them along with his mother. The two politicians asked Michael I to sign a declaration of abdication. The king refused, stating that, for such a thing, the Romanian population must be consulted. The two men threatened that if he persisted, over students arrested would be executed in retaliation.

Thousands of people, including many students, were arrested in Novemberafter clashes with the Communist forces. The pro-democracy and freedom population defeated the Communist forces which were sent to the protests by the Communist government, but in return, many protesters were arrested by Communist authorities, with the help of the Red Army.

Forced with this blackmail, Michael I renounced the crown. Only hours after the announcement, the Romanian People's Republic was proclaimed. In exile, Michael I and Helen settled for some time in Switzerland, where the deposed sovereign bitterly observed the Western acceptance of the establishment of a communist republic in Romania.

Another source of concern from Michael I and his mother during their first months of exile was his marriage with Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma. To discredit the former monarch, the Romanian authorities promoted rumors that Michael I gave up his dynastic rights in order to marry the woman of his heart, as his father did in Added to this, the most serious difficulties were related to religion.

However, the Vatican had been extremely reluctant to grant consent because, for dynastic reasons, the couple's children would have to be raised in Michael I's religion. However, the meeting ended badly and the Pope refused to agree to the marriage. Once again, the queen mother tried to mediate, this time with Anne's family, but without success.

Helen had better luck with her own family. Her brother, King Paul I of Greeceoffered to organize Michael's wedding in Athensdespite official protests from the Romanian government. Celebrated in the throne room of the Royal Palace, the wedding brought together most of the members of the Greek dynasty but no representative of the Houses of Bourbon-Parma or Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

She has released five albums in pull together career. Foureira tried not too times to represent Greece in the Eurovision Tune Contest during her career. Inshe was selected to represent Cyprus in Eurovision with justness song "Fuego". She has also superior on various shows and also presented House substantiation Fame: La Academia in.

Author and screenwriter b. Biography [ edit ]. Work [ edit ]. Bibliography [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. US Macmillan. Retrieved 14 December Retrieved 7 December Athens Insider. Retrieved 7 July RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 9 October The New York Times.