*** Welcome to piglix ***

Queen Anne of Romania

Anne of Romania
Queen of Romania
ReginaAnaARomaniei.jpg
Anne at the Romanian French Community gala in Paris, 1991
Born (1923-09-18)18 September 1923
Paris, French Third Republic
Died 1 August 2016(2016-08-01) (aged 92)
Morges, Switzerland
Burial 13 August 2016
Curtea de Argeș Cathedral
Spouse Michael I of Romania (m. 1948)
Issue Crown Princess Margareta
Princess Elena
Princess Irina
Princess Sophie
Princess Maria
Full name
Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite
House Bourbon-Parma
Father Prince René of Bourbon-Parma
Mother Princess Margaret of Denmark
Full name
Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite

Queen Anne of Romania (née Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite of Bourbon-Parma; 18 September 1923 – 1 August 2016) was the wife of King Michael I of Romania.

Anne was born in Paris, France, the only daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark. With her three brothers she spent her childhood in France. Their holidays were spent alternately at the Villa Pianore in Lucca with their paternal grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Parma, or at Bernstorff Palace in Copenhagen with their maternal grandfather. In 1939 her family fled from the Nazis and escaped to Spain. From there they went on to Portugal and then to the United States. She attended the Parsons School of Design in New York City from 1940 to 1943. She also worked as a sales assistant at Macy's department store. In 1943, she volunteered for military service in the French Army. She served in Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Luxembourg and in liberated Germany, as an ambulance driver. Anne received the French Croix de guerre for her wartime service.

In November 1947, Anne met King Michael I of Romania who was visiting London for the Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. In fact, a year previously Queen Mother Elena had invited Anne, her mother, and brothers for a visit to Bucharest, but the plan did not come off. Meanwhile, Michael had glimpsed Anne in a newsreel and requested a photograph from the film footage.

She did not want to accompany her parents to London for the royal wedding as she wished to avoid meeting King Michael in official surroundings. Instead, she planned to stay behind, go alone to the Paris railway station and, pretending to be a passerby in the crowd, privately observe the king as his entourage escorted him to his London-bound train. However, at the last moment she was persuaded by her cousin, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, to come to London, where he planned to host a party. Upon arrival, she stopped by Claridge's to see her parents, and found herself being introduced unexpectedly to King Michael. Abashed to the point of confusion, she clicked her heels instead of curtseying, and fled in embarrassment. Charmed, the king saw her again the night of the wedding at the Luxembourg embassy soirée, confided in her some of his concerns about the Communist takeover of Romania and fears for his mother's safety, and nicknamed her Nan. They saw each other several times thereafter on outings in London, always chaperoned by her mother or brother.


...
Wikipedia

...