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| La reine mère Hélène de Roumanie et la princesse Margrethe de Bourbon-Parme plus tard dans leur vie. |
La reine mère Hélène de Roumanie et la princesse Margrethe de Bourbon-Parme étaient cousines germaines. Hélène et Margrethe étaient toutes deux descendantes du roi Christian IX de Danemark (1818-1906) et de son épouse la reine Louise (1817-1898 ; née Hesse-Cassel). Les enfants d'Hélène et Margrethe formèrent plus tard une alliance dynastique et un mariage d'amour fantastiques.
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| Princesse Hélène de Grèce et du Danemark |
La reine mère Hélène de Roumanie (1896-1982) était la fille aînée du roi Constantin Ier des Hellènes (1868-1923) et de son épouse la reine Sophie (1870-1932 ; née de Prusse), fille du kaiser Frédéric III et de l'impératrice Victoria (née Grande-Bretagne). En 1921, la princesse Hélène de Grèce et du Danemark épousa le prince héritier Carol de Roumanie (1893-1953 ; futur roi), fils aîné du roi Ferdinand de Roumanie et de la reine Marie (née Grande-Bretagne / Saxe-Cobourg et Gotha).
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| Princesse Margrethe du Danemark |
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| Margrethe de Danemark épouse René de Bourbon-Parme
Photographie (c) Chicago Tribune, 10 juin 1921 |
La princesse Margrethe de Bourbon-Parme (1895-1992) était la fille unique du prince Valdemar de Danemark (1858-1939) et de son épouse la princesse Marie (1865-1909 ; née Orléans), fille du prince Robert, duc de Chartres (1840-1910), et de la princesse Françoise d'Orléans (1844-1925). En 1921, la princesse Margrethe de Danemark épousa le prince René de Bourbon-Parme (1894-1962), l'un des fils du duc Robert de Parme et de l'infante Maria Antonia de Portugal.
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| La reine mère Hélène de Roumanie et la princesse Margrethe de Bourbon-Parme au Vatican |
De plus, ces dames royales étaient les mères du roi Michel de Roumanie (1921-2017) et de son épouse la reine Anne (1923-2016 ; née Bourbon-Parme). Michel et Anne tombèrent amoureux l’un de l’autre en 1947. Leurs mères étaient toutes deux extrêmement favorables au jeune couple : en effet, Helen et Margrethe s’associaient pour tenter de résoudre un problème particulier posé par l’union de leur fils et de leur fille : la religion. Le roi Michel de Roumanie était membre de l’Église orthodoxe roumaine et la princesse Anne de Bourbon-Parme était membre de l’Église catholique romaine. La reine mère roumaine et la princesse Bourbon-Parme décidèrent de se rendre au Vatican pour demander en personne au pape d’accorder une dispense pour l’union de leurs enfants.
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| Report on Helen and Margrethe’s visit to the Vatican on 23 February 1948
Photograph (c) The Guardian, 6 March 1948 |
Queen Anne of Romania recalls the mission of her mother and mother-in-law to the Holy Father in her memoirs:
Our two mothers continued to be of invaluable help to us. They went together to the Vatican to seek the agreement of Pope Pius XII to our marriage. Indeed there was a very big impediment, because I was Catholic and he was Orthodox. The Pope refused to recognise our union unless we undertook to have our children baptised in the Catholic faith, and this was something the King could not accept. The discussion between the two mothers and the Pope was a tense one. My mother even thumped the table with her fist in anger, but the Pope’s response to this outburst was simply: ‘Eh?!
Alas, Helen and Margrethe were unsuccessful in securing the pontiff’s agreement. However, they were unwavering in their support of their children. Michael and Anne married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony at Athens in 1948. Helen was able to attend; however, Margrethe was not able to be present, as the head of her husband’s dynasty, Duke Elias of Parma, forbade all members of the Bourbon-Parma family to celebrate this happy occasion. Happily, in 1966, King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania were married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at Monte Carlo; the couple were aided in this by their dear friend, Princess Grace of Monaco.
King Michael and Queen Anne were married for sixty-eight years; they had five daughters: Princess Margarita (b.1949), Princess Helen (b.1950), Princess Irina (b.1953), Princess Sophie (b.1957), and Princess Marie (b.1964). In 1980, Michael and Anne’s mothers both had to relocate to Switzerland, thus being closer to their children. Queen Mother Helen was forced by financial constraints to sell her villa in Florence, and she moved into an apartment near her son and daughter-in-law in Lausanne: Helen died there two years later in 1982. Princess Margrethe moved into Michael and Anne’s home, and lived with them for eleven years, before returning to Denmark: Margrethe died there in 1992.
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| A Royal Matriarchy: Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma, Helen of Romania (standing), Margarita of Romania (seated), Irina of Romania, Anne of Romania, Sophie of Romania, Marie of Romania, and Helen of Romania. |
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| Brief obituary of Queen Mother Helen of Romania
Photograph (c) The Guardian, 30 November 1982 |
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| Queen Anne of Romania, Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Helen of Romania and her son Prince Nicholas |
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