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Prince Nicholas of Romania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prince Nicholas of Romania (Romanian: Nicolae de România; also known, after 1937, as Nicolae Brana; August 5, 1903— June 9, 1978) was the second son of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania.
Born in Sinaia, Nicholas was the younger brother of Carol, heir apparent, who renounced his rights of succession on December 12, 1925. When Ferdinand died in 1927, he was succeeded as king by Carol's five year-old son, Michael; Nicholas himself had been proposed as heir when Carol married the commoner Zizi Lambrino in 1918 (a marriage later annulled). Given Michael's youth, a regency council had to be formed (July 20), and Prince Nicholas was forced to abandon his career in the British Royal Navy in order to return home to serve on the council, alongside Gheorghe Buzdugan and Patriarch Miron Cristea.
Although unofficially referred to as "the first-ranking regent", Nicholas resented having to abandon his naval career and had no interest in politics. He tried to continue his father's cooperation with the National Liberals (PNL), and to contain the opposition of the National Peasants' Party (PNŢ) to the regency by appointing a national government under Ion I. C. Brătianu. Refused by Brătianu, he witnessed a change in Carol's stance in mid 1927, when the latter argued that he had been forced to give up his throne. The cooperation between Carol and the PNŢ was successfully neutralized by the PNL, but Brătianu's death in 1927 restored contacts and increased the appeal of the PNŢ. By then, the regency was widely perceived as comprised of figureheads, and, after Constantin Sărăţeanu (an appointee of PNŢ leader Iuliu Maniu) succeeded the deceased Buzdugan in 1929, it was believed to be torn apart by contrasting political ambitions. According to Nicolae Iorga, Miron Cristea himself had said:
"The Regency does not work because it has no head. The Prince smokes his cigarettes, Sărăţeanu looks through his books, and I, as a priest, can only try to reconcile."
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| Styles of Prince Nicholas of Romania |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Nicholas was at first delighted when Carol returned home to Romania in 8 June 1930 (becoming King Carol II and thus putting an end to the regency arrangement). He welcomed the Parliament session that voted to repeal the 1926 legislation, and accompanied his newly-arrived brother from Băneasa Airfield to Cotroceni Palace.
However, the cordial relations between Nicholas and Carol were short-lived. Nicholas wanted to marry Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti, a divorced woman, but was aware that it might be embarrassing for the king to have to authorize such a marriage. Carol himself suggested that the couple should marry without first seeking his consent (even though members of the royal family were required to obtain the king's consent before marrying). Carol had intimated that in these circumstances he would accept the marriage as a fait accompli, but after the wedding Carol promptly used it as an excuse to deprive Nicholas of his royal privileges and titles and to exile him from Romania. He left for Spain, and ultimately settled in Switzerland.
Nicholas was married twice: on October 28, 1931 to Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti (1902–February 17, 1963) and in June 1967 to a Brazilian, Thereza Lisboa Figueira de Mello, with no issue of either marriage. He died in Madrid in 1978.
He held the titles of Air Marshal of the Romanian Air Force, honorary Lieutenant of the British Royal Navy, Knight of the Order of Ferdinand I of Romania, Bailiff Grand Cross of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur, Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I of Belgium; Order of the White Lion of Czechoslovakia, of Order of the Star of Karađorđe of Yugoslavia, of Holy Saviour of Greece; held the chain or Order of Carol I of Romania, and the Order of the White Eagle of Poland, was chief of the Three Regents, July 1927 to June 1930.
He was deprived of his royal rank and prerogatives by decision of the crown Council on 9 April 1937, and received the name of Nicolae Brana. He assumed the surname of Hohenzollern by Royal Decree on 10 June 1942, and was recognised as H.R.H. Prince of Hohenzollern, with his wife as H.R.H. Princess of Hohenzollern on July 18, 1945.
- Young Nicholas as seen by an American visitor
- "Speed-Fiend Nicholas", in Time Magazine, 1929
- Ioan Scurtu, "Principele Nicolae aşa cum a fost", in Magazin Istoric
 Prince Nicholas with his medals |
 Prince Nicholas in the Air Force |
 Nicky in Bambino |
 Queen Marie and her son, Nicholas |
 Nicholas in Roman style |
 Nicholas in his youth |