The 75th Birthday of Her Majesty The Titular Queen of Romania
Born on March 26, 1949 as Princess Margarita of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern, Her Majesty is the first daughter of King Michael I of Romania and his wife, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma. Born in exile after her father's forced and illegal abdication, she spent the early part of her life in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Like her four younger sisters, Margarita was baptized in the Eastern Orthodox faith. She studied at the University of Edinburgh and worked in various United Nations agencies. She later gave up this career to dedicate herself to charitable work in Romania, where she could enter immediately after the Romanian Revolution of 1989 (in comparison to her father, who faced difficulties from the authorities until 1997). In her charitable activities, she met Radu Duda, whom she married in Switzerland in 1996.
Following a paradigm shift in relations between the former sovereign and Romanian authorities, King Michael I supported a European tour in support of Romania's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During these years, Margarita emerged as her father's successor, assisting him in numerous representative activities and undertaking many others on her own or alongside her husband. Between 2015 and 2023, Margarita has been the President of the Romanian Red Cross.
Official portrait of Her Majesty at the Royal Palace in Bucharest
In 2017, following the death of her father, she assumed the leadership of the Royal House of Romania and is a claimant to the abolished throne of Romania. According to the Statutes of the Romanian Royal House, her title, from the moment of the passing of King Michael I, is Her Majesty The Queen of Romania. However, in official and and diplomatic circles, she is known by her ad personam title, that of Custodian of the Romanian Crown, along with the style of Her Majesty.
Article I – Characteristics and Members
[…] 2. The head of the Royal House of Romania, according to all current practices and conventions, is, as of right or in fact, Sovereign in terms of authority over the Royal House of Romania at any given moment. Immediately following the death of the Head of the Royal House of Romania, without any subsequent proclamation, the Heir Apparent or Heir Presumptive, depending on who is alive and first in the line of succession at that time, shall from that moment receive the title and style of King or Queen, regardless of the Family's position as a reigning or non-reigning Dynasty and regardless of whether, later on, they choose to use such a title or appellation. […]
Article II – The Titles of the Members of the Royal House
1. The current Head of the Royal House of Romania is Her Majesty Queen Margarita (jure sanguinis) and Custodian of the Romanian Crown (ad personam). […]
Through her parents, Margarita is a direct descendant of the imperial and royal families of Europe, counting among her ancestors European emperors, kings, or ruling princes. Her Majesty’s complete heraldic family tree can be seen below. Long live The Queen!
Heraldic family tree of Her Majesty The Titular Queen of Romania
Arms by WappenWiki
