Queen Anne of Romania

Anne (born Princess Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite of Bourbon-Parma; 18 September 1923 – 1 August 2016) was the wife of King Michael I of Romania. She married Michael in 1948, the year after he had abdicated the throne. Nonetheless, she was known after the marriage as Queen Anne .

Early life Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma. Portrait by Ned Murray, 1943. Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma was born on 18 September 1923 in Paris, France, as the only daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark.

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. Anne's paternal aunt was the last Austrian Empress Zita while her maternal great aunts were Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom. 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. A year earlier, Queen Mother Helen 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.

Events were: On the 10th, a concert by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra was held in their honour at the Romanian Athenaeum. On the 11th, there was a reception held at Athenee Palace in Bucharest where members of the Romanian Government and Diplomatic corps had the chance to congratulate the couple. On the 12th, in the morning at the National Museum of Romanian History there was a book release about Anne and King Michael's 60 years together published by Agerpres. In the evening there was a private formal dinner held at Peleș Castle in Sinaia.

Guests at the events included: their two eldest daughters Crown Princess Margareta and Princess Elena, their sons-in-law Prince Radu and Alexander Nixon and Princess Elena's two children: Prince Nicholas and Elisabeta-Karina; Michael's maternal cousins ex-King Constantine II of Greece, Queen Sofía of Spain, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark who were the original attendants at their wedding in 1948; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Queen Margarita, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and his wife Crown Princess Katherine, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, Maximilian, Margrave of Baden and his wife Archduchess Valerie, Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, Princess Silvia, Duchess of Aosta, Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg, Prince Philip of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Princess Anette.

Family Anne and King Michael had five daughters, all of whom have been married and three of whom have children:

Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania (b. 26 March 1949), married Radu Duda in 1996. Princess Elena of Romania (b. 15 November 1950), married Robin Medforth-Mills on 20 July 1983 and was divorced on 28 November 1991. They have two children. She married secondly Alexander McAteer on 14 August 1998. Princess Irina of Romania (b. 28 February 1953), married John Kreuger on 4 October 1983, from whom she was divorced on 24 November 2003. They have two children. She married secondly John Wesley Walker on 10 November 2007. Princess Sofia of Romania (b. 29 October 1957), married Alain Michel Biarneix on 29 August 1998 and was divorced in 2002, with one child. Princess Maria of Romania (b. 13 July 1964), married Kazimierz Wiesław Mystkowski on 16 September 1995 and divorced in December 2003.

Anne was the younger sister of Prince Jacques of Bourbon-Parma and elder sister to Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma who was the second husband of Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (eldest child of King Umberto II of Italy and Queen Marie José), and Prince André of Bourbon-Parma.

As a granddaughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma she was first cousin to: King Boris III of Bulgaria; Robert Hugo, Duke of Parma; Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria; Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma; Crown Prince Otto of Austria; and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.

Death

Anne died on 1 August 2016 in Ehc - Hospital Morges in Morges, Switzerland, at the age of 92. Although the offer to confer a posthumous military medal on her was declined by her family, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis offered condolences to King Michael and the royal family, issuing a statement which described the deceased as devoted to the country whose name she bore, "Her Majesty Queen Ana of Romania will remain forever in memory and in our hearts as one of the most important symbols of wisdom, dignity and, especially, as a model of moral conduct.". The government of Romania declared that 13 August 2016 shall be a national day of mourning, during which the Romanian flag when displayed is to fly at half-mast at all institutions and buildings, private, cultural and partisan as well as public, and television and radio broadcasts are to adapt their programming appropriately in memory of Anne of Romania, whose funeral would be conducted that day at the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral. On 5 August 2016, President Nicolae Timofti of Moldova likewise decreed national mourning on 13 August in memory of Queen Anne, also calling for the republic to observe a moment of silence at 10 am on that day.

In July 2023, to celebrate a century since her birth, the National Bank of Romania launched a 10 Lei silver coin into the numismatic circuit. The obverse of the coin shows Săvârșin Castle with the inscription "ROMANIA" in a circular arc, the coat of arms of Romania, the nominal value "10 LEI" and the year of issue "2023". The reverse of the coin shows the portrait and cipher of Queen Anne and the inscriptions "QUEEN ANE" and "100 YEARS OF BIRTH".

Honours France: Recipient of the Croix de Guerre Medal 1939–1945 Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand Cross of Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 2nd Class

Dynastic House of Romania: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Carol I Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross, 1st Class Orléans-French Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia

Ancestry