by Scott Mehl

Princess Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania

Queen Elisabeth of Romania was the wife of Romania’s first king, Carol I. She was born Princess Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied on December 29,1843, at Schloss Monrepos in Neuwied, Principality of Wied, now in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Her parents were Hermann, Prince of Wied and Princess Marie of Nassau, and she had two younger brothers:

Through her mother, Elisabeth’s first cousins included Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, Queen Emma of the Netherlands, Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany, and King Gustaf V of Sweden.

As a child, Elisabeth was educated at home by tutors, including German linguist Georg Sauerwein and famed pianist Clara Schumann. Elisabeth was an avid student, and for some time wanted to become a teacher. Her love of music and the arts – particularly writing – would shape the woman she would become as an adult. It was even during her early years studying with Sauerwein that her pseudonym ‘Carmen Sylva’ was born.

In the late 1850s, Elisabeth was considered as a prospective bride of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, but he was not interested. In 1861, she first met her future husband, Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Several years later, he was later elected Ruling Prince of the United Principalities of Romania, taking the name Prince Carol I. After meeting again in 1869 when Carol was touring Europe in search of a bride, the couple was married in Neuwied on November 15, 1869. They had one daughter – Maria – born in September 1870. Maria died of scarlet fever in 1874, and Elisabeth never fully recovered from the loss of her only child.

Soon the country was embroiled in the Russo-Turkish War, and Elisabeth worked tirelessly to care for the wounded, arranging for hospitals, ambulance services, and medicine. She later went on to establish the Queen Elisabeth Society which provided free medical care for the needy, and the Queen Elisabeth Blind Asylum in 1909, for the visually impaired. In addition, she became an ambassador of sorts, promoting Romanian culture and arts throughout the country and Europe. At a time when traditional Romanian costume was often considered ‘peasants garments’, Elisabeth and her ladies-in-waiting often dressed in the outfits for public appearances. She arranged for exhibits of Romanian crafts at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1867,1889 and 1900, as well as holding an exhibit – Women in the Arts and Crafts – in Berlin in 1912. When Romania was not quite part of the normal ‘tourist circuit’, Elisabeth promoted the country and would even receive travelers on the Orient Express when they would stop in Sinaia.

A relentless patron of the arts, she often hosted writers, composers, and musicians, and helped promote their works. In later years, she had a concert hall built near Peleș Castle specifically for George Enescu, the famed Romanian musician. But her true passion was writing. Under the pseudonym Carmen Sylva, she wrote hundreds of poems, plays, novels, short stories and essays, and thanks to her fluency in several languages, published numerous translations of other works.

Shortly after becoming Queen of Romania in 1881, Elisabeth was embroiled in controversy. Having no children, King Carol had adopted his nephew, the future King Ferdinand, as his heir. Ferdinand soon became involved with one of Elisabeth’s ladies-in-waiting, Elena Văcărescu. The Queen encouraged the relationship, despite the fact that a marriage would be forbidden under the Romanian constitution which stated that the heir was not permitted to marry a Romanian citizen. The scandal resulted in Elena, Ferdinand and Queen Elisabeth all being sent out of the country. The Queen returned for some time to Neuwied, while Ferdinand was sent on a tour of Europe to find an appropriate wife.

In her later years, Elisabeth continued to support and promote the arts and continued with her writing. She died on March 2, 1916, and is buried beside her husband at the Cathedral of the Curtea de Argeş Monastery.

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