Marie of Romania and her son Prince Nicholas (copyright ajv private collection) Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, later Her Majesty Queen Marie of Romania, was a member of the British Royal Family. She was born October 29, 1875, at Eastwell Park in Kent, the eldest daughter of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria and Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh (née Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, a daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia). As her father was in the Royal Navy she spent much of her time abroad, particularly in Malta.
In her youth, Princess Marie was considered a suitable match for marriage to the royalty of Europe. Her first cousin, His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales, later George V, fell in love with her and proposed marriage. However, Marie's mother did not believe in marriage to first cousins as it was forbidden by the Russian church.
In 1893, Princess Marie married Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, nephew of King Carol I of Romania. The marriage produced three daughters and three sons:
In 1914, Carol I died and Ferdinand ascended the throne of Romania. Crown Princess Marie then became styled Her Majesty Queen Marie of Romania. Due to World War I, they were not crowned as monarchs till 1922.
During the war, Queen Marie volunteered as a Red Cross nurse to help the sick and wounded. After the war ended, she represented Romania at Versailles, gaining back territory lost by Romania during the war. After the death of her husband in 1927, Queen Marie remained in Romania, writing books and her memoirs. She died July 10, 1938, and was buried in Sinaia. She is held in high esteem by members of the Baha'i Faith as she was the first royalty to declare faith in that religion.
Marie was famously mentioned in Dorothy Parker's poem "Comment".
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