Life and Family
When he was elected prince of Romania, Carol was unmarried. In 1869, the prince started a trip around Europe and mainly Germany, to find a bride. During this trip he met and married Princess Elizabeth of Wied at Neuwied on 15 November 1869. Their marriage was one of the most unfit matches in history, with Carol being a cold and calculated man while Elizabeth was a notorious dreamer. They had one child, Princess Maria, born in 1871, who died on the 24th of March 1874. She had no prospect of inheriting her father's throne; as mentioned above the Constitution limited succession to the male line. This led to the further estrangement of the royal couple, Elizabeth never completely recovering from the trauma of losing her only child.
After the proclamation of the Kingdom (1881), the succession was a very important matter of state. Since Carol's brother, Leopold, and his oldest son, William, declined their rights, the second son of Leopold, Ferdinand, was named prince of Romania and heir-presumptive to the throne.
Towards the end of Carol's life, though, Carol and Elizabeth finally found a way to understand each other and were reported to have become good friends.
Read more about this topic: Carol I Of Romania
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