The End of The Reign
The long rule of Carol helped the quick development of the Romanian state. But, towards the end of his reign and the start of the World War I, Carol wanted to enter the war on the side of the Central Powers. However, Romanian public opinion was overwhelmingly Francophile and sided with the Triple Entente. Carol had signed a secret treaty in 1883 which had linked Romania with the Triple Alliance (1882). Although the treaty was to be activated only if Russia attacked one of the signatories, Carol was convinced that the honourable thing to do was to enter the war supporting the German Empire and his cousin, Emperor William II.
An emergency meeting was held with members of the government where Carol told them about the secret treaty and shared his opinion with them. Prime Minister Ionel Brătianu sided with the king; although Brătianu was known to be a Francophile, he was as anti-Russian as Carol. However, the rest of the cabinet strongly disagreed. This opposition is said to have brought on his sudden death on 10 October 1914. The future King Ferdinand, under the influence of his wife, Marie of Edinburgh, a British princess, was more willing to listen to public opinion.
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