Helen of Greece and Denmark - Crown Princess of Romania

Crown Princess of Romania

In December 1919 Helen met Crown Prince Carol of Romania who was her second cousin (their mothers were first cousins) in Lucerne; he was returning from a world tour after his forced divorce from his first wife. Helen accompanied Carol to Romania to celebrate the formal engagement of her brother George to Carol's sister Elisabeth. In November 1920 Carol visited Zurich and asked King Constantine for Helen's hand in marriage. The match was not an arranged one; indeed, Helen's mother was against it.

In December 1920 King Constantine I was restored to his throne in Greece and Helen returned to Athens. On 10 March 1921 Helen married Crown Prince Carol of Romania in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. She was the first princess of Greece to marry in Athens. The bride wore the Romanian 'Greek Key' tiara, a gift from her mother-in-law. The couple honeymooned at Tatoi before sailing for Bucharest at the beginning of May.

Helen and Carol had an apartment in the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, but they spent most of their time at the Foishor, a Swiss chalet in the grounds of the Peleş Castle in Sinaia. The marriage was at first happy, but soon soured.

On 25 October 1921, Helen and Carol's first and only child Michael was born at the Foishor. "There were complications and for a while neither mother nor child were expected to pull through". The baby was rumored to have been born premature (he was born only seven and a half months after his parents' wedding), but the fact that he weighed nine pounds at birth fueled speculation that Helen had become pregnant before the wedding.

In December 1921 the family moved to a house in the Chaussée Kyselef in Bucharest. Helen tried to establish a nursing school to improve standards in Romania. She was also appointed honorary colonel of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the Roshiori.

In 1925 Carol began an affair with Elena "Magda" Lupescu. In December 1925 he renounced his rights to the throne and left Romania. On 4 January 1926, the Romanian Parliament ratified the acceptance of Carol's renunciation and passed a bill giving Helen the title Princess of Romania. Helen remained in Romania with her son Michael who was now heir to the throne. The following summer she went to Italy to try to arrange a meeting with Carol but failed.