The Romanian Royal Family received the Russian Imperial Family on their State Visit to Constanța, on the shores of the Black Sea, on this day in 1914, 110 years ago, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.
The Russian Imperial Family sailed to Constanța on the Royal Yacht Standart, as described by Grand Duchess Olga:
“At about 10 a.m. we arrived at the pier in Constanta. We paid a visit to the King and Queen and went with them to the Cathedral. So many people! After returning, Papa and the King went somewhere and then to the “Cahul”. Breakfast with the Queen in the pier pavilion with the whole family… At 6 o’clock we went to the parade for the troops. All the handsome! Mama didn’t go. At 8 o’clock with Papa, Mama, Romanians and z of us went to the Palace for a state dinner. Illumination, fireworks…”
In the evening, the Romanian Royal Family held a State Banquet for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna at the Royal Palace of Constanța.
“The Empress was wearing a classic, flowing dress. Her hair was decorated with a diamond ribbon. Queen Elizabeth forgot her orders, and then the Empress took off her own to be on an equal footing with her. Crown Princess Marie was the only one who wore her orders, and this was her only decoration, except for a large diamond cross on a long chain…”
The Russian and Romanian Royal Families tried to engineer a marriage between Crown Prince Carol and Grand Duchess Olga during the visit:
‘In the summer of 1914, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War, the Romanov family boarded their imperial yacht “The Standart” and sailed to Constantza, Romania.The idea was to continue to pursue the idea of a diplomatic marriage between the royal houses of Russia and Romania.
Grand Duchess Olga, Tsar Nicholas II’s eldest daughter, had reached marriageable age and would have made a good match for Carol, the eldest son of the Crown Prince and Princess of Romania. Earlier, the Romanian royal family visited the Romanovs at Tsarskoe Selo for several days, but no engagement between the couple was announced at the time. The of the 1914 state visit was to give it another try.
However, Grand Duchess Olga was not interested in the Romanian prince, she insisted that she did not wish to leave her beloved Russia or change her nationality, as she would be forced to do if she married Carol. The idea of the Romanian marriage was abandoned with Russia’s embarkation on World War I, and Grand Duchess Olga remained unmarried.’
Carol did not find Olga’s high cheek-boned face and her curt and sensitive mannerism appealing as Olga was known to be rather independent and opinionated (one might say that Olga was ahead of her time) but also very compassionate and sensitive. And to make sure that Carol would not try to make any advancements on Tatiana (17), Maria (15), or Anastasia (13), all four of them spent time tanning before going on this voyage and as a result the Romanian nobles where put off by the Romanov daughters appearance (as darker skin was not considered the standard of beauty for Princesses at the time).
