AGERPRES News

Remains of Prince Nicolae and his wife, Ioana Doletti, reburied in new cathedral in Curtea de Arges

The remains of Prince Nicolae, brother of King Carol II, and those of his wife, Ioana Doletti, were reburied on Friday in the new Archiepiscopal and Royal Cathedral in southern Curtea de Arges.

Several hundred people, including many locals, attended the ceremony on the plateau in front of the new cathedral.

The coffins were carried on the shoulders of soldiers and deposited in the cathedral before 11:00, while the military guard presented the honours.

The religious service was officiated by a group of priests led by Archbishop Calinic of Arges and Muscel, with the blessing of Patriarch Daniel.

The Custodian of the Romanian Crown was represented by Prince Radu at the military and religious ceremony. Also present were representatives of the Army, local administration and civil society, as well as members of Her Majesty’s Royal House.

Prince Regent Nicolae and his wife were buried next to King Carol II in the narthex of the new cathedral. As the coffin containing the remains of Prince Nicolae was lowered into the crypt, the guard of honour fired three volleys and presented the salute.

Following the request of the Royal House, the government approved earlier this year the bringing home of the remains of the second son of King Ferdinand the Unifier and Queen Maria, and of his wife, Ioana Doletti.

Prince Nicolae of Romania was born at Pelisor Castle in Sinaia on 3 August 1903, the son of Crown Prince Ferdinand and Crown Princess Maria. Prince Nicolae was christened by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

He was sworn in as Romania’s first regent on 20 July 1927, aged 23. He was regent until 8 June 1930, when the throne was taken over by his brother, King Carol II. On 9 April 1937, Carol II excluded Prince Nicolae from the Royal Family because he did not recognise Prince Nicolae’s marriage to Ioana Doletti, suppressed his titles and dynastic rights and authorised him to bear the name Nicolae Brana, reports the Royal House.

Prince Nicolae left Romania for Spain and then Switzerland. After the communist regime was established in Romania, he supported Romanian exile organisations, including the Romanian Institute (and library) in Freiburg, the magazines Libertatea Romaneasca and Fapta, printed in Madrid, and the Factum publishing house. He founded the Romanian Research Centre in Paris and in 1954 the Union of Romanian Associations in Germany. After the death of his wife in 1963, he married a second time in 1967, to Thereza Figueira de Mello, born in Venezuela.

Prince Nicolae met King Mihai and Queen Ana once in exile, in Switzerland. He died in Madrid on 9 July 1978, aged 74, and was buried in Lausanne, with his first wife.