Twenty years of history in letters
Twenty years of history in letters

Summary/Abstract: he letters of Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Coburg and her daughter Princess Maria, who became the Queen of Romania, contain unique details about European royal families, but also about historical events that unfold at a fast pace culminating in the Great War and the new frontiers of post-war Europe when some empires and monarchies disappear from the map.The correspondence contains unprecedented information from the private life of the royal families of England, Russia, Spain, Romania, as well as from the German duchies. Interesting portraits of members of these families are described here: William the Kaiser, ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alix and the imperial children; Grand Duke Vladimir, Miechen – Grand Duchess Vladimir and their sons Boris, Andrei, Kyrill; then Eulalia of Spain, and especially King Alfonso XIII and his consort, Victoria Eugenie (Ena); from England - Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra; Queen Victoria's daughters – Princess Beatrice, King George V and Queen Mary, and many others. Likewise, the life of the Duchess of Coburg's family interferes with religious precepts when it comes to the conclusion of the marriages of Beatrice and Victoria Melita, as well as with the pride of the sovereigns who were to give their consent, especially King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Duchess of Coburg knew how to skillfully negotiate the complicated rules imposed either by Tsar Nicholas II when it came to the marriage of Victoria Melita to Grand Duke Kyrill, or by the Spanish royal family or the Vatican when it came to the marriage of Beatrice to Alfonso, Infanta of Spain. These two marriages tested the diplomatic and maternal qualities of the Duchess of Coburg. From Romania, Missy sent news to her mother about family life, surrounded by Carol Rex who lived only for politics, by the Queen-Poet, or by her husband Ferdinand, by the little intrigues of the Bucharest Court.The Great War brings dislocations in family relationships, due to being in different political alliances, the Central Powers and the Entente. Maria Alexandrovna is on the side of Germany, but suffers for her family in Russia. Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was in the same position. On the side of the Entente were the other two daughters, Victoria Melita and Regina Maria. In this context, Infanta Beatrice (Spain being a neutral state) had mediated the correspondence between her mother and her older sister. Maria Alexandrovna's death in 1920 marked the end of an era, the Fabron legacy a final chapter.

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