Turbulent and sad history. Queen Marie of Romania deserved much more. Writers and historians are never allowed to express freely.

Sadly her efforts to unite the worlds clashed with the clergy and the elitist. My feeling is Islam played a greater role in her life. Had it not been fears from this quarter, she might have been known as one of the greatest queens of that era.

When she agreed to the arranged marriage with Prince Ferdinand Hohenzollern, future King of Romania, Princess Marie has an adventurous adolescence during which she cultivated her inclinations for travel, contemplation and art.
Her love for travel and the love for the sea were inherited from her father, Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, a sailor of profession. As a child Marie saw Malta, Crete, Rhodes and Egypt, together with a captain sailor much older than her, an aspect which did not impede her falling in love with him. Her education though, was received from her mother, Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Czar Alexander II. From her she inherited her taste for painting, poetry and music.
Marie had a decisive role in the cultural destiny of Balcic. She loved literature and philosophy and aided with tuitions and money many of the personalities of the literary and artistic world. She wrote children stories and poetry, she painted in water color, generally flowers, especially lilies and poppies.