Carol I of Romania
Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 - 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881 and as King from 1881 to 1914. On 20 April 1866, he was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d'état. Romania was declared an independent and sovereign nation in May 1877. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War in 1878 secured Romanian independence, and he was proclaimed King on March 26, 1881 [O.S. 14 March]. He was the first ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, which ruled the country until 1947, when a socialist republic was declared.
Carol I personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo/Romanian army during the siege of Plevna during his reign. The Treaty of Berlin in 1878 granted the country internationally recognized independence, and in 1913 it acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria. Despite popular opposition, the king entered into a top-secret military alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1883. He was unable to activate the alliance when World War I broke out. Romania remained neutral until 1916, when it joined the Allies.
Domestic politics was centered on the rival Liberal and Conservative parties. Romania's industry and infrastructure were greatly improved during Carol's reign, but this process also resulted in major scandals, including the Strousberg Affair, in which Carol was personally implicated. Overall, the country still had an agrarian economy, and the peasantry's situation did not improve, leading to a major revolt in 1907, which was bloodily suppressed by the authorities.
On November 15, 1869, he married Princess Elisabeth of Wied. They only had one daughter, Maria, who died when she was three years old. Carol never had a son, so his elder brother Leopold was next in line to the throne. In October 1880, Leopold relinquished his right of succession to his son William, who relinquished his claim six years later to his younger brother, the future King Ferdinand.
