Carol II of Romania

Carol II (15 October 1893 [O.S. 3 October 1893] – 4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 following a coup that deposed his son, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he was crown prince from 1914 at the death of his granduncle King Carol I, until 1925 when he was forced by a marital scandal to renounce his right to the throne in favor of his son.

Carol's life and reign were beset with controversies, such as his desertion from the army during World War I. Another was his marriage to Zizi Lambrino, who was not of royal lineage. After the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece, in March 1921, and later that year they had a son, Michael. Due to his notorious extramarital affair with Elena Lupescu, Carol was forced to renounce his succession rights in 1925. His father removed Carol from the royal house of Romania, and he was exiled to France along with Lupescu. Michael, aged 5, inherited the throne on the death of King Ferdinand in 1927. Princess Helen divorced Carol in 1928.

In the political crisis resulting from the deaths of King Ferdinand and the prime minister and the ineffective regency of Prince Nicholas of Romania, Miron Cristea, and Gheorghe Buzdugan, Carol was allowed to return to Romania in 1930. His name was restored in the royal house of Romania, and he deposed his son and claimed the throne as Carol II. The beginning of his reign was marked by the Great Depression. He weakened parliament, often appointing minority factions of historical parties to the government and attempting to form nationally concentrated governments, such as the Iorga-Argetoianu government. He surrounded himself with a corrupt circle of advisors, including his mistress Lupescu. Another political crisis followed the December 1937 elections, after which no coalition could be formed because of disagreements between the various large political factions. Following this crisis, Carol established a royal dictatorship in 1938 by suspending the 1923 constitution, abolishing all political parties, and forming a National Renaissance Front which consisted mostly of former members of the National Peasants' Party and the National Christian Party whom he had patronized. This government was the last of several attempts to counter the popularity of the fascist Iron Guard.