King Carol I. of Romania Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
(20.04.1839 - 10.10.1914)
place of birth:  Sigmaringen, Provinz Hohenzollern

Romania:  His Majesty the King,  hon. Generalfeldmarschall

                            

Carol I was elected prince of Romania in April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexander John Cuza and proclaimed king on March 26, 1881. He was the first ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty which would rule the country until the proclamation of a republic in 1947. During his reign, Romania achieved full independence from the Ottoman Empire (Treaty of Berlin 1878) acquiring the southern part of the Dobruja from Bulgaria in 1913. Domestic political life, still dominated by the country's wealthy landowning families organized around the rival Liberal and Conservative parties, was punctuated by two widespread peasant uprisings, in Walachia (the southern half of the country) in April 1888 and in Moldavia (the northern half) in March 1907.

King Carol I's childlessness left his elder brother Leopold next in line to the throne. In October 1880 Leopold renounced his right of succession in favor of his son William, who in turn surrendered his claim eight years later in favor of his younger brother, the future king Ferdinand. Carol I, known as Karl I in Germany, was made an honorary Prussian field marshal in August 1913.

     
  

King
of Romania 
15.03.1881  -  10.10.1914
Generalfeldmarschall  20.04.1909  (Ehrentitel)
Schwarzer Adler-Orden