Princess Sophie of Romania

Princess Sophie of Romania (Romanian: Sofia; born 29 October 1957[1]) is the fourth daughter of King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania.

Princess Sophie
Born (1957-10-29) 29 October 1957
Tatoi Palace, Decelea, Kingdom of Greece
Spouse
Alain Biarneix
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2002)​
IssueElisabeta-Maria de Roumanie Biarneix
HouseRomania (since 2011)
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (until 2011)
FatherMichael I of Romania
MotherPrincess Anne of Bourbon-Parma
ReligionRomanian Orthodox
Personal details
Alma mater
Romanian royal family
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania (1881-1947)
  • HRH Prince Paul‡
    HRH Princess Lia‡
    • HRH Prince Carol Ferdinand‡
  • HRH Prince Alexander‡

*Titled according to private family rules

‡Status disputed

Early life
Princess Sophie held by her father, King Michael I with two of her elder sisters, Princesses Elena (left) and Irina (right).

Princess Sophie was born at Tatoi Palace in Decelea, Kingdom of Greece. She was baptised in the Romanian Orthodox Church; her godmother and namesake was her father's first cousin Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, later Queen of Spain. She was educated in Switzerland where her family lived and in the United Kingdom.

Education

Sophie studied at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, US, where she studied Fine Arts and Photography for a couple of years. Later she studied Graphic Design and Photography at Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.

Activities

Princess Sophie has exhibited her photography for a number of years, and has held exhibitions in France and in Romania.[2] She took part in the Royal Bridges Art Exhibition in Dubai in 2016.[3]

Sophie's involvement in Romania changed significantly after the 1989 Romanian Revolution. She accompanied her older sister Margareta as the first members of the Royal Family to set foot on Romanian soil following the revolution in January 1990. The visit received widespread press coverage[4] and was the beginning of the return of King Michael's family to public life in Romania. During the initial visit, Sophie was horrified at some of the appalling living conditions she encountered[5] and became an active Vice-President of the newly formed Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation, involved in both fund raising and the distribution of aid. Sophie and Margareta both moved to their parents's house in Switzerland to help co-ordinate the huge increase in activity in King Michael's office in the months that followed the Revolution. In 1995 Sophie published a collection of children's stories to benefit the Foundation.

After some years of being less frequently in Romania, Sophie has been present in Romania more often in recent years attending the 25th Anniversary of the return of the Royal Family in 2015, the 150th Anniversary of the Royal House[6] in 2016 and the annual reception for the Diplomatic Corps given by Crown Princess Margareta on 29 November 2017.[7] The same day Princess Sophie was invested with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown in a ceremony conducted by Crown Princess Margareta at the Elisabeta Palace.

She was present at the Lying in State of King Michael I in December 2017 and Queen Anne in August 2016 (held firstly at Peles Castle, and then in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in both cases), at their public funerals in Bucharest and at their burials in Curtea de Argeș.

Family

Princess Sophie has a daughter from her former marriage to Alain Michel Léonce Biarneix dit "de Laufenborg" (b. Nancy, France on 10 July 1957). They married on 29 August 1998 in a civil ceremony in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Later they divorced in 2002.

Titles, styles, honours and awards
Styles of
Princess Sophie of Romania
Reference styleHer Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

Titles and styles

As her father did not approve of her marriage in 1998, he stripped her of her titles of pretense, but they were restored after her divorce.[9]

Dynastic honours

Awards

Publications

In 1995 Princess Sophie's first book, a collection of stories for children written in Romanian was published in Romania. All Royalties till date are donated to her eldest sister, Margareta of Romania’s charity FPMR of which Sophie is the Vice-President.

  • Romanian: A.S.R Principesa Sofia a Romaniei: Copilul Soarelui. Bucharest: Dali Publishing House, 1995.
    (translated: Children of the Sun by H.R.H Princess Sophie of Romania)

Princess Sophie has had published the below photographic books of her Fine Art landscape and nature photography focused on "the beauty and light of Brittany in France".

  • Sophie de Roumanie: When Nature Calls - 5 November 2010
  • Sophie de Roumanie:
    • French: Au fil des fleurs, Un recueil d'images et de réflexions
    • Along the flowers' way, A book of images and reflexions - 10 November 2010
  • Sophie de Roumanie:
    • French: Petit Clin d'oeil breton
    • A Small Wink From Brittany - 3 October 2011
  • Sophie de Roumanie: The Book of Gifts - 24 August 2013
  • Sophie de Roumanie: Portfolio - 24 October 2013

In January 2017 the Romamanian Publishing House, Curtea Veche announced that its first publication of the year would dedicate the work of Princess Sophie in a 37-page limited edition and individually signed hardback Photographic book.[13]

  • Ultramarine. Curtea Veche: Curtea Veche Publishing House, 2017.

Ancestry

References
  1. "ASR Principesa Sofia". Familia Regala (in Romanian). Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  2. "Bienvenue – Sophie de Roumanie Photographie". Sophie de Roumanie Photographie (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  3. "HRH Princess Sophie of Romania – Sophie de Roumanie - Royalbridges.org". royalbridges.org. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. Pictures and articles on Princess Margareta and Princess Sophie's visit were published on the front pages of newspapers Adevarul (19th and 20 January 1990), Tineretul Liber (19 January 1990) and Romania Libera (21 January 1990).
  5. "Romania's Exiled King Longs to Take His Family Home—after 42 Years—and Reclaim His Throne". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  6. "Sărbătoarea de 10 Mai la Castelul Peleș | Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". www.romaniaregala.ro. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  7. "Seara regală în onoarea Corpului Diplomatic 2017 | Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". www.romaniaregala.ro. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  8. "ASR Principesa Sofia". Familia Regala (in Romanian). Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  9. Libertatea
  10. Familia Regala
  11. Romania Regala
  12. Sophie of Romania
  13. https://www.romaniaregala.ro/jurnal/ultramarine-principesa-sofia-a-romaniei/#comments
Princess Sophie of Romania
Born: 29 October 1957
Romanian royalty
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Elisabeta-Karina De Roumanie-Medforth-Mills		 — TITULAR —
Line of succession to the former Romanian throne
According to King Michael's 2007 and 2015 statutes
4th position		 Succeeded by
Elisabeta-Maria De Roumanie-Biarneix
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