Statue of Queen Marie of Romania to be unveiled in UK

A bronze statue of Queen Marie of Romania will be unveiled next month in Ashford, UK, where she was born. It is the first statue of Queen Marie unveiled outside of Romania. The monument will be inaugurated on December 12. The 2.2 meter-high statue will be placed in Elwick Square, close to the city’s historical area and to the Victoria Park, named after Queen Marie’s paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria. The statue is the work of sculptor Valentin Duicu, a graduate of the National University of Arts in Bucharest. He won the contest organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) for the monument. Queen Marie was born on October 29, 1875, in Eastwell Manor, a property adjoined to the town of Ashford. Her parents were Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. She married the future King Ferdinand of Romania in 1892. In 1922, the two were crowned monarchs of the Greater Romania, enlarged after the 1918 union, at the specially-built cathedral in Alba Iulia. As queen, she was very popular in Romania, especially after her work as a nurse during the First World War. She had six children: Carol II, King of Romania; Elisabeth, Queen of the Hellenes; Maria, Queen of Yugoslavia; Prince Nicholas; Princess Ileana; and Prince Mircea, who died aged three. editor@romania-insider.com