Romania’s royalties go to court over Peles Castle ownership

The lawsuit in which Prince Paul of Romania claims ownership over two-thirds of the Peles Castle, one of the most valuable historic properties in Romania, started on Thursday, May 21, in the Bucharest Court, according to stirileprotv.ro. The Peles Castle is currently owned by King Michael, Romania’s last monarch, the son of Prince Carol II of Romania and Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark. Prince Paul is the grandson of Carol II. His father, Carol Lambrino, was the elder son of Carol II with his first wife, Zizi Lambrino, a Romanian commoner. The marriage, which didn’t have the consent of King Ferdinand I, Carol II’s father, was annulled. This is why Prince Paul hasn’t been recognized as a member of Romania’s royal house by King Michael and his successors. However, Romania’s High Court recognized Prince Paul as an official heir of Carol II, which allowed him to claim some of the royal family’s fortune in court. He went after several assets, including the Peles Castle, which is valued at some EUR 50-60 million. He filed the case for the Peles Castle in October 2014. The Romanian state returned the Peles Castle to King Michael in 2008. According to King Michael’s lawyers, the property isn’t part of the royal house’s assets, but his private property. Some historians say that King Michael received Peles Castle directly from King Ferdinand, by will, and was never the property of Carol II. The lawsuit will likely be a long and controversial one. In the past, Prince Paul also went against the state claiming the return of thousands of hectares of forests, various assets, and even gold from Romania’s National Bank reserve, according to Romanian media. His name appeared last year in the illegal forest retrocession case in which former senator Viorel Hrebenciuc was indicted for influence peddling. Hrebenciuc allegedly promised Prince Paul that he would help him get some of the claimed properties in exchange for a percentage of their value. Prince Paul of Romania goes to court against Romanian state to recover land from the former Baneasa Royal Farm Prince Paul of Romania to his uncle King Michael: You did nothing for our people during 50 years of communism