Principality of Wallachia Țara Românească Цѣра Рȣмѫнѣскъ Землѧ Ѹгровлахїиска
Vassal of the Ottoman Empire (1415–1859) (under Russian protection 1774-1856)
1330–1859 →
Flag Coat of arms
Map of present-day Romania, with historical Wallachia in red
Capital	Câmpulung, Curtea de Argeș (1317-1418) Târgoviște (1418-1659)[1] Bucharest (from 1659)
Language(s)	Romanian (commonly used, later official), Church Slavonic (in early official use)
Government	Absolute monarchy
Prince
- 1310–52	Basarab I (first)
- 1859–62	Alexander John Cuza (last)
History
- Unification	1330
- Ottoman suzerainty	1415
- Long and Moldavian Magnate wars	1593–1621
- Treaties:     - Küçük Kaynarca     - Erdine	21 July [O.S. 10 July] 1774 14 September [O.S. 2 September] 1829
- Regulamentul Organic	1834–1835
- Unification with Moldavia	5 February [O.S. 24 January] 1859 1859

Wallachia or Walachia (Romanian: Țara Românească pronounced [ˈt͡sara romɨˈne̯askə] or Valahia pronounced [vaˈlahi.a]; archaic: Țeara Rumânească, Cyrillic: Цѣра Румѫнѣскъ / Цѣра Рȣмѫнѣскъ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia is sometimes referred to as Muntenia (Greater Wallachia), through identification with the larger of its two traditional sections; the smaller being Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia).

Wallachia was founded as a principality in the early 14th century by Basarab I, after a rebellion against Charles I of Hungary, although the first mention of the territory of Wallachia west of the river Olt dates to a charter given to the voievod Seneslau in 1246 by Béla IV of Hungary. In 1415, Wallachia accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire; this lasted until the 19th century, albeit with brief periods of Russian occupation between 1768 and 1854. In 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia (as United Principalities), to form the basis of the modern state of Romania, with Transylvania joining 59 years later (1918) to form the new Kingdom of Romania which was first established 1881.

Etymology[link]

The name Wallachia, generally not used by Romanians themselves (but present in some contexts as Valahia or Vlahia), is derived from the word "walha" used by Germanic peoples to describe non-Germanic speaking "foreigners". In northwest Europe this gave rise to Wales, Cornwall, Wallonia, among others, while in Southeast Europe it evolved into the ethnonym Valach, used to designate Germanic speakers' Romance-speaking neighbours, and subsequently taken over by Slavic-speakers to refer to Romanians, with variants such as Vlach, Blach, Bloc, Bloh, Boloh etc.—see also: Vlachs.

In the early Middle Ages, in Slavonic texts, the name of Zemli Ungro-Vlahiskoi (Земли Унгро-Влахискои or "Hungaro-Wallachian Land") was also used. The term, translated in Romanian as "Ungrovalahia", remained in use up to the modern era in a religious context, referring to the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan seat of Hungaro-Wallachia, in contrast to Thessalian Wallachia, or Great Wallachia in Macedonia, a medieval state, or Small Wallachia (Mala Vlaška) in Serbia.^[2] Official designations of the state were Muntenia (The Land beyond the Mountains) and Țeara Rumânească (Terra Romana, or The Romanian Land).

For long periods after the 14th century, Wallachia was referred to as Vlaško (Влашко) by Bulgarian sources, Vlaška by Serbian sources and Walachei or Walachey by German-speaking (Transylvanian Saxon) sources. The traditional Hungarian name for Wallachia is "Havasalföld", or literally "Snowy Lowlands" (the older form is "Havaselve", which means "Land beyond the snowy mountains"). In Ottoman Turkish and Turkish, "Eflâk" (which also means "sky" or "skies"), افلاق, a word derived from "Vlach", is used.

History[link]

History of Romania
This article is part of a series
Prehistory
Cucuteni-Trypillian culture
Hamangia culture
Bronze Age in Romania
Prehistory of Transylvania
Dacia
Dacian Wars
Roman Dacia
Thraco-Roman syncretism
Early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
History of Transylvania
Foundation of Wallachia
Foundation of Moldavia
Early Modern Times
Principality of Transylvania
Phanariotes
Danubian Principalities
National awakening
Transylvanian School
Organic Statute
1848 Moldavian Revolution
1848 Wallachian Revolution
United Principalities
ASTRA
War of Independence
Kingdom of Romania
World War I
Union with Transylvania
Union with Bessarabia
Greater Romania
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
World War II
Communist Romania
Soviet occupation
1989 Revolution
Romania since 1989
Topic
Timeline
Military history
Christianity
Ethnogenesis
By region
Banat
Bessarabia
Bukovina
Dobruja
Crişana
Maramureş
Moldavia
Muntenia
Oltenia
Transylvania
Wallachia
Commons
Centuries in Romania
Romania Portal v t e

Ancient times[link]

In the Second Dacian War (105 AD) western Oltenia became part of the Roman province of Dacia, with parts of Wallachia included in the Moesia Inferior province. The Roman limes was initially built along the Olt River (119), before being moved slightly to the east in the 2nd century—during which time it stretched from the Danube up to Rucăr in the Carpathians. The Roman line fell back to the Olt in 245, and, in 271, the Romans pulled out of the region.

The area was subject to Romanization also during the Migration Period, when most of present-day Romania was also subject to the presence of Goths and Sarmatian peoples known as the Mureș-Cerneahov culture, followed by waves of other nomadic peoples. In 328, the Romans built a bridge between Sucidava and Oescus (near Gigen) which indicates that there was a significant trade with the peoples north of the Danube. A short period of Roman rule in the area is attested under Emperor Constantine I,^[3] after he attacked the Goths (who had settled north of the Danube) in 332. The period of Goth rule ended when the Huns arrived in the Pannonian Plain, and, under Attila, attacked and destroyed some 170 settlements on both sides of the Danube.

Early Middle Ages[link]

Byzantine influence is evident during the 5th to 6th century, such as the site at Ipoteşti-Cândeşti, but from the second half of the 6th century and in the 7th century Slavic peoples crossed the territory of Wallachia and settled in it, on their way to Byzantium, occupying the southern bank of the Danube.^[4] In 593, the Byzantine commander-in-chief Priscus defeated Slavs, Avars and Gepids on future Wallachian territory, and, in 602, Slavs suffered a crucial defeat in the area; Flavius Mauricius Tiberius, who ordered his army to be deployed north of the Danube, encountered his troops' strong opposition.^[5]

Wallachia was under the control of the First Bulgarian Empire from its establishment in 681, until approximately the Magyar conquest of Transylvania at the end of the 10th century. With the decline and subsequent fall of the Bulgarian state to Byzantium (in the second half of the 10th century up to 1018), Wallachia came under the control of the Pechenegs (a Turkic people) who extended their rule west through the 10th and 11th century, until defeated around 1091, when the Cumans of southern Russia took control of the lands of Moldavia and Wallachia.^[6] Beginning with the 10th century, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and later Western sources mention the existence of small polities, possibly peopled by, among others, Vlachs/Romanians led by knyazes and voivodes.

In 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Europe, Cuman domination was ended—a direct Mongol rule over Wallachia was not attested, but it remains probable.^[7] Part of Wallachia was probably briefly disputed by the Hungarian Kingdom and Bulgarians in the following period,^[7] but it appears that the severe weakening of Hungarian authority during the Mongol attacks contributed to the establishment of the new and stronger polities attested in Wallachia for the following decades.^[8]

Creation[link]

Wallachia between the 13th and 16th centuries, overlayed with current national borders

One of the first written pieces of evidence of local voivodes is in connection with Litovoi (1272), who ruled over land each side of the Carpathians (including Hațeg Country in Transylvania), and refused to pay tribute to the Hungarian King Ladislaus IV. His successor was his brother Bărbat (1285–1288). The continuing weakening of the Hungarian state by further Mongol invasions (1285–1319) and the fall of the Árpád dynasty opened the way for the unification of Wallachian polities, and to independence from Hungarian rule.

The Battle of Posada in the Chronicon Pictum

The seal of Voivode Mircea the Elder from 1390, depicting the coat of arms of Wallachia

Wallachia's creation, held by local traditions to have been the work of one Radu Negru, is historically connected with Basarab I (1310–1352), who rebelled against Charles I of Hungary and took up rule on either side of the Olt River, establishing his residence in Câmpulung as the first ruler in the House of Basarab. Basarab refused to grant Hungary the lands of Făgăraş, Amlaş and the Banat of Severin, defeated Charles in the Battle of Posada (1330), and extended his lands to the east, to comprise lands as far as Kilia (in the Bujak, as the origin of Bessarabia);^[9] rule over the latter was not preserved by following princes, as Kilia fell to the Nogais ca.1334.^[10]

Basarab was succeeded by Nicolae Alexandru, followed by Vladislav I. Vladislav attacked Transylvania after Louis I occupied lands south of the Danube, conceded to recognize him as overlord in 1368, but rebelled again in the same year; his rule also witnessed the first confrontation between Wallachia and the Ottoman Turks (a battle in which Vladislav was allied with Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria).^[11] Under Radu I and his successor Dan I, the realms in Transylvania and Severin continued to be disputed with Hungary.^[12]

1400–1600[link]

Mircea the Elder to Radu the Great[link]

Territories held by Wallachian prince Mircea the Elder, ca. 1390^[13]

As the entire Balkan Peninsula became an integral part of the emerging Ottoman Empire (a process which concluded with the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II in 1453), Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations and, in the final years of Mircea the Elder's reign, became an Ottoman tributary state. Mircea (reigned 1386–1418), initially defeated the Ottomans in several battles (including that of Rovine in 1394), driving them away from Dobruja and briefly extending his rule to the Danube Delta, Dobruja and Silistra (ca.1400–1404).^[14] He oscillated between alliances with Sigismund of Hungary and Jagiellon Poland (taking part in the Battle of Nicopolis),^[15] and accepted a peace treaty with the Ottomans in 1415, after Mehmed I took control of Turnu and Giurgiu — the two ports remained part of the Ottoman state, with brief interruptions, until 1829. In 1418–1420, Mihail I defeated the Ottomans in Severin, only to be killed in battle by the counter-offensive; in 1422, the danger was averted for a short while when Dan II inflicted a defeat on Murad II with the help of Pippo Spano.^[16]

Wallachia as pictured in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle

The peace signed in 1428 inaugurated a period of internal crisis, as Dan had to defend himself against Radu Prasnaglava, who led the first in a series of boyar coalitions against established princes (in time, these became overtly pro-Ottoman in answer to repression).^[17] Victorious in 1431 (the year when the boyar-backed Alexandru I Aldea took the throne), boyars were dealt successive blows by Vlad II Dracul (1436–1442; 1443–1447), who nevertheless attempted to compromise between the Porte and the Holy Roman Empire.^[18]

The following decade was marked by the conflict between the rival houses of Dăneşti and Drăculeşti, the influence of John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, and, after the neutral reign of Vladislav II,^[19] by the rise of Vlad III Dracula. Vlad, during whose rule Bucharest was first mentioned as a princely residence, exercised terror on rebellious boyars, cut off all links with the Ottomans, and, in 1462, defeated Mehmed II's offensive during The Night Attack before being forced to retreat to Târgovişte and accepting to pay an increased tribute.^[20] His parallel conflicts with his Muslim brother Radu III the Fair and Laiotă Basarab led to the conquest of Wallachia by Radu III who would rule it for 11 years until his death.^[21] Radu the Great (1495–1508) reached several compromises with the boyars, ensuring a period of internal stability that contrasted his clash with Bogdan the Blind of Moldavia.^[22]

Mihnea cel Rău to Petru Cercel[link]

The late 15th century saw the ascension of the powerful Craioveşti family, virtually independent rulers of the Oltenian banat, who sought Ottoman support in their rivalry with Mihnea cel Rău (1508–1510) and replaced him with Vlăduţ; after the latter proved to be hostile to the bans, the House of Basarab formally ended with the rise of Neagoe Basarab, a Craioveşti.^[23] Neagoe's peaceful rule (1512–1521), noted for its cultural aspects (the building of the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral and Renaissance influences), also saw an increase in influence for the Saxon merchants in Braşov and Sibiu, and Wallachia's alliance with Louis II of Hungary.^[24] Under Teodosie, the country was again under a four-month-long Ottoman occupation, a military administration which seemed to be an attempt to create a Wallachian Pashaluk.^[25] This danger rallied all boyars in support of Radu de la Afumaţi (four rules between 1522 and 1529), who lost the battle after an agreement between the Craioveşti and Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent; Prince Radu eventually confirmed Süleyman's position as suzerain, and agreed to pay an even higher tribute.^[25]

Wallachia (highlighted in green) towards the end of the 16th century

Ottoman suzerainty remained virtually unchallenged throughout the following 90 years. Radu Paisie, who was deposed by Süleyman in 1545, ceded the port of Brăila to Ottoman administration in the same year; his successor Mircea Ciobanul (1545–1554; 1558–1559), a prince without any claim to noble heritage, was imposed on the throne and consequently agreed to a decrease in autonomy (increasing taxes and carrying out an armed intervention in Transylvania—supporting the pro-Turkish John Zápolya).^[26] Conflicts between boyar families became stringent after the rule of Pătraşcu cel Bun, and boyar ascendancy over rulers was obvious under Petru the Younger (1559–1568; a reign dominated by Doamna Chiajna and marked by huge increases in taxes), Mihnea Turcitul, and Petru Cercel.^[27]

The Ottoman Empire increasingly relied on Wallachia and Moldavia for the supply and maintenance of its military forces; the local army, however, soon disappeared due to the increased costs and the much more obvious efficiency of mercenary troops.^[28]

17th century[link]

Fighting between Michael the Brave and the Ottomans in Giurgiu, 1595

Initially profiting from Ottoman support, Michael the Brave ascended to the throne in 1593, and attacked the troops of Murad III north and south of the Danube in an alliance with Transylvania's Sigismund Báthory and Moldavia's Aron Vodă (see Battle of Călugăreni). He soon placed himself under the suzerainty of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor, and, in 1599–1600, intervened in Transylvania against Poland's king Sigismund III Vasa, placing the region under his authority; his brief rule also extended to Moldavia later in the following year.^[29] For a brief period, Michael the Brave unified all the territories where Romanians lived, rebuilding the mainland of the ancient Kingdom of Dacia.^[30] Following Michael's downfall, Wallachia was occupied by the Polish-Moldavian army of Simion Movilă (see Moldavian Magnate Wars), who held the region until 1602, and was subject to Nogai attacks in the same year.^[31]

The last stage in the Growth of the Ottoman Empire brought increased pressures on Wallachia: political control was accompanied by Ottoman economical hegemony, the discarding of the capital in Târgovişte in favour of Bucharest (closer to the Ottoman border, and a rapidly-growing trade center), the establishment of serfdom under Michael the Brave as a measure to increase manorial revenues, and the decrease in importance of low-ranking boyars (threatened with extinction, they took part in the seimeni rebellion of 1655).^[32] Furthermore, the growing importance of appointment to high office in front of land ownership brought about an influx of Greek and Levantine families, a process already resented by locals during the rules of Radu Mihnea in the early 17th century.^[33] Matei Basarab, a boyar appointee, brought a long period of relative peace (1632–1654), with the noted exception of the 1653 Battle of Finta, fought between Wallachians and the troops of Moldavian prince Vasile Lupu—ending in disaster for the latter, who was replaced with Prince Matei's favourite, Gheorghe Ştefan, on the throne in Iaşi. A close alliance between Gheorghe Ştefan and Matei's successor Constantin Şerban was maintained by Transylvania's George II Rákóczi, but their designs for independence from Ottoman rule were crushed by the troops of Mehmed IV in 1658–1659.^[34] The reigns of Gheorghe Ghica and Grigore I Ghica, the sultan's favourites, signified attempts to prevent such incidents; however, they were also the onset of a violent clash between the Băleanu and Cantacuzino boyar families, which was to mark Wallachia's history until the 1680s.^[35] The Cantacuzinos, threatened by the alliance between the Băleanus and the Ghicas, backed their own choice of princes (Antonie Vodă din Popeşti and George Ducas)^[36] before promoting themselves—with the ascension of Şerban Cantacuzino (1678–1688).

Russo-Turkish Wars and the Phanariotes[link]

The Balkans in 1699

Map of Wallachia by the Stolnic Constantin Cantacuzino

Wallachia became a target for Habsburg incursions during the last stages of the Great Turkish War ca.1690, when the ruler Constantin Brâncoveanu secretly and unsuccessfully negotatied an anti-Ottoman coalition. Brâncoveanu's reign (1688–1714), noted for its late Renaissance cultural achievements (see Brâncovenesc style), also coincided with the rise of Imperial Russia under Tsar Peter the Great—he was approached by the latter during the Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1711, and lost his throne and life sometime after sultan Ahmed III caught news of the negotiations.^[37] Despite his denounciation of Brâncoveanu's policies, Ştefan Cantacuzino attached himself to Habsburg projects and opened the country to the armies of Prince Eugene of Savoy; he was himself deposed and executed in 1716.^[38]

Immediately following the deposition of Prince Ştefan, the Ottomans renounced the purely nominal elective system (which had by then already witnessed the decrease in importance of the Boyar Divan over the sultan's decision), and princes of the two Danubian Principalities were appointed from the Phanariotes of Constantinople. Inaugurated by Nicholas Mavrocordatos in Moldavia after Dimitrie Cantemir, Phanariote rule was brought to Wallachia in 1715 by the very same ruler.^[39] The tense relations between boyars and princes brought a decrease in the number of taxed people (as a privilege gained by the former), a subsequent increase in total taxes,^[40] and the enlarged powers of a boyar circle in the Divan.^[41]

In parallel, Wallachia became the battleground in a succession of wars between the Ottomans on one side and Russia or the Habsburg Monarchy on the other. Mavrocordatos himself was deposed by a boyar rebellion, and arrested by Habsburg troops during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18, as the Ottomans had to concede Oltenia to Charles VI of Austria (the Treaty of Passarowitz).^[42] The region, subject to an enlightened absolutist rule that soon disenchanted local boyars, was returned to Wallachia in 1739 (the Treaty of Belgrade, upon the close of the Austro-Turkish War of 1737-39). Prince Constantine Mavrocordatos, who oversaw the new change in borders, was also responsible for the effective abolition of serfdom in 1746 (which put a stop to the exodus of peasants into Transylvania);^[43] during this period, the ban of Oltenia moved his residence from Craiova to Bucharest, signalling, alongside Mavrocordatos' order to merge his personal treasury with that of the country, a move towards centralism.^[44]

The troops of Prince Josias of Coburg in Bucharest, 1789

In 1768, during the Fifth Russo-Turkish War, Wallachia was placed under its first Russian occupation (helped along by the rebellion of Pârvu Cantacuzino).^[45] The Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca (1774) allowed Russia to intervene in favour of Eastern Orthodox Ottoman subjects, curtailing Ottoman pressures—including the decrease in sums owed as tribute^[46]—and, in time, relatively increasing internal stability while opening Wallachia to more Russian interventions.^[47]

Habsburg troops, under Prince Josias of Coburg, again entered the country during the Russo-Turkish-Austrian War, deposing Nicholas Mavrogenis in 1789.^[48] A period of crisis followed the Ottoman recovery: Oltenia was devastated by the expeditions of Osman Pazvantoğlu, a powerful rebellious pasha whose raids even caused prince Constantine Hangerli to lose his life on suspicion of treason (1799), and Alexander Mourousis to renounce his throne (1801).^[49] In 1806, the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 was partly instigated by the Porte's deposition of Constantine Ypsilantis in Bucharest—in tune with the Napoleonic Wars, it was instigated by the French Empire, and also showed the impact of the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca (with its permissive attitude towards Russian political influence in the Danubian Principalities); the war brought the invasion of Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich.^[50]

The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni.

Principality of Wallachia, 1793–1812, highlighted in green

After the Peace of Bucharest, the rule of Jean Georges Caradja, although remembered for a major plague epidemic, was notable for its cultural and industrial ventures.^[51] During the period, Wallachia increased its strategic importance for most European states interested in supervising Russian expansion; consulates were opened in Bucharest, having an indirect but major impact on Wallachian economy through the protection they extended to sudiţi traders (who soon competed successfully against local guilds).^[52]

From Wallachia to Romania[link]

Early 19th century[link]

The death of prince Alexander Soutzos in 1821, coinciding with the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, established a boyar regency which attempted to block the arrival of Scarlat Callimachi to his throne in Bucharest. The parallel uprising in Oltenia, carried out by the Pandur leader Tudor Vladimirescu, although aimed at overthrowing the ascendancy of Greeks,^[53] compromised with the Greek revolutionaries in the Filiki Eteria and allied itself with the regents,^[54] while seeking Russian support^[55] (see also: Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire).

On March 21, 1821, Vladimirescu entered Bucharest. For the following weeks, relations between him and his allies worsened, especially after he sought an agreement with the Ottomans;^[56] Eteria's leader Alexander Ypsilantis, who had established himself in Moldavia and, after May, in northern Wallachia, viewed the alliance as broken—he had Vladimirescu executed, and faced the Ottoman intervention without Pandur or Russian backing, suffering major defeats in Bucharest and Drăgăşani (before retreating to Austrian custody in Transylvania).^[57] These violent events, which had seen the majority of Phanariotes siding with Ypsilantis, made Sultan Mahmud II place the Principalities under its occupation (evicted by a request of several European powers),^[58] and sanction the end of Phanariote rules: in Wallachia, the first prince to be considered a local one after 1715 was Grigore IV Ghica. Although the new system was confirmed for the rest of Wallachia's existence as a state, Ghica's rule was abruptly ended by the devastating Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829.^[59]

The Legislative Assembly of Wallachia in 1837

The 1829 Treaty of Adrianople, without overturning Ottoman suzerainty, placed Wallachia and Moldavia under Russian military rule, awarding them the first common institutions and the semblance of a constitution (see Regulamentul Organic). Wallachia was returned ownership of Brăila, Giurgiu (both of which soon developed into major trading cities on the Danube), and Turnu Măgurele.^[60] The treaty also allowed Moldavia and Wallachia to freely trade with countries other than the Ottoman Empire, which signalled substantial economic and urban growth, as well as improving the peasant situation.^[61] Many of the provisions had been specified by the 1826 Akkerman Convention between Russia and the Ottomans (it had never been fully implemented in the three-year interval).^[62] The duty of overseeing of the Principalities was left to Russian general Pavel Kiselyov; this interval was marked by a series of major changes, including the reestablishment of a Wallachian Army (1831), a tax reform (which nonetheless confirmed tax exemptions for the privileged), as well as major urban works in Bucharest and other cities.^[63] In 1834, Wallachia's throne was occupied by Alexandru II Ghica—a move in contradiction with the Adrianople treaty, as he had not been elected by the new Legislative Assembly; removed by the suzerains in 1842, he was replaced with an elected prince, Gheorghe Bibescu.^[64]

1840s–1850s[link]

Opposition to Ghica's arbitrary and highly conservative rule, together with the rise of liberal and radical currents, was first felt with the protests voiced by Ion Câmpineanu (quickly repressed);^[65] subsequently, it became increasingly conspiratorial, and centered on those secret societies created by young officers such as Nicolae Bălcescu and Mitică Filipescu.^[66]

1848 revolutionaries carrying an early version of the flag of Romania

Frăţia, a clandestine movement created in 1843, began planning a revolution to overthrow Bibescu and repeal Regulamentul Organic in 1848 (inspired by the European rebellions of the same year). Their pan-Wallachian coup d'état was initially successful only near Turnu Măgurele, where crowds cheered the Islaz Proclamation (June 21); among others, the document called for political freedoms, independence, land reform, and the creation of a national guard.^[67] On June 11–12, the movement was successful in deposing Bibescu and establishing a Provisional Government. Although sympathetic to the anti-Russian goals of the revolution, the Ottomans were pressured by Russia into repressing it: Ottoman troops entered Bucharest on September 13.^[68] Russian and Turkish troops, present until 1851, brought Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbei to the throne, during which interval most participants in the revolution were sent into exile.

Briefly under renewed Russian occupation during the Crimean War, Wallachia and Moldavia were given a new status with a neutral Austrian administration (1854–1856) and the Treaty of Paris: a tutelage shared by Ottomans and a Congress of Great Powers (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, and, albeit never again fully, Russia), with a kaymakam-led internal administration. The emerging movement for a union of the Danubian Principalities (a demand first voiced in 1848, and a cause cemented by the return of revolutionary exiles) was advocated by the French and their Sardinian allies, supported by Russia and Prussia, but was rejected or suspicioned by all other overseers.^[69]

Wallachia's ad-hoc divan in 1857

After an intense campaign, a formal union was ultimately granted: nevertheless, elections for the ad-hoc divans of 1859 profited from a legal ambiguity (the text of the final agreement specified two thrones, but did not prevent any single person from simultaneously taking part in and winning elections in both Bucharest and Iaşi). Alexander John Cuza, who ran for the unionist Partida Naţională, won the elections in Moldavia on January 5; Wallachia, which was expected by the unionists to carry the same vote, returned a majority of anti-unionists to its divan.^[70]

Those elected changed their allegiance after a mass protest of Bucharest crowds,^[70] and Cuza was voted prince of Wallachia on February 5 (January 24 Old Style), consequently confirmed as Domnitor of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (of Romania from 1862). Internationally recognized only for the duration of his reign, the union was irreversible after the ascension of Carol I in 1866 (coinciding with the Austro-Prussian War, it came at a time when Austria, the main opponent of the decision, was not in a position to intervene).

Slavery[link]

Slavery (Romanian: robie) was part of the social order from before the founding of the Principality of Wallachia, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the slaves were of Roma (Gypsy) ethnicity.^[71] The very first document attesting the presence of Roma people in Wallachia dates back to 1385, and refers to the group as aţigani (from, athiganoi a Greek-language word for "heretics", and the origin of the Romanian term ţigani, which is synonymous with "Gypsy").^[72]

The exact origins of slavery are not known. Slavery was a common practice in Europe at the time, and there is some debate over whether the Romani people came to Wallachia as free men or as slaves. In the Byzantine Empire, they were slaves of the state and it seems the situation was the same in Bulgaria and Serbia until their social organization was destroyed by the Ottoman conquest, which would suggest that they came as slaves who had a change of 'ownership'. Historian Nicolae Iorga associated the Roma people's arrival with the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe and considered their slavery as a vestige of that era, the Romanians taking the Roma from the Mongols as slaves and preserving their status. Other historians consider that they were enslaved while captured during the battles with the Tatars. The practice of enslaving prisoners may also have been taken from the Mongols.^[71] While it is possible that some Romani people were slaves or auxiliary troops of the Mongols or Tatars, the bulk of them came from south of the Danube at the end of the 14th century, some time after the foundation of Wallachia. The arrival of the Roma made slavery a widespread practice.^[73]

Traditionally, Roma slaves were divided into three categories. The smallest was owned by the hospodars, and went by the Romanian-language name of ţigani domneşti ("Gypsies belonging to the lord"). The two other categories comprised ţigani mănăstireşti ("Gypsies belonging to the monasteries"), who were the property of Romanian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox monasteries, and ţigani boiereşti ("Gypsies belonging to the boyars"), who were enslaved by the category of landowners.^[72][74]

The abolition of slavery was carried out following a campaign by young revolutionaries who embraced the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment. The earliest law which freed a category of slaves was in March 1843, which transferred the control of the state slaves owned by the prison authority to the local authorities, leading to their sedentarizing and becoming peasants. During the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, the agenda of the Provisional Government included the emancipation (dezrobire) of the Roma as one of the main social demands. By the 1850s the movement gained support from almost the whole of Romanian society, and the law from February 1856 emancipated all slaves to the status of taxpayers (citizens).^[71][72]

Geography[link]

The present-day counties comprising Wallachia

With an area of approximately 77,000 km² (30,000 sq mi), Wallachia is situated north of the Danube (and of present-day Bulgaria), east of Serbia and south of the Southern Carpathians, and is traditionally divided between Muntenia in the east (as the political center, Muntenia is often understood as being synonymous with Wallachia), and Oltenia (a former banat) in the west. The division line between the two is the Olt River.

Wallachia's traditional border with Moldavia coincided with the Milcov River for most of its length. To the east, over the Danube north-south bend, Wallachia neighbours Dobruja (Northern Dobruja). Over the Carpathians, Wallachia shared a border with Transylvania; Wallachian princes have for long held possession of areas north of the line (Amlaş, Ciceu, Făgăraş, and Haţeg), which are generally not considered part of Wallachia-proper.

The capital city changed over time, from Câmpulung to Curtea de Argeş, then to Târgovişte and, after the late 17th century, to Bucharest.

Population[link]

Historical population[link]

Contemporary historians estimate the populatian of Wallachia in the 15th century, at 500,000 people.^[75] In 1859, the population of Wallachia was 2,400,921 (1,586,596 in Muntenia and 814,325 in Oltenia).^[76]

Current population[link]

According to the latest 2002 census data, the region has a total population of approximately 8,750,000 inhabitants, distributed among the ethnic groups as follows: Romanians (97%), Roma (2.5%), others (0.5%).^[77]

Cities[link]

The largest cities (as per last census) in the Wallachia region are:

• Bucharest (1,926,334)
• Craiova (302,601)
• Ploieşti (232,527)
• Brăila (216,292)
• Piteşti (168,458)
• Buzău (133,116)
• Râmnicu Vâlcea (107,656)
• Drobeta-Turnu Severin (104,035)

See also[link]

• History of Bucharest
• List of rulers of Wallachia
• Vlachs

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Berza, Mihai. "Haraciul Moldovei şi al Ţării Româneşti în sec. XV–XIX", in Studii şi Materiale de Istorie Medie, II, 1957, p. 7–47
• Djuvara, Neagu. Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995
• Giurescu, Constantin. Istoria Bucureştilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre, Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966
• Ştefănescu, Ştefan. Istoria medie a României, Vol. I, Bucharest, 1991

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wallachia

• Medieval Coins of Moldavia and Wallachia
• The Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website—provides monument information, original documents, books, studies and other info concerning the Romanian Middle Ages

v t e Historical regions in Romania Banat (1918–)a Dobruja (Northern Dobruja (1878–) Southern Dobruja (1913–40) Moldavia (1866–) Bessarabia (1918–40; 1941–44)b Bukovinac Hertza (1866–1940; 1941–44) Transylvania (1918–)ad Crişanae Maramureş Wallachia (1866-) Muntenia Oltenia) aDe jure since 1920 bCahul, Ismail and Bolgrad in Romania, 1866–78 cSouthern Bukovina in Romania 1918–; Northern Bukovina, 1918–40; 1941–44 dNorthern Transylvania in Hungary, 1940–44. eOnly the eastern part.

v t e Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire   Eyalets (1363–1864) Africa Algiers Egypt Habesh Tripolitania Tunis Anatolia Adana Aidin Anatolia Ankara Archipelago Diyarbekir Dulkadir Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Karaman Karasi Kars Kastamonu Rum Trebizond Van Asia Aleppo Baghdad Basra Childir Cyprus Damascus Lahsa Mosul Rakka Sharazor Sidon Tripoli Yemen Europe Adrianople Bosnia Budin Crete Egir Herzegovina Kanije Kefe Monastir Morea Niš Yanina Podolia Rumelia Salonica Silistra Temeşvar Uyvar Varat Widdin Zigetvar   Vilayets (1864–1922) Anatolia Adana Aidin Ankara Archipelago Bitlis Diyâr-ı Bekr Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Istanbul Kastamonu Konya Mamuret-ul-Aziz Sivas Trebizond Van Europe Adrianople Bosnia Crete Danube Janina Kosovo Monastir Salonica Scutari Elsewhere Aleppo Baghdad Basra Beirut Hejaz Mosul Syria Tripolitania Yemen   Vassals and autonomies Cossack Hetmanate Cretan State Crimean Khanate Khedivate of Egypt Sharifate of Mecca Principality of Moldavia Republic of Ragusa Eastern Rumelia Principality of Samos Serbian Despotate Duchy of Syrmia Principality of Transylvania Principality of Wallachia See also the list of short-lived Ottoman provinces

Coordinates: 44°25′N 26°06′E / 44.417°N 26.1°E / 44.417; 26.1

Riul Doamnei is a symphonic black metal band from Italy founded in 1999. They currently have three releases. They play a very melodic/symphonic style and commonly combine keyboards with melodic guitar riffs.

In May 2011 After more than 11 years of great experiences together, Riul Doamnei and Enrico P. has decided in clear, peacefully and common decision to take different roads. The new drummer is Luca L. (Bleeding Hate, ex Metalheadz and Hamless).

Riul Doamnei means ‘the lady’s river’ in Romanian.

Band members[link]

Current[link]

• Federico D. B. - vocals and guitar
• Luca L. - drums
• Maurizio S. - lead guitar
• Fabrizio T. - bass guitar
• Giorgio M. - synthesizer

Former[link]

• Franz - synthesizer
• Maria - synthesizer
• Marcella - vocals
• Willy - guitar
• Enrico - drums

Discography[link]

• Le Serpent Rouge(EP, 2006)
• Apocryphal

• Apocryphal Extended X-Version
• Fatima

Moravian Valach from Brumov, 1787

Moravian Wallachia (Czech: Valašsko) is a mountainous region located in the easternmost part of Moravia, Czech Republic, near the Slovakian border. The name Wallachia was formerly applied to all the highlands of Moravia and neighboring Silesia, although in the nineteenth century a smaller area came to be defined as ethno-cultural Moravian Wallachia. The traditional dialect (rarely heard these days) represents a mixture of elements from Czech and Slovak, and has a distinct lexicon of Romanian and Balkan origin relating to the pastoral economy of the highlands.

The name comes from the exonym of the Romanian shepherd migrants (see Vlachs), who advanced along the Carpathian range between the 14th and 17th centuries. On their way they gradually lost their original language with the exception of some Romanian words they use in their Czech and Slovak dialect, but they preserved much of their culture (especially folklore, songs and costumes) and economic base, namely sheep breeding.

Culture[link]

Vlachs' typical cakes, koláče ("colaci" in Romanian) (also called "frgály", "a frige" to roast in Romanian).

A remarkable aspect of Vlachs found everywhere along the western Carpathian Mountains is that the traditional Romanian culture remained the same despite the evolution in language, especially the traditions regarding sheepherding and rural architecture, essentially identical along the entire belt of the Carpathian Mountains from Moravia to Romania and then along the adjacent mountains into Serbia and Bulgaria. As with those aspects of language associated with animal husbandry, this cultural aspect of the Vlachs likely did not change because there was no competing culture. Although animal husbandry was long associated with agriculture practiced in the lowlands adjacent to the Western Carpathians, the Vlach methods and associated rituals of sheep and goat tending were unique and newly introduced by them, as were the introduction of grazing in the highlands and the emphasis upon the production of milk and cheese (bryndza). Variants of the traditional Romanian costume are still important elements of the ethnography of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The music of the area was also influenced by the Vlachs (e.g. see Lachian Dances).

A clear example of the influence of the Vlachs on Slovak culture is the 1755 didactic poem Valašská škola (Wallachian School) of the Franciscan monk Hugolín Gavlovič. It offered a Christian-Catholic moral perspective on the lives and the interaction with God and society. Three themes dominate the poem: Slovak national consciousness, eighteenth century religious and secular culture, and pastoral life as a life model. It is in the third theme that the Wallachian legacy appears, giving the poem particular significance.

History[link]

Since they appeared, in the Late Middle Ages, the Valachs continued to have a separated political life than that of the rest of the population. An example of this is the use of the so called Lex Antiqua Valachorum (the "Ancient/Old Wallachian Law"). The first widespread reference to Valachs occurred during the Thirty Years' War, when these privileges were in danger of being abolished. The subsequent events profoundly changed the Vlach culture, and would set the stage for the next wave of Valach immigration, following the ones of the 14th and 15th century. Jan Amos Comenius wrote in 1620: "Moravians of the mountains around Vsetín, called Wallachians, are a warlike people… they refused to accept the Habsburg yoke and for three whole years defended their freedom with the sword". Later, in 1624, he wrote: "the inhabitants of the lordship of Vsetín and the mountains thereabout (who are called Wallachians) continued to resist with arms and could not be brought to deny their faith or offer submission". Some continued to practice Orthodox Christianity, most converted to Protestantism, while on the whole, resisting any attempts of the Jesuit missionaries to convert them to Catholicism. Due to this politics, in 1632 the Catholic Church and the Habsburg Empire took coercive measures: "the inhabitants of Valašsko were Valachs and hence utterly infractory". Zlín town records from 1621 refer to "the Wallachians, who are the local rabble". Albrecht von Wallenstein, Habsburg Military lord of Vsetín, wrote in 1621 about the expected uprising and referred to them as Wallachians against whom he did not have sufficient support to mount a campaign. A Habsburg commissioner in 1622, writing about the local Moravians, stated that: "the people are inclined more to the enemy and the Wallachians". Valach warfare against the Habsburgs consisted of raids, including those against Malenovice, Zlín, and Valašské Meziříčí. Wallenstein stated that the Valachs fought as a “horde” and Valach forces were victorious against the Habsburgs during the initial years of the war. During portions of these initial years as well, Valachs were joined by Protestant Hungarians, and by 1621 all of Moravia east of the Morava River was controlled by Valachs. Hungarian forces, however, were defeated by the Habsburgs at Olomouc in late 1621 and withdrew from Moravia in 1622. Valach forces were subsequently subdued in 1623, accompanied by a series of public executions.

Renewed Valach attacks on Vsetín occurred in late 1623. The Hungarians, now aided by the Ottomans, reentered the War, and fighting occurred as far west as Brno. However, the Valachs did not join their former allies, the Hungarians because the Turks were an older enemy of the Valachs, from as early as the 14th and 15th century, when the first Ottoman attacks took place against Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, their original homes. A second peace between Hungary and the Habsburgs was signed in 1624. The Habsburgs seized this opportunity to attack the Vlachs in March 1624 in the mountains west of Vsetín, but the Valachs prevailed in what was described as a "slaughter" of Habsburg forces. Valachs captured Lukov in 1626, and joined by Danes, who had entered the war against the Habsburgs, also captured Hranice in 1626.

In 1627, Wallenstein’s counter-attack forced the withdrawal of the Danish army from Moravia, and sent the Valachs into retreat. By 1630, Valachs controlled only their Carpathian strongholds. The final Valach uprising occurred in 1640 when the Swedes invaded Moravia to do battle with the Habsburgs. Combined Valach-Swede forces won back portions of Moravia, but then the Swedes withdrew in 1643 to concentrate on a war with Denmark.

In January 1644, a massive Habsburg raid was conducted against the Valachs in the mountains east of Vsetín, The Habsburg victory was completed by this time with a battle that culminated in the burning of Valach villages (e.g. Hovězí, Huslenky, Halenkov, and Zděchov), disarming of the Valachs, destruction of the fields and livestock, and an estimated 20 percent of the males of Vsetín were killed or later executed. Valachs who fled the area were pursued by the Habsburgs as far as into Hungary. Ultimately, about one third of the total Valach population was killed. With the Conscription of Valašsko on February 16, 1644, a complete registration of the remaining Valachs occurred. Execution or oath of allegiance to Habsburg and conversion to Catholicism were the choices. Many Valachs were executed during the infamous executions of 1644 in Vsetín. By March 1644, essentially all the remaining Valachs who had taken refuge in the high Carpathians had been pursued and killed. Plague then struck the region in September 1644.

See also[link]

• Hutsuls
• Gorals
• Vlachs
• Romanians
• Kingdom of Wallachia
• Slovácko

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)

External links[link]

• Wallachian sheep & cattle farming
• http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaHistory/Vlach-poland.htm Vlachs and Wallachians in Poland
• http://www.radhost.cz/english.htm Wallachian song and dance ensemble Radhost, Czech Republic
• http://www.vsacan.cz/en/ Wallachian song and dance ensemble Vsacan, Czech Republic

"Prince Michael" redirects here. For other people named Prince Michael, see Prince Michael (disambiguation).

Prince Michael
Prince Michael of Kent in 1990, by Allan Warren
Spouse	Princess Michael of Kent
Issue
Lord Frederick Windsor Lady Gabriella Windsor
Full name
Michael George Charles Franklin[1]
House	House of Windsor
Father	Prince George, Duke of Kent
Mother	Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
Born	(1942-07-04) 4 July 1942 (age 69) Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire
Religion	Church of England

Prince Michael of Kent GCVO (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside of the United Kingdom. Otherwise, he manages his own consultancy business and undertakes various commercial work around the world. He has also presented some television documentaries on the royal families of Europe. He is named after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and first cousin of three of his grandparents.

Early life[link]

Prince Michael was born on 4 July 1942, at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire. His father was the Duke of Kent, the fourth-eldest son of George V and Queen Mary. The Duke of Kent was killed in a plane crash near Caithness, Scotland on 25 August 1942, just six weeks after his third child was born. At the time of his birth Prince Michael was seventh in the line of succession to his uncle King George VI.

His mother was the Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. As a grandchild of a British sovereign in the male line, he is styled as a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the prefix His Royal Highness.

At his christening on 4 August 1942 at the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle, his godparents were: King George VI (his paternal uncle); the Queen of the Netherlands (for whom her son-in-law Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands stood proxy); the King of Norway (his granduncle); the President of the United States of America (for whom the Duke of Kent stood proxy) ^[2]; the Crown Princess of Greece (who was not present); the Duke of Gloucester (his paternal uncle, who was absent); the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (his cousin); and the Lady Patricia Ramsay (his cousin). Because of the war, newspapers did not identify the actual location of the christening, and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country."^[3][4]

At the age of 5, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousins, the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.^[5]

Education and military service[link]

Educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College, Prince Michael entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in January 1961, where he was commissioned into the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own), in 1963. He saw service in Germany, Hong Kong, and Cyprus, where his squadron formed part of the UN peacekeeping force of 1971. Subsequent tours of duty, during a military career that spanned twenty years, included a number of appointments on the Defence Intelligence Staff. He retired from the Army, with the rank of Major, in 1981.

In 1994, Prince Michael was made Honorary Commodore (now Honorary Rear Admiral) of the Royal Naval Reserve, and in 2002 he was made Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson. In 2009, he was appointed Honorary Regimental Colonel of the Honourable Artillery Company. He is also colonel-in-chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada.

Career[link]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
v t e

Royal duties[link]

As the third child of George V's fourth son, it was not expected that Prince Michael, as the only second son in the Royal Family outside HM The Queen's direct line of descent, would undertake royal and official duties. He has performed official duties in the Commonwealth realms other than the United Kingdom and has represented the Queen abroad. He has, however, never received a parliamentary annuity or an allowance from the British Privy Purse, unlike both his elder brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and his sister, Princess Alexandra, who both carry out official royal duties in the United Kingdom and receive British parliamentary annuities. The Prince was given a grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace upon his marriage in 1978.

Prince Michael has represented the Queen at state funerals in India, Cyprus and Swaziland and, with his wife, Princess Michael of Kent, represented the Queen at the independence celebrations in Belize, and at the Coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland.

Prince Michael supports a large number of different charities and organisations.

His Patronages and Presidencies number over 100 and include:

• ATA Museum Maidenhead Heritage Centre
• Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, Honorary Admiral^[6]
• Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre
• Anglo-Hellenic League
• Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
• British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA)
• Brooklands Museum Trust
• Chartered Institute of Linguists (IoL)
• Children's Burns Trust
• Colfe's School London (Visitor)
• Commission for Global Road Safety^[7]
• David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
• FIA Foundation
• First Gear
• Genesis Initiative
• Institute of Certified Bookkeepers^[8]
• The Kennel Club
• Light Aircraft Association
• London School of Business and Finance
• Maritime Volunteer Service
• National Eye Research Centre
• RoadSafe^[9]
• Royal Automobile Club
• Royal Life Saving Society
• Russo-British Chamber of Commerce
• Society of Genealogists
• SSAFA Forces Help
• Thames Rowing Club
• The Transport Trust
• Veterans Car Club of Great Britain
• World Class Learning Schools Group
• World Monuments Fund (UK)

Commercial[link]

Given that the Prince does not receive any income from his royal duties, he has the Queen's permission to earn a living from commercial enterprise. As such Prince Michael manages his own consultancy business, and undertakes business throughout the world. He is also a qualified interpreter of Russian.

Masonic[link]

Prince Michael is also involved with various aspects of Freemasonry—mainly as both the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex.^[10]

Marriage[link]

Prince Michael, photographed by Allan Warren.

On 30 June 1978, Prince Michael was married, at a civil ceremony, at the Rathaus, Vienna, Austria, to Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, the only child of the Silesian nobleman Baron Gunther Hubertus von Reibnitz, and his Hungarian-born wife, Maria Anna Carolina Franziska Walpurga Bernadette, Countess Szapáry de Muraszombath, Széchysziget et Szapár.

At the time of the marriage, the Baroness was not only a Roman Catholic, but also a divorcée. She was previously married to banker Thomas Troubridge; they separated in 1973, divorced in 1977, and had their marriage annulled by the Roman Catholic Church a year later, two months before her marriage to Prince Michael. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, which governs in each realm the laws of succession to their respective thrones, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the lines of succession through marriage to a Roman Catholic.^[11]

However, his wife became, and remains, Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent (not Princess Marie-Christine, since she is not a princess in her own right, but only by right of marriage). Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have two children, both of whom remain in line to the throne because they are not Roman Catholics, having been raised as members of the Church of England:

• Lord Frederick Windsor, born 6 April 1979; married, 12 September 2009, Sophie Winkleman and 38th in the Line of Succession to the British throne. Educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. Now with JP Morgan in Los Angeles
• Lady Gabriella Windsor, born 23 April 1981; and 39th in the Line of Succession to the British throne. Educated at Downe House and Brown University, US. Now studying for an MPhil in Anthropology at Oxford University.

Controversy[link]