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Queen Mary was an intelligent, courageous and strong figure, a symbol of Romanians in difficult times, who "loved Romania and was extremely loved by Romanians," said, on Monday evening, the Culture Minister, Lucian Romascanu, on the occasion of the screening, at the Elvire Popescu Cinema in Bucharest, of the documentary film "Mary of Romania, the amazing Queen of the Carpathians" (Marie de Roumanie, l'etonnante reine des Carpates," event organized on the occasion of celebrating La Francophonie.
"Mary of Edinburgh believed in a modern and united Romania. Her political vision, doubled by perseverance, dignity, and talent in foreign policy consolidated Romania's relations with the West," said Romascanu.
He evoked the meetings and negotiations that Queen Mary had with heads of state and governments "in Paris, London, Brussels, Washington," which made her "a legendary figure of Romanian diplomacy." He also recalled the "Soldier-Queen" and the "Mother of the wounded", who went on the front in the First World War, becoming a "symbol of Romanians in difficult times."
"She loved Romania and was, in her turn, extremely loved by the people. Moreover, Mary of Romania became a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts," the Culture Minister emphasized.
Lucian Romascanu mentioned that the "Unifying Queen, model and inspiration for us all" was honored in Paris, where, near the Eiffel Tower, starting with October 15, 2019, street of the city bears her name, as a gesture of recognition towards the role she had at the Paris Peace Conference, in January 1919.
In her turn, the French Ambassador to Romania, Laurence Auer, evoked Queen Mary, "a figure that inspires us," a personality with "an extremely important role in the Romanian mind."
"The film tonight hides no facet of the life of the Queen and allows us how she 'forced a destiny' at the Peace Conference in Versailles," said Auer.
A unique TV documentary made in France (2022), lasting one hour and 46 minutes, "Marie de Roumanie, l'etonnante reine des Carpates" - "Mary of Romania, the amazing Queen of the Carpathians" was presented by Stephane Bern in world preview at the Romanian Embassy in Paris.
Done by Dominique Leeb and Benjamin Lehrer, with Stephane Bern as a presenter, the film comprises interviews with French and Romanian historians, archival images and films from Romania done at Peles, Bran, the Cotroceni Palace, Curtea de Arges, etc.
The documentary reunites confessions about the exceptional destiny of Queen Mary of Romania, offered by: Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Margaret (granddaughter of Mary); Luca Niculescu (Romania's Ambassador to France); Guy Gauthier (biographer); Pierre-Andre Helene (curator of the Maxim museum); Philippe Seguy (writer); Gabriel-Badea Paun (art historian); Evelyne Lever (historian); Joelle Cheve (historian); Radu Albu-Comanescu (historian); Tessa Dunlop (historian) and Pierre Rainero (director Cartier Heritage).
Born in England, a descendant of Queen Victoria and of Czar Alexander II of Russia, Maria became Queen of Romania after her husband, Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern (married 1893), ascended to the throne of Romania in 1914 as Ferdinand I of Romania. She fell in love with the country and her people, which she joined through their trials and misfortunes at the start of the 20th century.
A unique projection on the big screen, which represents France and Romania within Focus Francophonie, "Mary of Romania, the amazing Queen of the Carpathians" was already broadcast by France 3 on January 24, as part of the show Secrets d'histoire, a television show presented by Stephane Bern which follows, each episode, the life of a great figure in history and highlights emblematic patrimonial sites. AGERPRES
