page_title: Helen of Greece and Denmark
section_title: Between scandal and exile
hierarchical_section_title: Helen of Greece and Denmark / First reign of Michael I and Italian exile / Between scandal and exile
caption_attribution_description: Villa sparta, ext.,
context_page_description: Helen of Greece and Denmark, was the queen mother of Romania during the reign of her son King Michael. She was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save Romanian Jews during World War II, which led to her being awarded by the State of Israel with the honorific of Righteous Among the Nations in 1993.
  Daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia, Princess Helen spent her childhood in Greece, Great Britain and Germany. The outbreak of World War I and the overthrow of her father by the Allies in 1917 permanently marked her and also separated her from her favorite brother, the young Alexander I of Greece. Exiled in Switzerland along with most members of the royal family, Helen then spent several months caring for her father, plagued by disease and depression. In 1920, the princess met Carol, Crown Prince of Romania, who quickly asked her hand in marriage. Despite the bad reputation of the prince, Helen accepted and moved to Romania, where she soon gave birth to their only son, Prince Michael, in 1921.
context_section_description: In November 1931, Helen left Romania for Germany, where she went to the bedside of her mother, the Dowager Queen Sophia of Greece, seriously ill with cancer. After her death on 13 January 1932, Helen bought her house in Fiesole, Tuscany, which she used as her main residence. In this large house, that she renamed Villa Sparta, the princess received the visit of her sisters Irene and Katherine and her brother Paul, who remained with Helen on long stays.
  Despite the distance, the friction between Helen and Carol II continued. In September 1932, a visit from Michael and his mother to the United Kingdom was used by Helen as an opportunity for a new, very public conflict, which soon made the headlines of the international press, just as Helen wanted. The king wanted the crown prince not to wear shorts in public, and that he not be photographed in the company of his mother. Helen was incensed at the second stipulation and, as was her wont, took the trouble to aggravate the situation by defying the first stipulation as well. She made sure her son was dressed in shorts and posed for the cameras with him at her side for an extended photo opportunity. After seeing the spectacle of the crown prince in shorts published in the newspapers, the king demanded that the heir to the throne be brought back to Bucharest. Helen now decided to grant an interview to the Daily Mail "in the hope," she said, "that public opinion would help to preserve her parental rights". This was followed by a violent press campaign, which enraged the king. Despite these events, Helen chose to return to Romania for Michael's birthday and threatened to go to the International Court of Justice if Carol II did not allow her to see their son.
  Back in Bucharest, the princess tried, without much success, to get the government involved in a case against the king. She then turned again to her sister-in-law, the former queen of the Hellenes. However, the latter was deeply shocked by the interview given to the Daily Mail, and the two women had a violent fight during their reunion, where Elisabeth even slapped Helen. Carol II then considered his former wife as a political opponent, and in order to undermine her prestige, the king initiated a campaign in the press against her, claiming that she had tried to commit suicide twice. After only a month in the country, Carol II imposed a new separation agreement (1 November 1932), under which Helen was denied the right to return to Romania and the next day, finally forced her into permanent exile in Italy. During the following years, she had no contact with her former husband, who only briefly told her by telephone of the death of Queen Marie in 1938. Despite the tensions, Prince Michael was able to see his mother every year in Florence for two months.
  In Fiesole, the life of Helen and her sisters was relatively retired, even though they were frequently visited by the Italian House of Savoy, which had always been welcoming to the Greek royal family during its exile. The Greek princesses also used their connections to find a wife for Diadochos Paul, who remained single. In 1935, they took advantage of the presence in Florence of Princess Frederica of Hanover to arrange an encounter between her and their brother. Their good efforts paid off and Frederica quickly fell in love with the Diadochos. However, the princess' parents were reluctant to approve this relationship and it was not until 1937 that Paul and Frederica were finally allowed to get engaged. In the meanwhile, the Greek monarchy was restored and George II once again became King of Greece, but his wife Elisabeth, who filed for divorce on 6 July 1935, remained in Romania.
caption: Villa Sparta, in Fiesole, where Helen lived more than 30 years
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