Carol II of Romania Carol II ( 15 October 18934 April 1953 ) reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940 . Eldest son of Ferdinand , King of Romania , and his wife , Queen Marie , a daughter of Prince Alfred , Duke of Edinburgh , the second eldest son of Queen Victoria . He was the first of the Romanian royal family who was baptized in the Orthodox rite . Early life . Carol was born in Peleş Castle . In November 1914 , Carol joined the Romanian Senate , as the 1866 Constitution guaranteed him a seat there upon reaching maturity . Known more for his romantic misadventures than for any leadership skills , Carol ( Romanian for " Charles " ) was first married in the Cathedral Church of Odessa , Ukraine , 31 August 1918 , to Joanna Marie Valentina Lambrino ( 1898 – 1953 ) , known as " Zizi " , the daughter of a Romanian general . The marriage was annulled on 29 March 1919 by the Ilfov Suburban Court . Carol and Zizi continued to live together after the annulment . Their only child , Mircea Gregor Carol Lambrino , was born 8 January 1920 . Carol next married , in Athens , Greece , on 10 March 1921 , Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark ( who was known in Romania as Crown Princess Elena ) . They were second cousins as both were great - grandchildren of Queen Victoria . The marriage soon collapsed in the wake of Carol ' s affair with Elena " Magda " Lupescu ( 1895 ? – 1977 ) , the Roman Catholic daughter of a Jewish pharmacist and his Roman Catholic wife . Magda Lupescu had formerly been the wife of Army officer Ion Tâmpeanu . As a result of the scandal , Carol renounced his right to the throne on 28 December 1925 in favour of his son by Crown Princess Helen , Michael ( Mihai ) , who became King in July 1927 . Helen divorced Carol in 1928 . Rule . Returning to the country on 7 June 1930 , in a coup d ' état engineered by Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu , Carol reneged on the renunciation and was proclaimed King the following day , replacing his son Michael on the throne . For the next decade he sought to influence the course of Romanian political life , first through manipulation of the rival Peasant and Liberal parties and anti - Semitic factions , and subsequently ( January 1938 ) through a ministry of his own choosing ( the National Renaissance Front ) , with a constitution ( 27 February ) reserving ultimate power to the Crown . In 1938 , he banned the Iron Guard , which he had supported in the 1930s . Carol also sought to build up his own personality cult against the growing influence of the Iron Guard , for instance by setting up a paramilitary youth organization known as " Straja Ţării " in 1935 . He was made the 892nd Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1938 by his second cousin , George VI ( King of the United Kingdom ) . In 1938 , Carol overthrew the democratic system and proclaimed his own authoritarian regime ( " see 1938 Constitution of Romania , National Renaissance Front " ) . Carol yielded and , on September 5 , 1940 , Antonescu became Prime Minister , and Carol transferred most of his dictatorial powers to him . Exile . Forced under first Soviet and subsequently Hungarian , Bulgarian , and German pressure to surrender parts of his kingdom to foreign rule , he was outmaneuvered at last by the pro - German administration of Marshal Ion Antonescu , and abdicated in favour of Michael in September 1940 . He went into exile , initially in Mexico , but ultimately settling in Portugal . Carol and Magda Lupescu were married in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , on 3 June 1947 , Magda taking the title of Princess Elena von Hohenzollern . Carol remained in exile for the rest of his life . He was never to see his son , King Michael , after his 1940 departure from Romania ; Michael refused to meet his father ever again . Remains returned to Romania . Carol died and was buried in Estoril , Portugal , in 1953 ; his remains were returned to Romania in 2003 , at the Curtea de Argeş monastery . They lie outside the cathedral that is the burial place of most Romanian kings . Neither of his sons participated in either ceremony . His younger son , Michael , was represented by his daughter , Princess Margarita , and her husband , Prince Radu of Romania . His eldest son , Carol Lambrino was forbidden ( since 1940 ) to enter Romania n territory .