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Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern (born August 13, 1948), also Prince Paul of Romania, is the son of Carol Lambrino and Hélène Nagavitzine. Lambrino, in turn, was the elder son of King Carol II of Romania and Zizi Lambrino. Hohenzollern claims that he and not the former King Michael is the rightful head of the royal house of Romania, and has litigated in an attempt to establish this claim.

Biography

In 1918, Crown Prince Carol of Romania (later King Carol II) married Zizi Lambrino. The wedding was annulled the following year because it contravened the royal house's statute—Lambrino was both a Romanian and a commoner, and the marriage took place without the consent of the king. The couple had one son, Carol Lambrino, the father of Paul Hohenzollern. In 1921, Carol married Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, and they had a son who became King Michael of Romania.

Hohenzollern claims to be the rightful head of Romania's royal house. He bases his contention on the notion that Prince Carol's marriage to Lambrino, carried out in a religious ceremony in Odessa, was never annulled in the eyes of the Orthodox Church, and that as a result, his subsequent marriages were bigamous. Nevertheless, he states that he accept's Romania's republican form of government and does not wish to see the monarchy restored. He also points to a 1955 decision by a court in Lisbon recognizing Carol Lambrino as King Carol's first son and granting him full succession rights, a decision upheld in 1957 and 1963 in France and the following year in the United Kingdom. The latter ruling entitled Lambrino to a British passport under the style "Prince of Hohenzollern, Prince of Romania". However, the ruling has not been extended to Romania, meaning that Hohenzollern cannot claim royal property there. He filed suit there in 1991, but the case remains unresolved.

Born in Paris, Hohenzollern attended a Jesuit school. He was thirteen years old when his father married an American woman and the family moved to London in order to be nearer to European royalty. He started school at Gordonstoun while Prince Charles was attending, then moving on to Millfield. He has worked as an art dealer and property developer. In 1996, at Caşin Church, he married the American Lia Triff, a native of Dearborn, Michigan who had previously divorced lawyer Melvin Belli. The couple have one child, Carol Ferdinand; the infant was baptized in 2011, with President Traian Băsescu taking on the role of godfather.

In 2000, he was an unsuccessful independent candidate for the Romanian presidency. In 2005, Hohenzollern claimed that King Michael created and ran a Nazi state between 1940 and 1944, encouraging and approving the deportation and murder of Romanian Jews; as a result, he called for Michael's execution. Writing in The Jerusalem Post, historian Jean Ancel dismissed Hohenzollern's claims and praised the wartime actions of the king and his mother, Queen Helen.

Ancestors

See also

• Line of succession to the Romanian throne

Notes

1. Template:Ro icon Viorel Soldea, "Cum a stricat o femeie relaţiile dintre Carol al II-lea şi fratele său" ("How a Woman Destroyed the Relationship between Carol II and His Brother"), Historia, 22 December 2010; accessed January 27, 2012
2. Template:Ro icon Vartan Arachelian, "Născut in zodia Satanei" ("Born in Satan's Zodiac"), Jurnalul Naţional, 22 October 2005; accessed January 27, 2012
3. ^ Template:Ro icon Ionuţ Fantaziu, "Şocul care ar putea bulversa Casa Regală" ("The Shock That Could Overturn the Royal House"), Evenimentul Zilei, 8 November 2011; accessed January 27, 2012
4. ^ Template:Ro icon Horia Tabacu, Vlad Teodorescu, "ASR Prinţul Paul: 'Vom dona 62,5 % din Castelul Peleş statului român'" ("HRH Prince Paul: 'We Will Give 62.5% of Peleş Castle to the Romanian State'"), Evenimentul Zilei, 1 September 2011; accessed January 27, 2012
5. Template:Ro icon Violeta Fotache, "Carol Mircea de Hohenzollern, despăgubit post-mortem de CEDO" ("Carol Mircea of Hohenzollern, Given Justice Post-Mortem by ECHR"), Jurnalul Naţional, 27 May 2010; accessed January 27, 2012
6. "HRH Prince Carol of Romania", The Daily Telegraph, 9 February 2006; accessed January 27, 2012
7. Daniel Simpson, "The King's Heir? Hum, That's Not Fully Apparent", The New York Times, 19 June 2002; accessed January 27, 2012
8. Template:Ro icon "Prinţul miliardar va avea un moştenitor" ("Billionaire Prince to Have an Heir"), Cancan, 1 September 2011; accessed January 27, 2012
9. Template:Ro icon "Traian Băsescu l-a botezat pe 'moştenitorul' Carol Ferdinand. Paul de România: 'Gest istoric'" ("Traian Băsescu Baptizes 'Heir' Carol Ferdinand. Paul of Romania: 'Historic Gesture'"), Evenimentul Zilei, 22 May 2011; accessed January 27, 2012
10. Template:Ro icon "Atac la rege: îl scuză Traian Băsescu pe Mareşalul Antonescu?" ("Attack on the King: Is Traian Băsescu Excusing Marshal Antonescu"), România Liberă, 23 June 2011; accessed January 27, 2012
11. Template:Ro icon Cristian Petru, "Prinţul Paul de România acuză - 'Mihai a luat cu el colecţia de tablouri El Greco'" ("Prince Paul of Romania Accuses - 'Michael Took with Him the Collection of El Greco Paintings'"), Jurnalul Naţional, 23 March 2005; accessed January 27, 2012
12. Template:Ro icon Andrei Oişteanu, "Şah la Regele Mihai: Paul Lambrino tulbură relaţiile diplomatice româno-israeliene" ("Chess with King Michael: Paul Lambrino Perturbs Romania-Israel Relations"), 22, 23 June 2005; accessed January 27, 2012

External links

• Official site

Template:Persondata

• 1948 births
• Living people
• Romanian presidential candidates
• People from Paris
• Pretenders to the Romanian throne
• Old Millfieldians