Saptamana 15 / Week 15

In Saptamana 11 am prezentat legatura dintre casele regale ale Romaniei si Iugoslaviei, iar in Saptamana 13 am ramas in zona Balcanilor scriind despre legatura casei noastre regale cu cea a Bulgariei. Azi voi face o completare la tabelul genealogic din 22 martie si voi incepe sa vorbesc despre legatura speciala care exista intre Principesa Mostenitoare a Romaniei si monarhia elena.



Descendentii ML regele Ferdinand I & regina Maria ai Romaniei



Asa cum reiese din tabelul genealogic, principesa Margareta este inrudita cu familia regala a Greciei prin bunica sa paterna, regina-mama Elena a Romaniei, care inainte de casatoria cu viitorul Carol al II-lea a fost principesa a Greciei si Danemarcei. [Fondatorul actualei case regale elene, regele George I, a fost fiul regelui Danemarcei, Christian al IX-lea (vezi tabelul genealogic din Saptamana 8), fiind cunoscut in tara sa natala sub numele de principele Vilhelm. I s-a oferit coroana greceasca in anul 1863, dupa ce regele Otto (de origina bavareza) a fost indepartat. Acesta este motivul pentru care toti membrii casei regale elene sunt principi de Grecia si Danemarca!]

Mai putin cunoscut este faptul ca a existat o a doua legatura intre cele doua case regale: inca inainte de casatoria dintre principele Carol si principesa Elena, la Bucuresti, a avut loc nunta principesei Elisabeta a Romaniei (sora principelui Carol) si cel care avea sa devina regele George al II-lea al Greciei si care era, in acelasi timp, fratele principesei Elena. Aceste legaturi matrimoniale au pecetluit statutul reginei Maria a Romaniei ca “soacra a Balcanilor” si au stat la baza sistemului de aliante al Romaniei in perioada premergatoare celui de-al doilea razboi mondial.

Trebuie spus ca, inca de la inceput, cele doua mariaje au fost puse sub semnul intrebarii datorita superstitiilor ortodoxe. Se pare ca aceste superstitii au avut o oarecare putere intrucat ambele casatorii s-au terminat prin divort.



MS regina Elisabeta a Greciei



Principesa Elisabeta a Romaniei a purtat titlul de regina a Greciei pentru o scurta perioada de timp, iar casnicia sa cu regele Greciei nu a produs niciun mostenitor. Dupa moartea regelui George al II-lea, coroana elena a trecut catre fratele sau mai mic, Paul. Saptamana viitoare voi continua sa scriu despre rudele din Grecia ale principesei Margareta, mai exact, despre fiica cea mai mare a regelui Paul, Sofia, actuala regina a Spaniei.


 

Principesa Elisabeta a Romaniei, regina Greciei, ramane in istorie, iar numele sau este o prezenta permanenta in viata casei regale grecesti, chiar si in ziua de azi, prin intermediul unei bijuterii deosebite, create in cinstea sa. Este vorba despre o exceptionala tiara cu diamante si smaralde ce continua sa fie purtata de actuala regina a Greciei, a carei motiv central este litera “E”, initiala principesei romane. 

MS regina Anne-Marie a Greciei  

Paste fericit !!!

Tarta de lamaie Simeon al II-lea

Reteta din aceasta saptamana incheie capitolul “Regele Simeon II si regina Margarita”, inchinat suveranilor bulgari. Este unul dintre deserturile pe care le prefer, intrucat sunt un mare iubitor al citricelor.

Dupa cum veti vedea, nu este un desert dificil de realizat, nu necesita mult timp si nici nu solicita prea mult bugetul.

Blatul acestei tarte se relaizeaza asemeni celui pentru cheesecake, insa biscuitii digestivi sunt (sau pot fi) inlocuiti cu cei simplii (Petit Beurre). Dupa ce sfaramati biscuitii, amestecati-i cu unt (aprox. jumate de pachet) si presati-i pe fundul unei tavi cu catarama .

Crema se obtine prin amestecarea a patru galbenusuri de ou cu o conserva de lapte condensat (se poate prepara si in casa) si zeama de la doua lamai mari. Se bat cele trei ingrediente cu mixerul si de toarna deasupra blatului.

Decorarea tartei se face cu o spuma de albus si zahar (bezea): se bat 4 albusuri de ou cu o cana de zahar alb, iar spuma astfel obtinuta se pune intr-un cornet pentru decorat si se acopera intreaga tarta.

Se introduce la cuptor, la foc mediu, pana cand bezeaua se rumeneste.

Am pregatit aceasta tarta pentru ziua fratelui meu, caruia ii doresc, din nou, “La multi ani!” si multa, multa sanatate!!!

Reteta detaliata se afla in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti 2010, pag. 137.

***

In Week 11 I wrote about the family connections that exist between the royal houses of Romania and Yugoslavia, while in Week 13 I remained in the Balkans writing about the family connections that exist between our royal family and that of Bulgaria. Today I will add some details to the family tree of March 22^nd and will write about the special relationship that exists between HRH the Crown Princess of Romania and the Greek monarchy.

[see The Descendants of King Ferdinand I & Queen Marie of Romania genealogic table above]

As can be seen in the family tree, the Crown Princess is related to the Greek Royal Family through her paternal grandmother, queen Helen of Romania, who, before marrying the future king Carol II, was a princess of Greece & Denmark [The founder of the present-day Greek Royal Family, king George I, was the son of the Danish king Christian IX (see the family tree of Week 8) and was known in his country of birth as prince Vilhelm. He was offered the Greek crown in 1863 after the Bavarian-born king Otto was deposed. This is the reason why all members of the Greek royal family are prince/princess of Greece and Denmark!]

Less known is the fact that there was a second connection between the two royal houses: even before the wedding of Carol and Helen, the wedding of princess Elisabeta of Romania (Carol’s sister) and the future king George II of Greece (Helen’s brother) took place in Bucharest. These family ties have sealed queen Marie of Romania’s title of “mother-in-law of the Balkans” and were an important part of Romania’s alliance system before World War II.

It has to be said that from the beginning the two royal unions were frowned upon due to the Orthodox superstitions. It seems that these superstitions were quite powerful as both marriages ended in divorce.

Princess Elisabeta of Romania was queen of Greece for a very short period of time and her her marriage to the King of Greece produced no heirs. After king George II’s death, the Greek crown went to his younger brother Paul. Next week I will continue to write about the Greek relatives of Crown Princess Margarita, specifically, about king Paul’s eldest daughter, Sofia, the present queen of Spain.

Princess Elisabeta of Romania, queen of Greece, has made her mark on history and her name remains a constant presence in the Greek Royal Family’s life, even today, through a very special piece of jewellery, which was created in her honour. It is an amazing diamond and emerald tiara, which is worn by the present-day Queen of Greece and whose central motif is the letter E, the Romanian princess’ initial.

 Happy Easter !!!

Lemon Tart Simeon II

This week’s recipe is the last of the chapter “King Simeon II & Queen Margarita”, dedicated to the Bulgarian sovereign. This is one of my favourite desserts as I am a great lover of anything citrusy. 

As you will see, it really is a very easy to prepare dessert, it is not time-consuming and does not put a strain on one’s budget.

I made the base of this tart just like the one for the cheesecake, but the digestive biscuits are (or can be) substituted for regular, plain biscuits. Once I crushed the biscuits, I mixed them with butter (about half a pack) at room temperature and pressed them onto the base of the cake tin.

I made the filling of this tart out of four egg yolks, one can of condensed milk and the juice from two large lemons. I mixed everything together and added the filling on top of the biscuit base.

I decorated the tart with a meringue, which I made out of four egg whites and a cup of sugar, whipped together with a hand-held mixer. Using a piping bag, I covered the top of the tart with the meringue.

I placed the decorated tart in the oven at medium heat and baked it until the meringue turned a nice golden colour.

I have made this tart for my brother’s birthday this year and I want to wish him, yet again, “Happy Birthday” and all good wishes of health and happiness!!!

The detailed recipe can be found in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti 2010, pag. 137.