Anne of Romania

Anne (born Princess Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite of Bourbon-Parma; 18 September 1923 – 1 August 2016) was the wife of King Michael I of Romania. She married Michael in 1948, the year after he had abdicated the throne. Nonetheless, she was known after the marriage as Queen Anne (Romanian: Regina Ana).

Early life

Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma was born on 18 September 1923 in Paris, France, as the only daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark. With her three brothers she spent her childhood in France. To her family she was known as Nane (in English Nan).

Their holidays were spent alternately at the Villa Pianore in Lucca with their paternal grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Parma, or at Bernstorff Palace in Copenhagen with their maternal grandfather. Anne's paternal aunt was the last Austrian Empress Zita while her maternal great aunts were Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom. In 1939, her family fled from the Nazis and escaped to Spain. From there they went on to Portugal and then to the United States. She attended the Parsons School of Design in New York City from 1940 to 1943. She also worked as a sales assistant at Macy's department store. In 1943, she volunteered for military service in the French Army. She served in Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Luxembourg and in liberated Germany, as an ambulance driver. Anne received the French Croix de Guerre for her wartime service.