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Prince Radu of Romania

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Prince Radu
Spouse Princess Margarita of Romania
Full name
Radu of Romania Duda
Father Rene Duda
Mother Gabriela Duda b. Constandache
Born June 7, 1960 (1960-06-07) (age 49)
Iaşi, Romania
Styles of
Prince Radu of Romania
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir


Prince Radu of Romania, formerly known as Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen, was born on 7 June 1960 in Iaşi, Romania, as Radu Duda. In 1996 he married Princess Margarita of Romania. On 1 January 1999 he was given the name, not title[1][2] of "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" by Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern, the Head of the Sigmaringen branch of the Hohenzollern family, his legal name becoming Radu Hohenzollern Veringen Duda[3][4][5][6][7]. Since 2007, when he had his legal name changed into "Radu of Romania Duda," Radu no longer uses the name of Hohenzollern.[8]

The new Statute of the Romanian Royal Family[9] signed by King Michael I of Romania on December 30, 2007, made public Radu's title of "Prince of Romania" with the style of "Royal Highness," which King Michael had bestowed upon him earlier on January 5, 2005.[10]

He is a non-dynastic member of the Romanian Royal Family. Either in the company of his wife Princess Margarita or most often alone,[11] the Prince represents the Royal Family on various occasions.

Contents

[edit] Education and work
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania (1881-1947)

*titled accordingly in new family rules
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He graduated from the University of Drama and Film in Bucharest, 1984 and had over 20 years of artistic activity in Romania as well as in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. He was the Artistic Director of the first project in Romania of art therapy for abandoned children in orphanages. The project, started in 1993, was developed in eight cities over six years.

Prince Radu played a major role in the planning and organisation of the official tours undertaken by King Michael I of Romania in 1997 and 2002 for the integration of Romania in NATO, as well as creating the concept of the King's "Millennium Tour" in Romania in 2000. In the NATO tours the King visited the United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, meeting with heads of state and government. He accompanied the King on most of these visits.

In 2002, he graduated from the National College of Defence of Romania, and the George C. Marshall College, Garmisch, Germany. In August 2004 he participated in the two-week Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University [12] [13].

In September 2002, he was appointed Special Representative of the Romanian Government for Integration, Co-operation and Sustainable Development. He is also Advisor to HM King Michael I, Patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Board of Directors of "House of NATO" Association in Bucharest, and Honorary Member of the Senate of "Aurel Vlaicu" University of Arad and of the University of Oradea, Romania.

Since 2005, he is a Romanian Army Colonel and holds a doctorate in Military Science from the National Defence University of Bucharest.

Prince Radu is the author of several books:Dincolo de mască (Bucharest: Unitext, 1997), L'Âme du masque (Brussels, 1998), Război, un exil, o viaţă (Bucharest, 2000; translated into English as Anne of Romania: A War, an Exile, a Life, Bucharest: Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2002), Michael of Romania: A Tribute (San Francisco and Bucharest, 2001), Kildine (Bucharest, 2003; a translation into Romanian of the fairy-tales book of Queen Marie of Romania), Seven (Bucharest: Nemira, 2003), The Royal Family of Romania (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2004), Persona (Bucharest: Nemira, 2006), The Elisabeta Palace (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2006)

Prince Radu lectures and makes speeches in Romania, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Japan, India, Lithuania, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Ireland, Canada, Poland, the United States, Italy, Jordan, Thailand, Slovenia, Croatia, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt and the United Kingdom. Prince Radu appears regularly on TV and publishes articles in the written press in Romania.

Prince Radu's lectures address topics related to Romania's integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, defense, and security, geopolitics and diplomacy, culture, economics, and education. He has equally spoken out about the issue of ethnic minorities, in particular about the Roma (Gypsy or Tzigane) minority, an important issue for Romania and South Eastern Europe today[14][15][16][17], through conferences in Romania and around Europe, in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Finland, etc. His activity report "2005 Annual Report and 2002-2004 Retrospective"[18] is available in English and Romanian on his official website.

[edit] Initiatives

[edit] Europe of Regions

It is a project Prince Radu initiated to promote Romania's major interests and to strengthen Romania’s bilateral relations. Its aims are to encourage and promote economic, cultural, and educational partnerships between Romanian regions and different European regions, as well as to to raise awareness about Romania through meetings, conferences, and lectures. It will involve Prince Radu visiting up to four different regions a year, meeting local businessmen, political and local administration leaders, university teachers and students, Romanian communities and the press. Regions covered so far are the Italian regions of Tuscany and Sicily (provinces of Palermo, Caltanisetta, Enna, and Catania), the French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Aquitaine (Pays Beaumontois). The Europe of Regions initiative will continue with visits to the Lands of Germany, to Spain, and further regions of France and Italy[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].

[edit] The Friendship Tour

The Friendship Tour is a similar initiative created to promote Romania's major interests, mainly in the United States of America, aiming to encourage, promote, and support Romanian partnerships in the economic, educational, and cultural domains. Visits are planned to 3-4 states each year to meet local businessmen and women, politicians, and local administration, university teachers and students, as well as the Romanian diaspora. The aim is also to raise awareness about Romania’s potential and to strengthen bilateral relations. The Friendship Tour kicked off with a ten-day visit to the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Massachusetts, during which Prince Radu met with governors, mayors, state congressmen, professors, students, businessmen, journalists, and American citizens of Romanian origin. The Friendship Tour II and The Friendship Tour III plan to reach five other USA states[27][28][29].

[edit] Personality

In an interview for "Observator Plus,"[30] Prince Radu talks frankly about himself. He says that during Communism he had lived in an amoral world (similar to present-day Romania) which lacked models and in which it was difficult to have principles. He discovered the latter only when he met King Michael, when he realized that "life can be marked, here and there, by principles." Before that fateful meeting, Radu had had only ideals and "exercises of admiration" towards European or international personalities. In another interview[31], Radu enumerates some of the personalities from Eastern Europe he admires, such as Pope John Paul II, Lech Wałęsa, Václav Havel, and [sic] Nelson Mandela. During Communism, his family represented a source of inspiration for him, because in those corrupt times, not unlike current times in Romania, they remained honest people. Also, Radu believes that he could not have done things better than he has done in his life so far. He also says that he has very few friends. One of his favorite films is Brokeback Mountain,which he describes as "one of the most moving and emotional, full of inspiration and of truth movies of the last years," and he is an admirer of the movie's "exceptional" star, Heath Ledger, whose premature death he decries.[32][33] His favorite singers are Pavarotti, José Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Elton John.[34]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Corruption accusations

BAE Systems[35], one of the donors to Princess Margarita's charity, and its representatives, have been involved in a corruption scandal regarding the purchase by the Romanian Government of two decommissioned UK Royal Navy frigates refurbished by BAE, for which an alleged £ 7 million bribe was paid[36]. Some of this money, it is also alleged, "ended up in the pockets of the royal family of Hohenzollern"[37]. The "Gardianul" newspaper[38][39], noting that both Margarita and Radu, as Special Representative of the Government, had met a number of times formally or informally with the BAE Systems representatives before and after the signing of the governmental contract, inquired whether the royal family was involved in any lobbying on behalf of the company. In an official communique sent to the newspaper[39], Radu denied any such lobbying activities, stating that as patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce in which BAE Systems is a member, he met with this as well as other British companies' representatives.

[edit] Securitate informer

Prince Radu has been, as are many other prominent public figures, the target of press attacks[40][41] of having been an informer of Communist Romania's secret police Securitate during Ceauşescu's dictatorship.

"Căminul românesc" magazine from Geneva[42][43] published an article by Nicolette (Nicoleta) Franck, a journalist close to King Michael, about whom she wrote many books[44]. The article alleged that Radu Duda was a Securitate agent infiltrated in the Royal House so as to compromise it, on orders from Ion Iliescu, the former high ranking Communist president of Romania and allegedly friend of Radu's father, also a former high ranking Communist. No proof of these allegations was offered.

In an article published by Adevarul daily, Prince Radu denied allegations of his supposed involvement with the Securitate: "I have not collaborated with the Securitate…in 1986 there was an attempt to recruit me. I refused politely and I was never contacted again."[45] The article revealed that in 1989 Radu’s name was found on a list of 1,000+ people entitled "support persons" of the Securitate. In another interview for the same daily[46], Radu explained that in 1986 he had been asked by the Securitate to collaborate due to his successful career as an actor: "Everybody who was somebody knew that there was this risk" to be called upon by Securitate to become an informer. At that time Radu had been working on a Iaşi stage as a theater graduate for two years and was about to go on his second and last theater tour abroad to Israel[47], accompanying two renowned Romanian actors. The former head of the local Iaşi branch of Securitate explained in an interview[48] that a "support person" such as Duda and the other people on the 1,000+ list were not informers, did not sign any agreement with the Securitate, nor did they receive money, but were Communist Party members, in particular people who traveled abroad, targeted by the Securitate with the Party's approval to carry out well-defined missions for a limited period of time. He also confirmed in a subsequent interview[49] that the list in question is real.

It has also been reported[50] that "many of the royal family's supporters have stopped offering financial aids after Radu Duda joined the Royal House. Wealthy Romanians in exile, who have been surveyed by the communist era political police Securitate even in subway stations, considered the compromise as intolerable."

[edit] The title scandal

The Insignia of Prince Radu

In August 2004, representatives of HSH Karl Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, accused Radu[51] of using the Hohenzollern name without permission as well as of having demanded "considerable" sums of money from whoever may be interested in buying it. The Hereditary Prince also warned Radu that the Hohenzollern family would take "legal measures" in case these things were to happen again and demanded him not to use the title of "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" any longer. In a 2009 interview, the Hereditary Prince re-iterated these demands and stated that his father has no right to issue titles in a republic, calling Radu Duda's title "of Hohenzollern-Veringen" a "farce."[1][2] The Hereditary Prince is the son of HSH Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who[51] had granted Radu an ad personam "name" of "Prinz von Hohenzollern-Veringen" on January 1, 1999. The scandal is believed to have been instigated by a descendant of King Carol II and friend of the Hereditary Prince, Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern[52], whose father Carol won two lawsuits in Portugal and France which recognised him as the legitimate son of Carol II, without any dynastic or title rights. Radu has sued the London based "Royalty Monthly" magazine for libel[53][54] for publishing these allegations in an article. Prince Radu has not ceased to use the name and title "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" and there is no evidence that further legal measures have been taken by the Hohenzollern family.

[edit] The military rank

Some[55][56] have contested the legality of Radu's meteoric rise in the Romanian Army from a reserve lieutenant (locotenent-major in Romanian) to the rank of active colonel in much less time than that prescribed for ordinary advancements. The former Chief of Army Staff has argued that his activation was done at Radu's own request, while his promotion was granted for "extraordinary" merits, such as Radu's lobby for Romania's admission into NATO. Radu's official response argues, however, that his own activation was not as result of any unilateral request, but of a joint request of both the Royal House and the Defence Ministry.

[edit] Political support

Between September 2002 and September 2008, Prince Radu maintained an official position as Special Representative of the Romanian Government under two successive administrations, that of the socialist PSD coalition Government as well as that of the centrist-right "Dreptate si Adevar" ("Justice and Truth") Alliance coalition Government. Meanwhile the main pro-monarchist party PNŢCD, currently extra-parliamentarian, has been rejecting any role for him or Princess Margarita in a restored monarchy[57][58]. In 2003, however, the Cluj branch of PNŢCD officially invited Princess Margarita to be its candidate to the Senate in the upcoming elections [59][60]. The current president of Romania Traian Basescu does not appreciate Radu[61] and thinks he is detrimental to the Romanians' public perception of the idea of monarchy.[62][63] Radu is seen as nurturing ambitions to run for the presidency in the upcoming 2009 elections.[61][64] As of February 28, 2008, Radu intends to resign from his "seven year"-old governmental position as Special Representative, which he has held since September 2002, and to not take it up again with a future government.[65] On September 17, 2008 Radu resigned his governmental position.

In a 2004 poll conducted by the PSD (SDP) party[66], of whose coalition government he was at that time the Special Representative, Prince Radu scored just 3.4% as a potential candidate in the upcoming Romanian presidential elections. In a more recent 2006 opinion poll[67] taken by an institute affiliated with the Royal House in running many of its public events[68] and its hospitality management school[69][70], 48.80% of those questioned answered that it would be good for Prince Radu to accept a state function, while 46.41% were of the opposite opinion. The same 2006 poll showed that 66% of the Romanians interviewed would like to see a more active involvement of the Royal House in the democratisation and development of Romania. In a 2008 poll, Radu was preferred as president of Romania by 2.6% of the Romanian electorate.[71] In the presence of Princess Margareta, Prince Radu announced his candidature for the Romanian Presidency in a press conference at Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, Romania, on 9 April 2009.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] See also

[edit] References

 This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking.
  1. ^ a b “Radu Duda’s title of Hohenzollern is a farce”, Nine O'Clock, June 12, 2009
  2. ^ a b (Romanian) "Karl Friedrich of Hohenzollern: „Radu Duda's Hohenzollern title is a farce“, Cotidianul, June 10, 2009
  3. ^ (Romanian) "The Actor Duda in The Role of A Lifetime: Prince Consort of Romania," Cotidianul, January 3, 2008
  4. ^ 2005 "Income Statement," filled out in Romanian by Hohenzollern Veringen Duda, Radu
  5. ^ 2005 "Interest Statement," filled out in Romanian by Hohenzollern Veringen Duda, Radu
  6. ^ (Romanian) "Income Statement", Prime-Minister's Chancellery Website as of July 14, 2006
  7. ^ (Romanian) "Public Letter to The SRI Director", Romanian Imprisonment Watch, Visby, Sweden, September 17, 2004
  8. ^ (Romanian) Prince Radu: There is no presidential candidate named Hohenzollern, Cotidianul, June 11, 2009
  9. ^ Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, The Romanian Royal Family website as retrieved on January 8, 2007
  10. ^ (Romanian) Prince Radu, Prince Radu's website as of September 12, 2008
  11. ^ (Romanian) "May 10 - Sad Destiny, Memorable Date", Dilema Veche, May 12, 2006
  12. ^ http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2006/HRESP/HR0026.html
  13. ^ http://ksgexecprogram.harvard.edu/Programs/nis/overview.aspx
  14. ^ Prince Radu next to the Roma leader and parliamentarian Mǎdǎlin Voicu and EU representative Jonathan Scheele at a piano concert, May 15, 2006 (foto)
  15. ^ (Romanian) Prince Radu and the Roma leader Mǎdǎlin Voicu at a conference about ethnic minorities, January 27, 2006
  16. ^ Prince Radu on his lectures about the Roma minority in "When Royalty Meets Diplomacy", Prague Magazine, February 2005
  17. ^ "The Roma Minority in Romania and in South-Eastern Europe," by HSH Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen, Chatham House, 5 June 2003
  18. ^ "Annual Report 2005," Prince Radu website, as of December 6, 2006
  19. ^ Prince Radu
  20. ^ Balcani Cooperazione
  21. ^ Comunicati stampa - Università degli Studi di Catania
  22. ^ cstampa - moduli - Provincia Regionale di Catania
  23. ^ Comune di Catania
  24. ^ Stiri pe scurt: ZIUA
  25. ^ * Inform *
  26. ^ [1]
  27. ^ Prince Radu
  28. ^ South Bend Tribune: Prince stops in South Bend
  29. ^ Untitled Document
  30. ^ (Romanian) "Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen: To Be Means To Be Recognized", Observator Plus, July 26, 2004
  31. ^ (Romanian) "Monarchy Is A Form Of Government One Must Love In Order To Exist", Romania Libera, September 23, 2006
  32. ^ (Romanian) Heath Ledger, Prince Radu blog, as retrieved on January 28, 2008
  33. ^ (Romanian) Prince Duda decries Heath Ledger, Can-Can, January 28, 2008
  34. ^ (Romanian) Exclusive interview with His Highness Radu Duda, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen, Curierul zilei, January 31, 2007
  35. ^ "Blair hit by Saudi 'bribery' threat," The Sunday Times, November 19, 2006
  36. ^ "Bribery inquiry may force £7m refund to Romania," The Guardian, June 15, 2006
  37. ^ (Romanian) "Mulberry Juice", Gandul, June 21, 2006
  38. ^ (Romanian) "BAE Royal Sponsor", Gardianul, June 16, 2006
  39. ^ a b (Romanian) "Prince Duda, Classmate at The National Defence University with The Signer of The BAE Contract", Gardianul, June 17, 2006
  40. ^ (Romanian) "Troubles at The Castle", Banateanul, May 3, 2006
  41. ^ "Romania's Holocaust Progress in Serious Question" by Richard Carlson and Richard Gooding, Front Page Magazine, January 28, 2005
  42. ^ (Romanian) "Franck: A Securitate Man in The Royal House", Adevarul, October 13, 2006
  43. ^ "Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review," AXIS INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS, 16.10.2006
  44. ^ La Roumanie dans l'Engrenage. Nicolette Franck. Paris and Brussels: Elsevier Sequoia, 1977, 269 pp. - review by Foreign Affairs, April 1978
  45. ^ (Romanian) "Prince Radu Caught in the Files Grinder", Adevarul, September 1, 2006
  46. ^ (Romanian) "Prince Radu: I Have Begun Legal Procedures To Prove I Was Not An Informer", Adevarul, September 2, 2006
  47. ^ (Romanian) "Radu Duda, The Prince in The Government", Evenimentul Zilei, January 28, 2004
  48. ^ (Romanian) "Prince Radu on The List of Secu' Supporters", Cotidianul, September 2, 2006
  49. ^ (Romanian) "How Secu informed Iliescu", Evenimentul Zilei, February 16, 2007
  50. ^ "The King and The Jester", Evenimentul Zilei, December 18, 2003
  51. ^ a b The Prime Minister proposed Radu Duda a seat as a Senator of the Democrat Social Party (ruling party in Romania), Mediafax news agency, August 6, 2004
  52. ^ "Masonry and dynasty", Ziua, August 13, 2004
  53. ^ "Prince Radu of Hohenzollern has instructed Ruth Collard to pursue his claim for libel against the editor and publishers of Royalty Monthly magazine,” Carter-Ruck Summer 2005 Newsletter
  54. ^ "Prince Radu of Hohenzollern has won his appeal to the Court of Appeal," Recent cases - Carter-Ruck: media and human rights lawyers
  55. ^ (Romanian) "The Fascinating Military Rise of Prince Hohenzollern Duda", Cotidianul, November 11, 2006
  56. ^ (Romanian) "Penalties and Self-penalties", Cronica Romana, November 11, 2006
  57. ^ (Romanian) "PNŢCD Plans The Restoration of Monarchy through Prince Nicholas", Ziua, March 1, 2002
  58. ^ (Romanian) "PNŢCD Is Looking for A King", Evenimentul Zilei, March 1, 2002
  59. ^ (Romanian) "Princess Margareta Invited to Run for Office", Ziarul Financiar, July 24, 2003
  60. ^ (Romanian) "The Princess in The Senate", Evenimentul Zilei, July 25, 2003
  61. ^ a b "The President is afraid of the Royal House!", Jurnalul National, May 13, 2008
  62. ^ (Romanian) "In two years, Basescu and Iliescu jumped from love to hatred", Gandul, May 15, 2007
  63. ^ (Romanian) "Basescu said Iliescu knew he would be accused of genocide", Cotidianul, May 15, 2007
  64. ^ (Romanian) "Other possible presidency candidates", Cotidianul, January 24, 2008
  65. ^ (Romanian) Radu Duda intends to leave his position as special representative of the government, Mediafax news agency, February 28, 2008
  66. ^ SDP Trails its Leader With 7% of the Votes, Jurnalul National, August 18, 2004
  67. ^ Romanians' view on monarchy, Ziua, May 4, 2006
  68. ^ (Romanian) The Royal House launched the program "Romanian - A 30 year vision", Foreign Affairs Ministry website, as of November 3, 2007
  69. ^ (Romanian) The Elisabeth Palace soirees from 2002 until today, the website of Prince Radu, as of March 4, 2008
  70. ^ (Romanian) A prestigious presence in Bucharest - Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) – Switzerland, Irecson website, retrieved on March 4, 2008
  71. ^ (Romanian) Poll: Basescu remains on the first position in the electorate's preferences, Adevarul, February 20, 2008

[edit] External links

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