This year, the 150th anniversary of Queen Marie of Romania's birth takes center stage in our programme of events. Starting in June, we invite you to a series of ambitious and high-impact events that will celebrate the iconic figure of the Queen, a key bridge personality between our country and the United Kingdom, and her significant role in history.
Following the opening event in London, the “1919: Royal Mission” theatre performance, we travel to the Scottish capital for a three-day celebration comprising a photography exhibition, a talk, and a theatre performance. Join us to discover the Queen’s vibrant personality and manifold talents – an artist, a writer, a diplomat, a charismatic woman serving her country tirelessly!
This series of events is organised in partnership with the Consulate General of Romania in Edinburgh, the National Library of Scotland, and the University of St Andrews.
WEDNESDAY, 2 JULY
6:30 PM / French Institute in Edinburgh / W Parliament Sq, Edinburgh EH1 1RN
Private View: photography exhibition “Of Stone and Steel. A Voyage into the World of Urbex”
Free event. Book atedinburgh@mae.ro.
The programme kicks off with the Private View of the acclaimed photography exhibition “Of Stone and Steel. A Voyage into the World of Urbex” in the presence of its author, Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie of Romania. Great-granddaughter of Queen Marie of Romania, Princess Sophie inherited her passion for the arts and literature, becoming a world-renowned photographer and a most successful author of children's literature. The exhibition, curated by HRH Princess Sophie in collaboration with Jean Milligan and Irina Andreea Cristea, will feature over 20 stunning photographic panels depicting a fascinating exploration of abandoned buildings throughout Romania. After two years of preparation and careful planning, the authors travelled to different areas of Romania. They immersed themselves in the depths of abandoned or forgotten buildings, unravelling the stories and secrets hidden within their walls.
THURSDAY, 3 JULY
5:30 PM / National Library of Scotland / George IV Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1EW
Talk: “Princess Marie of Edinburgh: Romania's Writer-Queen”
Free event. BookHERE.
The following day, Dr. Shona Kallestrup takes the stage at the National Library of Scotland to discuss Romania's Writer-Queen. In her talk, Dr. Kallestrup draws upon the beloved monarch’s books, which are held at the National Library, as she explores the life and legacy of this influential woman. Princess Marie (1875 to 1938) was the daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh, but became the charismatic Queen of Romania after her marriage to King Ferdinand I. She played a crucial role during the First World War and the Paris Peace Conference, leading diplomatic negotiations on behalf of Romania. Marie was celebrated at home and abroad as 'Mother of all the Romanians'. Her international fame owed much to her skill as a writer and her understanding of the power of the photographic image. This event will include an address to the audience from Her Royal Highness, Princess Sophie.
FRIDAY, 4 JULY
6:30 PM / French Institute in Edinburgh / W Parliament Sq, Edinburgh EH1 1RN
Theatre performance: “The Queen’s War”
Free event. Book atedinburgh@mae.ro.
We wrap up our presence in Edinburgh with a compelling reading performance inspired by the famous Queen Marie of Romania’s wartime diaries. Starring London-based Romanian actress Bianca Topor, the performance is a revealing character study that faithfully portrays the great woman in a time of distress and eventual redemption. An account of the passionate and restless monarch who made a decisive contribution to the Romanian victory in the First World War and the subsequent creation of United Romania. Directed by Ema Nicola after a dramatisation by Cristian Luchian and Anca Doczi.
About Queen Marie of Romania
(Marie Alexandra Victoria; 29 October 1875, Eastwell Park, Kent, England – 18 July 1938, Pelișor Castle, Sinaia, Romania)
Queen Marie of Romania, born Princess Marie of Edinburgh, was the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (second son of Queen Victoria), and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Raised at the crossroads of British and Russian royal traditions, she brought to the Romanian throne a cosmopolitan vision and a formidable presence.
Married to Crown Prince Ferdinand in 1893, she became Queen Consort of Romania in 1914. Her reign coincided with one of the most tumultuous and transformative periods in the nation’s history. Throughout the First World War, she emerged as a national symbol of courage and compassion, working as a nurse, visiting the front lines, and serving as a rallying figure for both soldiers and civilians.
In 1919, Queen Marie played a decisive role in Romania’s diplomatic efforts at the Paris Peace Conference. Though acting without an official portfolio, her eloquence, charisma, and political acumen impressed the Allied leaders, and she proved instrumental in securing international recognition of Romania’s post-war territorial gains, particularly the unification with Transylvania.
A gifted writer and diarist, Queen Marie left a rich literary legacy, including memoirs, essays, and correspondence that offer valuable insight into her public and private life. She is remembered not only as a sovereign but as a visionary and modern woman, an advocate for Romanian unity, a patron of the arts, and a devoted builder of the nation’s cultural identity. Her crowning achievement, both symbolically and politically, came with the Coronation at Alba Iulia in 1922, marking the fulfilment of the national ideal of Greater Romania. Today, Queen Marie remains an enduring figure of dignity, diplomacy, and devotion to country.
Queen Marie was a widely beloved and well-known figure both in Romania and abroad. King George V of Great Britain once said, “Beyond our many and important common purposes, there are also other strong ties between us. Her Majesty the Queen, my dear cousin, was born in Great Britain.”
BIOGRAPHIES
Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, the fourth daughter of King Michael, has been passionate about telling stories through art since childhood. Her father’s personal photographs, notably the ones he took as a young man of the Carpathian Mountains, inspired her at a very young age to pick up a camera. Today Her Royal Highness is an internationally recognised photographer, having exhibited her work throughout Europe and beyond. She is the recipient of the Kotinos International Award for Excellence in Photography Art 2018, given in collaboration with the Philanthropy International Organisation and the Saned International Organisation.Princess Sophie is a senior working member of the Romanian Royal Family. She complements hermission with her professional activity as a photographer. To this end, she created a long-term umbrella project called “Romania, A Celebration” which covers various subjects by capturing and documenting the country’s diverse cultures, history, environment, and way of life and by creating visual journeys through Romania that offer extraordinary insights to facets of the country rarely seen, both in Romania and abroad. The exhibition “Of Stone and Steel. A Voyage into the World of Urbex”, you are seeing today, is the fourth chapter of “Romania, a Celebration”. Her Royal Highness is also an author. In 1995 she published a volume of children’s stories in Bucharest, following in the footsteps of her great-grandmother Queen Marie. Her first photographic book “The Romanian Monastery - Celebrating Romania’s Spiritual Communities”, was published in 2021. Her second photographic book was published in 2023 and complements the present exhibition. Aside from her public activities alongside Her Majesty Margareta the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, complemented by her photographic endeavours to promote Romania, Her Royal Highness continues to write. She is working on new children’s books together with her only child, Eelaz, an artist, who will create the illustrations. To be created in the coming years, this project has a special place in Princess Sophie’s heart due to its personal nature, but equally to encourage early literacy in young children thus helping the next generation to develop reading skills.
Dr. Shona Kallestrup is a distinguished British art historian whose work focuses on Central and Eastern European art, particularly in Romania and Scandinavia, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She holds a PhD from the University of St Andrews where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Art History and French before obtaining a Masters in Combined Historical Studies from the Warburg Institute in London. Her academic career includes posts as a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Aberdeen and visiting lectureships in Copenhagen and Edinburgh. Between 2018 and 2021she was a Senior Research Fellow on a major European Research Council project at New Europe College in Bucharest. Currently she lectures in Art History at the University of St Andrews where she teaches modules on Central European Secession Movements, Nordic Design and Dada and Surrealism. Her research explores the transnational circulation of artistic ideas and the role of visual culture in shaping national identity. Among her notable publications areArt and Design in Romania 1866–1927,Periodization in the Art Historiographies of Central and Eastern Europe, andNordic Design in Translation. Dr Kallestrup recently co-curated the exhibitionDora Hitz. Aus Franken nach Rumänien in die Welt at Kunstverein Coburg (2025). Dr Kallestrup is also Deputy Editor of the journalArchitectural History and serves as an external examiner at the University of Edinburgh. Her fieldwork in Romania, particularly concerning the artistic legacy of Queen Marie, has uncovered important archival and decorative heritage. Widely respected as both a scholar and educator, she also shares her expertise through public lectures and cultural tours, combining rigorous scholarship with accessible engagement.
Bianca Topor is a Romanian-born actress based in London. She is an alumnus of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Faculty of Theatre, Iași, Romania. During and after her studies, she often collaborated with renowned directors at the Romanian National Opera in Iasi, such as Andrei Serban, Matteo Mazzoni, and many others. Since moving to London in 2019, she has been actively involved in theatre, pantomimes and short films, in an ever-expanding career. She gained notable attention for her role as Elira in the 2024 short filmImmortal Reflections, directed by Andrea R. Ciobanu, for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the Freewheeling Film Awards. The short has been officially selected at notable film festivals around the world, such as the Santa Monica International Film Festival in CA, FP Arts Short Film Festival in Scotland, to name a few. They also won Best Supernatural Short at the Wallachia International Film Festival in Bucharest. This summer, Bianca will be portraying Cleopatra inAnthony and Cleopatra by W.Shakespeare, produced by The Greek Theatre Players. She is pleased and grateful to be part of the RCI’s production ofThe Bald Prima Donna by Eugene Ionesco, where she will play the role ofMrs.Smith.
