Povestea vieții mele Vol. 3

Regina Maria writes about her life in Bucharest. She moved there after she wed Prince Ferdinand. In this third volume, she faces court rules and feels alone. She writes of friends and the city's social life. She recalls trips abroad and the births of her children. Ferdinand came close to death from typhoid fever. This memoir shares her own view of royal and family life.

Maria wrote it years later, looking back at her youth. She had been shy and naive. She tells how she gained trust and found more joy. She rode in the woods near Sinaia, free from palace rules. These rides strengthened her bond with Romania and its people. Tales of broken rules show her playful side. In one, she and her sisters talk an officer into a swap. He trades his uniform for a servant's clothes.

Maria's birthplace was Eastwell Park in Britain, in 1875. People knew her as Missy. Queen Victoria was one of her grandparents. Russia's Tsar Alexander II was another. Maria was a princess of Britain and Ireland. She then became Romania's crown princess, and later its queen.

This edition marks 100 years since her crowning. It keeps the four parts Maria chose for her account. Miruna Andriescu translated it from English.