British Love Affair with Romania

officelondon
Feb 8, 2024
1 min read

We marked Valentine’s Day with a special event, The British Love Affair with Romania, a fantastic event unearthing some touching and daring love stories between Romanians and British over the centuries. Writer and historian Bronwen Riley unpacked real love stories for us, such as the one between Lady Arabella from the court of James I and Stefan Bogdan, pretender to the throne of Moldavia. Mary Grant fell in love with CA Rosetti and became a figure of the mid-1800s revolution. Queen Marie of Romania – granddaughter of Queen Victoria – is one of the most emblematic figures of our modern history. And of course, the deep affection of HM King Charles III for Romania, a country he has visited regularly for 25 years.

The event aimed not only to celebrate love and show the deep bond between Romania and the United Kingdom, but also to support the Transylvanian Book Festival, organised biannually by Bronwen Riley and Lucy Abel Smith. Lucy gave us an excellent overview of the festival, which brings together writers, art historians and musicians, who through their work explore the richness of Romanian culture.

The Transylvanian Book Festival takes place from 12-15 September in the village of Richis near Sibiu. For more information, visit www.transylvanianbookfestival.com

Photography by Alex Coman