Princess Marie was born in 13 July 1964 at Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark as the youngest of five daughters of King Michael I and Queen Anne. Maria was born while her father was in the United States on business for the New York Stock Exchange. King Michael was informed by telephone that he'd become a father for the fifth time. Maria was baptised in the Orthodox faith, with her eldest sister, Princess Margareta, as godmother. Queen Marie, her paternal great-grandmother, was her namesake. As a young girl, Maria and her sisters were told "fascinating tales of a homeland they couldn't visit" by their father. Maria was educated in Switzerland where the family lived during exile, and spent most her early adult life living and working in the USA, including New York and New Mexico.
Careers
Her teenage years were spent in Switzerland with her family, where she received her primary and secondary education. Maria later moved to the United States to pursue her studies in childcare. After completing her studies, Maria worked briefly in the childcare field. After her brief career in childcare, Maria pursued a career in New York, doing public relations for private companies. During the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Maria, along with the rest of the royal family, worked to help the victims of those affected. In New York, Maria helped console the many U.S relatives of those killed in the uprising. When the situation in Romania eventually calmed down she left her public relations career and moved to New Mexico where she worked in private consulting until she moved to Romania in 2015.
Activities in Romania
Princess Maria visited Romania with her parents and other members of the family in 1997, and from this point onwards began visiting the country regularly for Christmas or family events such as her parents' 60th Wedding Anniversary and King Michael's 90th Birthday celebrations. On 7 May 2014 Princess Maria was invested with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown in a ceremony conducted by Crown Princess Margareta at the Elisabeta Palace to mark Maria's upcoming 50th birthday. This was followed by a dinner at the Palace attended by the Prime Minister of Romania and other guests. On 21 April 2015 it was announced by the Romanian cosmetic company Farmec that Maria is an official ambassador of the company, where she will participate in projects to promote products created in the research lab of the company, as well as social responsibility activities undertaken by Farmec. In January 2015 it was announced that Princess Maria would move to Romania permanently to take on activities in support of the royal family, and she was present in the public commemorations in Bucharest of 25 years since the royal family's return later the same month. Maria has represented the royal family at events across the country, acted in support of Margareta, Custodian of the Crown and taken on a number of patronages including Concordia Humanitarian Organisation. During her father's illnesses, Maria and her elder sisters took turns to be with him at his home in Switzerland and it was during Maria's stay that King Michael passed away. She is a member of the Princess Margareta Foundation.
