Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, hosted the diplomatic corps in Romania for an annual event.
The reception was held in the Throne Hall of the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Although the surroundings were beautiful, Her Majesty’s message was marked by the seriousness of the situation in Europe.
The war in Ukraine became the main topic of Her Majesty’s address to the diplomats. Her Majesty said: “I know that some of you representing nations outside the European continent are preoccupied with many challenges, such as tackling the economic consequences of the pandemic or combatting the effects of the climate crisis and soaring food and energy prices. I do not wish to give the impression that these challenges are in any way less significant than those in Europe. Nevertheless, I hope you will understand if I concentrate this evening on the war, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation on our doorstep.”
Ukraine is a direct neighbour of Romania, and the Romanian Royal Family has become intensely involved in helping its neighbours to the east. As a result, almost 90,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge from the war in Romania. Her Majesty is Secretary General of the Romanian Red Cross and leads the work to help the refugees.
The Custodian of the Crown of Romania added: “Ukraine has succeeded in defending her independence because her courageous soldiers and citizens were sustained by support from many other nations worldwide. Millions of Ukrainian refugees were offered temporary homes throughout Europe without the requirements of immigration controls or other formalities.”
Her Majesty then said: “I salute the decision to grant EU membership candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. I know that this was not easy, that membership will not come soon, and that much, very much, is expected from these two nations.”
In 1997, King Michael of Romanian resumed the tradition from 1866 of evenings given by the Royal Family in honour of foreign diplomats accredited in Bucharest. The first event took place in December 1997. Since 2016, the Throne Room at the Royal Palace has been the traditional venue of this event.
