Don't blame Carlo for being so surprised, because this is not a literal invitation to Mafalda to the ball, but a marriage proposal for Prince Ferdinand as per usual. The ball is just a cover-up.
Faced with the sudden news, Carlo had to return to the office to discuss with Bacona.
"What's going on with Prince Ferdinand?"
Carlo, who was confused about this, first asked the other party what the situation was.
Faced with Carlo's inquiry, Bacona had obviously done his homework before, as he introduced him. Carlo only learned the basic information about this person during the introduction by the Foreign Secretary.
Prince Ferdinand was born on August 24, 1865, in Sigmaringen, southwest Germany. Ferdinand's father was Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, and his mother was Queen Maria II of Portugal and Fernando
His daughter, Princess Antonia of Portugal.
As his father Leopold and brother William declared in 1880 and 1886 respectively that they renounced their right to inherit the Romanian throne, the young Prince Ferdinand became the heir to his childless uncle, King Carol I of Romania.
Presumed heir.
The reason why Prince Ferdinand delayed getting married until the age of 31 was because he maintained a close relationship with Elena Vokorescu, a maid in the palace. As his aunt, Queen Elizabeth knew about this, but she
The relationship between the two is still encouraged. (According to the 1866 Romanian Constitution, the presumptive heir to the Romanian throne is prohibited from marrying Romanian citizens).
In 1891, the affair triggered a dynastic crisis, and Queen Elisabeth and Elena were exiled to Neuvede and Paris respectively.
Such a blow made Prince Ferdinand a little resistant in emotional matters. In addition, Bulgaria took over a large area of Macedonia in one fell swoop, making the situation in the Balkans somewhat unpredictable. So about Prince Ferdinand
The marriage will also be far away.
This marriage proposal to Italy must be the result of Romania's careful consideration. In fact, Romania's language and writing are relatively different in the Balkans. Unlike other countries, the Romanian language and writing belong to the Latin family. In terms of grammar and spoken language, they are very similar to Italy.
However, it retains certain Latin words that were lost in other Romance languages.
Of course, if the language and writing are similar, it will not bring about major exchanges between the two countries. In fact, in the Balkan Peninsula, apart from Bulgaria, Romania is the most friendly country to Italy. Of course, this is not just based on
The similar languages and characters are caused by the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.
Needless to say about Romania, the fertile alluvial plains of the lower Danube River make Romania's grain exports very strong. It is the second largest grain exporter in Europe, second only to Russia. Of course, in addition to grain, Romania also produces oil and gold. That's right.
, Romania is also the second largest gold producer in Europe, producing nearly twenty tons of gold every year.
Needless to say, as for oil, Europe is the second largest oil exporter and was the largest oil exporter before the development of Baku.
Such rich output has created trade between Italy and Romania. Italy is Romania's largest food importer and second largest oil importer. (After the oil exploration in Balikpapan, it has dropped to fourth.)
Romania not only exports, but also imports a lot. Although Italian industrial products cannot compete with other countries in terms of quality, the lowest selling prices have made many shy Romanians take out their wallets.
In addition, in view of the performance of the Italian army in recent years, Romania has also purchased a lot of Italian ordnance. Of course, this has a lot to do with the cheap price of Italian arms. Currently, Italy is Romania's third largest import and export country, and the trade between the two countries reached 20% last year.
34.91 million lire.
Of course, the cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries cannot be proof that the relationship between the two countries is destined to be good.
What Romania values is Italy's influence in the Balkans. Especially since Italy's territory in the Balkans is not far from Romania, only separated by one country, it can be regarded as a neighbor of Romania.
As we all know, Romania's independence relied on the Tenth Russo-Turkish War. However, after Romania became independent, it was very afraid of Russia. It was afraid that Russia would annex it. For this reason, it had a close relationship with Austria-Hungary.
Of course, the tigers in the east want to eat people, and the tigers in the west are not bad either. Soon Romania will feel the penetration from Austria-Hungary.
For this reason, it became an urgent need for the Romanians to find a friend who could help. It happened that the Italian-Turkish War allowed them to see the strength of Italy, and they also obtained Albania from the Ottoman Empire.
This naturally makes Romania put its hope in Italy, and its own prince happens to not be married yet. This can be regarded as asking for advice.
Facing this invitation from Romania, Carlo looked at the foreign minister in front of him and asked, "Bacona, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I think we cannot refuse Romania's invitation. Strengthening our ties with Romania will bring no harm to our country."
Having said this, Bacona continued enthusiastically. "First of all, our influence in the Balkans has weakened over the years as various countries continue to exert influence."
Bacona said this for a reason. First of all, Bulgaria, which has the best relationship with Italy in the Balkans, has no longer been so close to Italy in the past two years. According to the news they received, relations between Bulgaria and Russia are slowly recovering.
, and its relations with Greece are also improving.
Of course, this is understandable. Bulgaria is obsessed with the remaining half of Macedonia, and even Constantinople is not without ideas.
Italy has no way to support it in this regard. Italy can no longer expand in the Balkans, otherwise it will attract dissatisfaction or even excessive behavior from Austria-Hungary and Russia.
Russia is doing better, but Austria-Hungary is not. The Alliance of the Three Emperors is still the cornerstone of Italian diplomacy, so any diplomatic strategy that affects it needs to be thought through carefully.
"In addition, having good relations with Romania is also very beneficial to our country."
As he spoke, he drew a line on the map from Albania in Italy to Bulgaria and Romania, which made Carlo's eyes light up.
"So, our country must accept Romania's goodwill."
"Pretty much, I can't think of a reason not to accept it."
There seems to be something missing from the discussion between these two people. Didn't they ask the person involved, Princess Mafalda, if she was willing?
Sorry, as a princess of a country, you basically have no right to choose freely.
Yes, the marriage between a princess and a mortal in the movie is simply a lie. The princess and the prince are the reality. Whether the princess loves the prince or not, she must accept it. This is one of the reasons why the European royal family has so many lovers.
Two strangers are brought together for the benefit of the country. They are both princesses and princes held in the palm of their hands. It is strange how good their relationship can be.
However, the fact that they have received good clothing, good food, good education and other benefits since childhood has determined that the fate of their future wedding is rarely directly determined.
After the two reached an agreement, Carlo informed Princess Mafalda of the result.
To his sister, he could only say sorry.
Of course, Romania was overjoyed after receiving Italy's reply. It immediately prepared a grand ball for the arrival of the Italian princess.
After Christmas, Carlo's youngest sister Princess Mafalda boarded a cruise ship to Romania, led by Carlo's brother Emanuele.
