| Elena Cuza | |
|---|---|
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| Princess of theUnited Principalities | |
| Tenure | 24 January 1859 – 11 February 1866 |
| Born | (1825-06-17)17 June 1825 Iaşi,Moldavia |
| Died | 2 April 1909(1909-04-02) (aged 83) Piatra Neamț,Romania |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza |
| House | Cuza (by marriage) |
| Father | Iordache Rosetti |
| Mother | Ecaterina Sturdza |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Signature |  |
Elena Cuza (17 June 1825 – 2 April 1909), also known under her semi-official titleElena Doamna, was aMoldavian, laterRomaniannoblewoman andphilanthropist. She was princess consort of theUnited Principalities and the wife ofAlexandru Ioan Cuza, the first Romanian prince.
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Born inIași, as a member of a high-rankingBoyarRosetti family, she was the daughter ofPostelnic Prince Iordache Rosetti-Solescu (1796-1846) and his wife, Princess EcaterinaSturdza (d. 1869). By blood, she was closely related to almost allRomanian noble families. In 1844 she married Cuza — their relationship soured soon after, as Elena was not able to bear a child. However, she later raised as her own children his two sons by his mistress,Elena Maria Catargiu-Obrenović, who was also her cousin.[1]
She remained, however, very devoted to her husband in their public life, and was responsible for securing his flight from the country in 1848, afterPrinceMihail Sturdza began arresting participants in the Moldavian revolutionary movement. They returned after the start ofGrigore Alexandru Ghica's rule, but Elena suffered fromdepression after Cuza began engaging inadulterous affairs and left forParis,France until 1853. After her return, she became almost completely estranged from her husband, who kept as hismistressElena Maria Catargiu-Obrenović, the mother ofMilan Obrenović (futureKing ofSerbia).
Elena left for Paris and remained there until 1862, long after thead hoc Divan had elected Cuza ruler; she had been persuaded to do so by the writer and political figureVasile Alecsandri, who tried to extinguish the scandal provoked by Cuza's marital neglect. As wife of the head of state, she became noted for her charity work (the building of the Elena Doamna Asylum inCotroceni,Bucharest) and adopted orphans, including the illegitimate children of her husband —Alexandru Al. Ioan Cuza and Dimitrie Cuza; Elena Cuza took over, furnished, and maintained the private residence inRuginoasa,Iași County, and was responsible for theNeo-Gothic style of its decorations.
During thecoup d'état against her husband (22 February 1866), she was isolated in her apartments by the conspirators, who burst in on Cuza as he was spending the night with Maria Catargi-Obrenović. Both she and Maria joined Cuza in his Europeanexile. After her husband's death in 1873, she took care of their children, and lived to see the death of her two adoptive sons (Alexandru, was the husband of MariaMoruzi (1863-1921) — she was later married, for just one day, with theNational Liberal leaderIon I. C. Brătianu, and gave birth to the historian and politicianGheorghe I. Brătianu).
Media related toElena Cuza at Wikimedia Commons
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