On 26 July, Ghika Castle in Dofteana, Bacău county, hosted the interwar ball “Queen Marie – 150 years of elegance: art, fashion and flowers”, a tribute to one of the best-loved figures in our history, 150 years after her birth. Alongside musicians and guests in period costume, Liliana Nestor, co-founder of the Sakura tea house and TeaLove, took charge of the “tea dance” – the ritual of tea served between dances, with the gestures and manners of the time.
Who was Queen Marie
Marie of Edinburgh was born on 29 October 1875 in England, the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. She was therefore a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II. At 17 she married Prince Ferdinand, heir to the Romanian throne, and in 1914 she became queen.
During the First World War she worked as a nurse in hospitals and visited soldiers at the front, and in 1919 she went to the Paris Peace Conference, where she championed the cause of Greater Romania. She wrote books and memoirs, loved art, gardens and beautiful houses, and is remembered by Romanians as the “Queen Mother” and the “Soldier Queen”.
Queen Marie and tea
Born in 1875 and brought up in the British royal family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Queen Marie grew up in a world in which afternoon tea was a ritual of hospitality. In a royal household open to art, fashion and flowers, such gatherings were always an occasion to receive guests, to listen and to make friends.
Art, fashion and flowers
The theme of the ball brought together the three passions for which Queen Marie is remembered: art, fashion and flowers. Period dresses, floral arrangements and music turned the castle, for one evening, into an interwar salon where elegance meant not ostentation but taste, moderation and consideration for others.
A queen's style
Queen Marie had an unmistakable style. She often wore long, flowing dresses, veils and jewels set with large stones, and for photographs and ceremonies she frequently chose Romanian folk costume, which she made known abroad. She decorated her residences herself, from Pelișor Castle to Bran Castle and Balcic, mixing Byzantine, Romanian and oriental elements in a very personal style.
Flowers were her great love. At Balcic, on the Black Sea coast, she created a terraced garden with roses, lilies and Mediterranean flowers, and images of gardens and seasons recur throughout her writing. Not by chance, flowers had pride of place at the ball in Dofteana.
The tea dance, in the spirit of the era
Between dances, tea brought a pause for conversation and refinement: porcelain cups, calm gestures and stories about how tea was served in the salons of the past. To learn more about this tradition, read the story of the tea dance at Ghika Castle in 2024.
For a royal-style tea at home
An elegant black tea from our Black Tea collection or a jasmine green tea from our Green Tea collection, served in fine porcelain, is the simplest way to bring a little royal elegance to your afternoon.
- Flowers: a bunch of roses or lilies, flowers the queen loved, in a low vase.
- Porcelain: white, with a floral pattern or a gold rim. Read more in The story of porcelain.
- Teas: a classic black tea served with milk, as at the British court, and a tea with floral notes, for example with rose or jasmine.
- Sweets: small cakes, butter biscuits and fruit, as at an English afternoon tea.
- Reading: a few pages of the queen's memoirs, read aloud, make the loveliest topic of conversation.
Frequently asked questions
When was Queen Marie born?
On 29 October 1875, in England. 2025 marked 150 years since her birth.
What was Queen Marie's connection with England?
She was Queen Victoria's granddaughter and spent her childhood in England and Malta, where her father served in the Royal Navy. The customs of the English court, afternoon tea among them, were familiar to her from a young age.
Which flowers did Queen Marie love?
Among her favourites were lilies and roses, which filled the gardens at Balcic and her other residences.
All our gatherings are on the Press & events page.