Speech of Her Majesty at the Royal Evening for the Diplomatic Corps, 2025

Your Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are delighted to welcome you to the Royal Palace tonight. The tradition of end-of-year receptions for the Diplomatic Corps accredited to our country goes back to the days of King Carol I in the 19^th century and was revived by King Michael after the fall of the communist dictatorship.

We appreciate your presence tonight, but, above all else, we appreciate your friendship and your personal contribution to the relations between your country and ours. People say that in the age of instant electronic communications and social media, diplomatic missions are no longer required, since leaders can contact each other instantly. We have never shared this simplistic notion. Indeed, it can be said that in an age of fake videos and fake news, the personal contacts you represent between your nations and ours have never been more critical, and the authentic voice you give to our diplomatic relations is now more needed than ever.

And, since we have the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio with us tonight, we should not miss this opportunity to hail the proclamation and subsequent activities of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. His courageous trips to conflict and danger zones and His outspoken support for the dignity of citizens and nations have been one of the most heartening and uplifting developments of this year.

As we saw last month with the consecration of our National Cathedral, our faith remains our moral guidance, the necessary glue that binds our nations. Even at a time when cynicism is in fashion, the steadfast belief in humanity and certain moral principles remains indispensable. We will soon celebrate the birth of Christ, our Saviour. But whatever faith or creed we hold, we should never forget that what unites us is far more significant than what keeps us apart. These two key spiritual events of this year are both powerful reminders of this fact.

But, of course, we also experienced many profound political changes, including our elections in May, and the September parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova. Both were seen as – and were – critical tests not only for our political class, but also for the very foundations of our democratic system. And, on the whole, the tests were passed with success.

As we pointed out in 2024, what happened in Romania during the electoral cycles last year and this year is not exactly new. People feel that they have the vote, but not the power to change their fate. So, they are attracted to policies promising a complete break with the past and offering supposedly cost-free solutions. And even those who are not attracted by this variety of policies want to see fresh faces and experience new approaches to governance. In this respect, what happened in Romania is what happened in most other European countries.

Still, at the end of this year and with the benefit of hindsight, there are several positive aspects about our latest political experience that are worth mentioning.

The first is that our democratic institutions remain strong. However much criticism people heaped on our courts and electoral supervision bodies, the fact remains that elections were held, that votes were counted, and that the ultimate tallies are accepted as accurate. As many of you will remember, given the passions generated by the recent ballots, none of this was either guaranteed or self-evident at that time.

The second beneficial outcome worth mentioning is that the ballots in Romania served as an early warning for an entire continent about the extent of the danger of foreign interference in elections and electoral manipulation with the engagement of social media platforms. What happened in Romania during the latest electoral cycles is now being studied by governments around the world; we clearly failed to anticipate efforts to undermine our electoral system, but we also clearly succeeded in defeating these efforts.

But probably one of our most significant common victories has been the elections in the Republic of Moldova, which have secured the country’s European path and vocation, and hopefully for good, against a similar foreign-funded campaign to destabilise the country and discredit her electoral process. This was the achievement of the Moldovans and their leaders. But it was also an achievement for all Romanians, for the Romanian government, which remained steadfast in its determination to support the Moldovan economy, and for the politicians in Chisinau, who were undeterred by violence and intimidation. The road to unity, to the membership of Romanians on both sides of the Prut within the European Union, is therefore wide open.

Sadly, however, this was also the year of trials, with even bigger challenges facing us in the year ahead. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has continued unabated. I am proud that my country remained steadfast in its support for Ukraine and increased our military and humanitarian assistance. But we need to remind ourselves that the sacrifices of the past few years are likely to lead to even larger sacrifices in the next few years.

The war in Ukraine has lasted almost as long as World War I, and its impact will be with us for far longer. Whatever happens – whether we get a ceasefire or whether the fighting continues – Ukraine’s reconstruction will be a massive undertaking, requiring sacrifices from all European nations. But these sacrifices will be impossible without European unity, and without the maintenance of strong bonds between Europe and our close North American allies, Canada and the United States.

As we all know, this year has been dominated by debates on this point, with both different views and strong passions flying across the Atlantic. This is neither surprising, nor necessarily bad: more than eight decades since the end of the Second World War and more than three decades since the end of the Cold War in Europe, it is proper that we should do an audit of our arrangements.

Nor does anyone doubt that the Europeans should contribute more to our own security arrangements; the real surprise is therefore not that the United States is now demanding this recalibration but, rather, that the Americans have been so patient as generations of previous European leaders ignored such demands from Washington. If we want others to take our security seriously, we should take our security seriously.

But we must also work harder to remind our allies in the US and Canada that our bonds go deeper than just economic exchanges or financial calculations about contributions to NATO. Throughout his life and despite many dashed hopes and disappointments, King Michael never lost his faith in the United States’ commitment to Europe’s freedom. One of the first foreign trips he took after Romania’s communist rulers exiled him was to the United States, to advocate for the freedom of Romanians. And although the Romanians languished for four more decades under communist dictatorship, King Michael continued to believe that only when Romania was anchored in a strong bond of European nations and the US would our country prosper.

That generation of leaders is no longer with us. But it is the duty of the current generation to revive this spirit of trans-Atlantic cooperation by reminding our US allies that they have no stronger and more reliable partners than the Europeans. It’s true, it won’t be an easy sell in Washington. But it is a work that has to be done, and one that the Romanian Royal Family, in conjunction with our country’s government and diplomats, remains determined to pursue.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the explicit duties of the Royal Family is to provide a historic continuity of dedication to our nation’s interests and objectives, so we will make no apologies for pledging to do in the coming year what we have always done: uphold our national confidence and consolidate Romania’s international position.

This is done not only out of a sense of pride, but out of a sense of necessity. Despite all our problems and challenges, Romania has never been safer and more prosperous than it is today. Its people have never been freer to travel and engage in their pursuits than they are today. Could this be done better? Certainly, but we can only improve our condition if we are confident in our present position.

That is what we are pledged to continue doing, both at home and overseas, with your help and your friendship. My entire Family wishes you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

AGERPRES