Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. He was the eldest son of Ferdinand I and became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of the Hohenzollern kings of Romania to be born in the country; both of his predecessors had been born in Germany and only came to Romania as adults. As such, he was the first member of the Romanian branch of the Hohenzollerns who spoke Romanian as his first language, and was also the first member of the royal family to be raised in the Orthodox faith. Carol was also a fan of football, being the Romanian Football Federation's president for almost one year from 1924 until 1925.
Carol's first controversy was his desertion from the army during World War I followed by his marriage to Zizi Lambrino, which resulted in two attempts to give up the rights of succession to the royal crown of Romania, refused by King Ferdinand. After the dissolution of his marriage, he made a long journey around the world, at the end of which he met Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece.