Queen Elizabeth’s cousin has admitted he is the father of an illegitimate three-year-old girl after a paternity test but he denies having had a relationship with the girl’s mum.
The admission by Prince Nicholas Medforth-Mills, who is also the grandson of Romania’s last king, comes after the girl’s mother claimed the Romanian Royal House’s lawyers had tried to force her to have the baby aborted.
Nicholas has been removed from the line of succession of the Romanian throne, with reports suggesting his removal was down to the scandal.
Former Prince Nicholas Medforth-Mills, the first child of Princess Elena of Romania and her first husband Robin Medforth-Mills, a Geography professor at Durham University, has recognised he is the father of the girl, named Anna Iris, who turned three in February, after undertaking a paternity test.
Nicholas, who lived in the UK after the age of five and is a graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London, told reporters: “The result is positive, I am the father of the child.”
However, the former prince, grandson of King Michael, Romania’s last king and cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, denied having had any form of relationship with the girl’s mother, Nicoleta Cirjan, an activist who works to raise funds for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He said in a statement: “Following persistent requests to conduct the paternity test of my alleged child, Mrs Nicoleta Cirjan has accepted. The result is positive, I am the father of her child. Given the context in which this child was born, the fact that I have had no relation with the mother, I have assumed the legal responsibility to the child.
“For reasons related to protecting the superior interests of the child, I believe that any issue about the child’s life is strictly private. With the wish to protect the child and avoid risks that may be provoked by media or bullying, I have decided to cease any comments on this subject.”
Nicholas had been told of the baby’s existence and been asked to take a paternity test after her birth but had never come to an agreement with Cirjan on when the test should be taken.
He is now expected to sign papers officially recognising him as Anna’s mother with the notary and will have to pay child support until she turns 18. He will also be given a visiting schedule.
In August 2015, Romania’s Royal House announced its decision to disinherit Nicholas. He was removed from the line of succession to the symbolic Romanian throne and he was also stripped of the “Romania’s Prince” and “Royal Highness” titles.
At that time, reports hinted there was a controversial relationship between the former heir and Nicoleta Cirjan, and she did not expect to have a serious relationship with Nicholas.
Cirjan claimed they decided to have a free relationship which lasted three months during which they had some fun together. She says the Royal House’s lawyers put her under pressure to have the child aborted, saying Nicholas “blocked” her on social media when she decided to keep the baby.
Nicholas is now married to aviation PR consultant Ana Maria Binder while Anna Iris lives with her mother in the city of Brasov. Cirjan wrote on social media after Nicholas’ recognition of paternity: “A most surprising day, from which I learned a lesson about patience and about having confidence that the truth will always prevail.”
Nicholas’s mother, Princess Elena, claimed that former King Michael had not wanted to see Nicholas when he was alive because of his grandson’s “behaviour which lacks some moral principles”.
She added that the Kind had been “deeply saddened that he (Nicholas) did nothing to sort out the paternity of his alleged child” which “reveals an unacceptable lack of responsibility”.
Prince Charles is an avid fan of Romania and he frequently visits the country which he has previously described “as truly special in the entire world”.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency, that supplied this story-Please click below. Story By: Conor Sheils, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
