Of the King's mother--Princess Josephine of Baden--we learn: "Princess Josephine was deeply religious without being in the least bigoted. Her unselfishness earned for her the love and devotion of all those who knew her. As a wife and a mother her life was one of exceptional harmony and happiness. The great deference which King Charles has always shown to the other sex has its source in the veneration which he felt for his mother." Prince Charles was born on April 20, 1839, at the ancestral castle of the Hohenzollerns at Sigmaringen on the Danube, then ruled over by his grandfather, the reigning Prince Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The castle was not in those days the treasury of art and history which it is at the present day. The grandfatherly _régime_ was of a patriarchal, almost despotic kind: every detail of household affairs was regulated with a view to strict economy. Though, perhaps, unpleasant at times, all this proved to be invaluable training for the young Prince, whose ultimate destiny it was to rule over one of the most extravagant peoples in Europe. Punctuality was strictly enforced: at nine o'clock the old Prince wound up his watch as a sign that the day was over, and at ten darkness and silence reigned supreme over the household. Prince Charles was a delicate child, and was considered so throughout his early manhood, though in reality his health and bodily powers left little to be desired. The first happy years of his childhood were passed at Sigmaringen and the summer residences of Inzigkofen and Krauchenwies. This peaceful life was broken by a visit in 1846 to his maternal grandmother, the Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Baden. On this occasion Prince Charles attracted the attention and interest of Mme. Hortense Cornu, the intimate friend and confidant of Prince Louis Napoleon--later Napoleon III. It cannot be said that the young Prince progressed very rapidly in his studies; but though he learned slowly, his memory proved most retentive. His naturally independent and strong character, moreover, prevented him from adopting outside opinions too readily, and this trait he retained in after years. For though as King of Roumania he is ever willing to listen to the opinion of others, the decision invariably remains in his own hands.