Princess Ileana with a camera.  It was her way to explore the world.  She loved art.  As Mother Alexandra she gave me a beautiful Family Bible with pictures of the Bible Stories by Rembrandt.  It is at this age here she helped her mother Queen Marie of Romania in the summer sharing Bible Stores with the local peasant children and start of her public leading.

Princess Ileana's awareness of her connectedness to generations of history motivated her to be brave in adversity and threating situations to carry out the promise of her family and herself to serve God.  This how first a hospital  in Romania and then a monastery in America came to be.  We are part of this continuing vision of prayer and peace and leadership at New Tikhvin Skete of the Holy Mother of God in Palm Coast, Flagler County, Florida.

Wearing the native dress of the various regions of Romania was a fun way to explore the diverse make up of her neighbors.  Here Princess Ileana at the castle in Balcic in Turkish Dress. The black dress is similar to the monastic black tunic she later would wear when she was tonsured an Orthodox Christian Nun, and the abbess, Mother Alexandra.

Before the internet, people in America knew very little about Romania.  Mother Alexandra (Princess Ileana) was clear to reject the stereotype of Transylvania where Bran was located in Romania as a castle of Dracula.  With vim and vigor she would proclaim this story to be untrue.  She would say' 'Castle Bran was her childhood play place".  We have many more stories to tell about here in Bran and what would become "The Hospital of the Queen's Heart".

We welcome your questions and letters.

There are many more stories to tell and pictures to show. Some will be featured in my book, "The Princess and Me".  Mother Elizabeth (Carol Klipa Bacha).

Email:MotherElizabethPalmCoast@Gmail.com -