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LOT 424
Historic Presentation Factory Engraved Gold Plated Pre-World War II Walther Model PP Semi-Automatic Pistol For King Carol II of Romania - Serial no. 751249, 7.65 mm auto cal., 4 inch round bbl., gold finish, antique ivory grips. This historic Walther is of one of the best pre-war factory engraved presentation Walther PPs we have had the opportunity to offer at auction. This exciting pistol was commissioned by the German leaders to present to King Carol II of Romania during his reign. While Crown Prince of Romania, Carol II caused a scandal by openly engaging in an affair with Elena Lupescu, and abdicated his position as
heir apparent of Ferdinand I in 1925 so he could run off with her, leaving his son Michael (born 1921) to take the throne on Ferdinand’s death in 1927. Invited back into the country as part of a internal power play by Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu, Carol was supposed to serve as part of Michael’s regency government and leave Lupescu behind, but instead reasserted his claim as Ferdinand’s heir, taking the crown from his young son. Through 1940, Carol II was the King, keeping the various factions of his government under control and maintaining Romania’s neutrality, but in the process had to concede possession of much of the territory Ferdinand I had gained during the First World War to the Soviet Union and Germany.
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