WORLD : Princess Turned Nun Dies in Pa.
Mother Alexandra, a Romanian princess who fled her homeland 43 years ago and later founded a monastery near Ellwood City, has died at age 82.
Mother Alexandra, born Princess Ileana of Romania, the daughter of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania, died Monday in St. Elizabeth Medical Center at Youngstown, Ohio. She also was the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England and Czar Alexander II of Russia.
Mother Alexandra had been hospitalized since Jan. 4, when she broke her hip. She had a heart attack four days later.
She died with little of the material wealth she had as a young princess but had kept a small gilded box containing Romanian soil she saved since leaving her homeland in 1948. The box will be buried with her at her request.
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