Controversial ”Prince” Paul Wins Land Claim in Romania While Awaiting Extradition

Paul-Philippe of Romania is currently in France, anticipating a decision on his extradition request from Romanian judicial authorities. He is to serve a 3-year and 4-month prison sentence in the high-profile Băneasa Farm case. Despite being considered a fugitive by Romanian authorities following his conviction for illegally acquiring and transferring properties by misusing his claim as an heir to the Romanian Royal House, Paul-Philippe secured this recent favorable court ruling. The decision grants him ownership of 50 hectares of agricultural land in Zorleni, Vaslui County, as reported by gandul.ro.

The land was claimed by Paul-Philippe in his capacity as an heir, a status recognized by Romania’s Supreme Court, rather than through dynastic rights. This latest court decision arrives approximately 18 years after a definitive ruling allowed him to request the restitution of ”agricultural land belonging to the Royal Estate of Zorleni”.

Paul-Philippe’s efforts to obtain the 50-hectare plot in Vaslui County began in 2006, with his right to claim the land recognized by a court in 2007. It took another 12 years, until 2019 and 2020, for local commissions to issue the executive decisions that should have led to the issuance of the property title.

The State Domains Agency (ADS), despite having been consulted before these decisions were issued, sought to annul them in court in 2021. However, four years later, in June 2025, the Vaslui Tribunal definitively ruled that ADS’s action was unfounded. This means the land must now be registered under ”Prince Paul’s” name.

During the legal proceedings regarding the ADS’s challenge to Paul-Philippe’s land claim, the name of journalist Marco Robert Houston emerged in the case file. Houston is actively seeking to recover any assets belonging to Paul-Philippe to settle a substantial debt. The British journalist aims to enforce a judgment for £4.7 million, a sum that UK courts determined Paul-Philippe owed him back in 2013.

Paul-Philippe of Romania has a history of legal disputes with the Royal House over his claim to be recognized as a princely heir and to inherit part of its wealth. In February 2012, Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice recognized a 1955 Lisbon court ruling that acknowledged Paul-Philippe’s father, Carol Mircea Grigore, as the son of King Carol II. However, the High Court only recognized Paul-Philippe as the grandson of King Carol II and granted him rights pertaining to the exiled king’s personal fortune, not the Royal House’s assets. According to the Romanian Royal House, the 2012 High Court decision did not establish any dynastic rights nor did it confirm Paul-Philippe’s belonging to the royal family.

The chronology of these judicial decisions is detailed in the High Court of Cassation and Justice’s ruling from November 23, 2021, in case no. 1804/1/2021. This particular ruling pertains to the successful appeal filed by lawyer Robert Roșu, who had been convicted in the Băneasa Farm case but was acquitted and released from prison following this decision.