| Radu Cantacuzino | |
|---|---|
 Wax imprint of Radu Cantacuzino's seal, from a 1744 diploma | |
| Born | 17 March 1699 Bucharest |
| Died | 1761 (aged 61–62) Kamianets-Podilskyi |
| Spouse | Elisabeth d'Estival |
| Issue | Leopoldina Cantacuzino Cecilia Cantacuzino Maria Cantacuzino Elisabeta Cantacuzino George Cantacuzino |
| Dynasty | Cantacuzino |
| Father | Ștefan Cantacuzino |
| Mother | Păuna Greceanu-Cantacuzino |
Radu Cantacuzino[a] (17 March 1699 – 1761) was an 18th-century Romanian prince, general, adventurer and pretender. As the eldest son of Ștefan Cantacuzino, Prince of Wallachia 1714–1716, Radu was a prospective future ruler of Wallachia, but he and his family were forced to flee into exile after Ștefan, a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, was executed after he was found to be conspiring with the Habsburg monarchy against the Ottomans. Seeking to restore his family to power in Wallachia, Radu travelled through Europe and engaged in various schemes to increase his standing, wealth and power. On his travels, he met with some of the most powerful and influential people of his time, such as Peter the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia.
From 1717 to 1745, Radu, his mother Păuna and his younger brother Constantin mainly lived in Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy. Though they received a pension and housing by the imperial government, the two brothers viewed it as insufficient. Complaints sent to the government only resulted in their pensions being reduced. Hoping to increase his standing and earn more money, Radu began exaggerating and embellishing his family's origin. The Cantacuzino family claimed descent from the Kantakouzenoi, an influential and powerful noble family of the former Byzantine Empire. Proclaiming himself to be a direct descendant of the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (r. 1347–1354), and of Constantine the Great (r. 306–337), Radu began operating as the grand master of his own invented chivalric order, the "Holy Angelic Illustrious Imperial Order of the Great Holy Martyr St. George", and later claimed to represent the legitimate grand master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections. Radu also claimed to be the rightful ruler of several territories in the Balkans, far beyond those his family had actually ruled. His position as grand master of the Constantinian Order might have been recognized by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in 1735.
In 1736, Radu upon his own request was entrusted with the command of a "Illyrian regiment" of soldiers, stationed in Habsburg-controlled Serbia. Radu led these troops into battle in Italy during the War of the Polish Succession. After returning to Serbia with these troops, Radu, accompanied by his brother Constantin, engaged in a unsuccessful and suspicious scheme to attempt to secure the Balkans for their family, hoping to place Constantin on the throne of Serbia and Radu on the throne of Wallachia, partly through encouraging local rebellions against the Habsburgs. Radu was removed from command in 1740 after being accused of mismanaging his troops. By 1744, Radu's claims had begun to be doubted by the aristocrats of Vienna and the prince had also managed to fall into large debts. Viewing Radu as politically and morally suspect on account of his debts, his activities in Serbia, and his grants of knighthoods to commoners and merchants in exchange for money, the rulers of the Habsburg Monarchy, Maria Theresa and Francis I, cancelled Radu's rights to the grand mastership and rendered all titles and privileges granted by him invalid. His reputation destroyed and hoping to escape the local debt collectors, Radu fled Vienna early in 1745. His brother Constantin was arrested in the following year and spent almost forty years in prison.
After leaving Vienna, Radu and his wife Elisabeth d'Estival travelled around Europe, with Radu offering his services to various nobles and still claiming the position of grand master. They travelled to Prussia, Erfurt, Paris, Venice, Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt, and possibly thereafter to Rome. Finally, they ended up in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Poland (today Ukraine), where Radu died in 1761.
- ^ Chindriș & Iacob 2015, p. 12.
- ^ Opaschi 2006–2007, p. 546.
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