and consequently, she was frequently invited to this sort of event. Marie gave birth to her first child, Prince Carol, only nine months after the marriage, on 15 October 1893. Although Marie requested the use of chloroform in order to ease the pains of labour, doctors were reluctant to do so, believing that "women must pay in agony for the sins of Eve". After Marie's mother and Queen Victoria insisted, King Carol eventually allowed the use of the drug on his niece-in-law. Marie did not derive much joy from the arrival of her firstborn, later writing that she "felt like turning [her] head to the wall". Similarly, although Marie was constantly reminded by Carol's wife Elisabeth that childbirth is "the most glorious moment in [Marie's] life", she could only feel a longing for her mother at the birth of her second child, Princess Elisabeth, in 1894. After becoming accustomed to life in Romania, Marie began to rejoice at the births of her children, namely Princess Maria (1900–61), nicknamed "Mignon" in the family, Prince Nicholas (1903–78), nicknamed "Nicky", Princess Ileana (1909–91) and Prince Mircea (1913–16). King Carol and Queen Elisabeth promptly removed Prince Carol and Princess Elisabeth from Marie's care, considering it inappropriate for them to be raised by their young parents. Marie loved her children, but found it difficult to even scold them at times, thus failing to properly supervise them. Consequently, the royal children were given somewhat of an education, but were never sent to school. As the royal household could not provide what a classroom education would have, most of the children's personalities became severely flawed as they grew older. Prime Minister Ion G. Duca would later write that "it was like [King Carol] wished to leave for Romania heirs completely unprepared for succeeding." Life at court From the start, Marie had trouble adjusting to life in Romania. Her personality and "high spirits" frequently created controversies at the Romanian court, and she disliked the austere atmosphere of her household. She wrote that she "had not been brought down to Romania to be adored and spoilt and made much of; she had come to be part of the machinery King Carol had wound up. She had been imported to be trimmed, educated, cut down and trained according to the great man's conception of things." When describing her early days in Romania, Marie wrote that "for long hours [she] would