In an 1866 coup d'état, Cuza was exiled and replaced with Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was appointed Domnitor, Ruling Prince of the United Principality of Romania, as Prince Carol of Romania. Romania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), in which the Ottomans fought against the Russian empire.

In the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, Romania was officially recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers.^[76] In return, Romania ceded the district Bessarabia to Russia in exchange for access to the Black Sea ports and acquired Dobruja. In 1881,Romania's principality status was raised to that of a kingdom and on 26 March that year, Prince Carol became King Carol I of Romania.