Cuza's reforms alienate both the boyars and…

Cuza's reforms alienate both the boyars and Romania's mostly Greek clergy, and government corruption and the prince's own moral turpitude soon erode his popularity.

In 1865 an uprising breaks out in Bucharest.

Afterward, animosity toward the prince unites the leaders of Romania's two political parties, the pro- German Conservatives, backed by the boyars and clergy, and the pro-French Liberals, who find support in the growing middle class and favor agrarian reform.

On February 23, 1866, army officers loyal to the country's leading boyars awaken Cuza and his mistress, force the prince to abdicate, and escort him from the capital.

The next morning street placards in Bucharest announce the prince's departure and rule by a regency pending the election of a foreign prince.