The signing of the Paris Peace Treaties, on 10 February 1947, marked a new stage in the sidelining of the royal family by the Communist regime. Deprived of any official duties, the king was found even more isolated than during the "royal strike". Under these conditions, the queen mother considered exile with more determination but she was concerned that they did not possess any foreign resources, because her son refused to save money outside of Romania. As guests to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom with Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (Helen's first-cousin) on 20 November 1947, Michael I and his mother were provided with an opportunity to travel together abroad. During this stay, the king fell in love with Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, with whom he became engaged much to Helen's delight. This trip was also an opportunity for the queen mother to place two small paintings of El Greco from the royal collections in a Swiss bank.