In Romania, Elisabeth and George II's relationship deteriorated and the couple divorced in 1935. Very close to her brother, King Carol II of Romania, the princess amassed an important fortune, partly due to financial advice given by her lover, the banker Alexandru Scanavi. After the death of her mother, Queen Marie, in 1938 and the dethronement of Carol II in 1940, Elisabeth took up the role of First Lady of Romania. At the end of World War II, she established close links with the Romanian Communist Party and openly conspired against her nephew, the young King Michael I, earning the nickname of ""Red Aunt"" of the sovereign. However, her communist links did not prevent her from being expelled from the country when the Socialist Republic of Romania was proclaimed in 1947. Exiled, the princess moved to Switzerland and then to Cannes, in southern France. She had a romantic relationship with Marc Favrat, a would-be artist almost thirty years younger, whom she finally adopted just before her death in 1956.