Ever wonder what happens after a royal family gets the boot? Consider the cautionary tale of one Romanian princess, who with her husband just pled guilty to running an illegal gambling operation, in connection with cockfights held on their Oregon ranch.
According to Reuters, Irina Walker is a daughter of the exiled last king of Romania, who was strong-armed into abdicating in 1947. Which makes her a direct descendent of Queen Victoria, by the by. Not that that counts for much in modern America, and Walker’s daughter told the AP her mother opted for a different kind of life with the man she married her current husband in 2007:
“She kind of turned hippie,” Angelica Kreuger said. “From when we were growing up to when she moved to Hermiston, she just kind of did the whole free-spirit thing. She just wanted to wake up in the morning and tend to her goats and mess with her horses.”
“My mom’s kind of naive, that’s the easiest way to put it,” Kreuger added, expressing skepticism her mom was really clued-in. Ol’ Granny Vicky probably would not approve of this, from the Oregonian:
Irina Walker, 61, admitted to U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman that from April 2012 until May 2013 she “provided food and beverages” for those attending the cockfights held on her and her husband’s property. She acknowledged profiting from the venture, in which roosters were outfitted with knives or “gaffs,” and forced to fight one another to the death.
The pair were originally hit with numerous charges including conspiracy to violate the animal welfare act, but they pled down to illegal gambling. Rather than doing hard time, they’ll likely get probation—as well as selling their ranch and turning $200,000 over to the authorities.
The aristocrats!