Michael I (Romanian:Mihai IRomanian:[miˈhajɨnˈtɨj]ⓘ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the lastking of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forcedabdication on 30 December 1947.
Shortly after Michael's birth, his father,Crown Prince Carol, had become involved in a controversial relationship withMagda Lupescu. In 1925, Carol was pressured to renounce his rights (in favour of his son Michael) to the throne and moved toParis in exile with Lupescu. In July 1927, following the death of his grandfatherFerdinand I, Michael ascended the throne at age five, the youngest crowned head in Europe.[1] As Michael was still a minor, a regency council was instituted, composed of his unclePrince Nicolas, PatriarchMiron Cristea and Chief JusticeGheorghe Buzdugan. The council proved to be ineffective and, in 1930, Carol returned to Romania and replaced his son as monarch, reigning as Carol II. As a result, Michael returned to beingheir apparent to the throne and was given the additional title of GrandVoievod of Alba-Iulia.
Carol II was forced to abdicate in 1940, and Michael once again became king.[1] Under the government led by the military dictatorIon Antonescu, Romania became aligned withNazi Germany. In 1944, Michaelparticipated in a coup against Antonescu, appointedConstantin Sănătescu as his replacement, and subsequently declared an alliance with the Allies.[1] In March 1945, political pressures forced Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government headed byPetru Groza. From August 1945 to January 1946, Michael went on a "royal strike" and unsuccessfully tried to oppose Groza'scommunist-controlled government by refusing to sign and endorse its decrees. In November 1947, Michael attendedthe wedding of his cousins, the future QueenElizabeth II of theUnited Kingdom andPrince Philip of Greece and Denmark inLondon. Shortly thereafter, on the morning of 30 December 1947, Groza met with Michael and compelled him to abdicate, while the monarchy was abolished. Michael was forced into exile, his properties confiscated, and his citizenship stripped. In 1948, he marriedPrincess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, with whom he had five daughters.[1] The couple eventually settled inSwitzerland.
Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist dictatorshipwas overthrown in December 1989, and the following year Michael attempted to return to Romania, only to be arrested and forced to leave upon arrival. In 1992, Michael was allowed to visit Romania forEaster, where he was greeted by huge crowds;[1] a speech he gave from his hotel window drew an estimated one million people toBucharest. Alarmed by Michael's popularity, the post-communist government ofIon Iliescu refused to allow him any further visits. In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat byEmil Constantinescu in the presidential election of the previous year, Michael's citizenship was restored and he was allowed to visit Romania again. Several confiscated properties, such asPeleș Castle andSăvârșin Castle, were eventually returned to his family.
When Caroleloped with his mistressElena Magda Lupescu and renounced his rights to the throne in December 1925, Michael was declaredheir apparent. Michael succeeded to the throne of Romania upon Ferdinand's death in July 1927, before his sixth birthday.[3] Later, Michael attended a special school established in 1932 by his father.[4][5]
Just days after theSecond Vienna Award, the pro-Nazi anti-Soviet regime of Prime Minister MarshalIon Antonescu staged a coup d'état against Carol II, whom he claimed to be "anti-German". Antonescu suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Parliament, and re-installed the 18-year-old Michael as king, by popular acclaim in September 1940. (Although the Constitution was restored in 1944, and the Romanian Parliament in 1946, Michael did not subsequently take a formal oath nor have his reign approved retroactively by Parliament.) Michael wascrowned[9] with theSteel Crown andanointed King of Romania by theOrthodoxPatriarch of Romania,Nicodim Munteanu, in thePatriarchal Cathedral ofBucharest, on the day of his accession, 6 September 1940.[10] Although King Michael was formally the Supreme Head of the Army, namedConducător ("Leader of the people"), and entitled to appoint thePrime Minister with full powers, in reality he was forced to remain a figurehead for most of thewar, until August 1944.[11] Michael had lunch withAdolf Hitler twice—once with his father inBavaria in 1937, and with his mother inBerlin in 1941.[12] He also metBenito Mussolini in Italy in 1941.[13]
Romanian stamp from 1942, commemorating the first anniversary of the recapture ofBessarabia fromSoviet occupation, featuring Michael and dictator Antonescu below the textUn an de la desrobire ("A year since liberation"), a portrait ofStephen the Great and the fortress ofBender in the background
In 1944,World War II was going badly for theAxis powers, but Antonescu was still in control of Romania. By August 1944, the Soviet conquest of Romania had become inevitable, and was expected in a few months.[14] On 23 August 1944, Michael joined the pro-Allies politicians, a number of army officers, and armed Communist-led civilians[15] in staging acoup against Antonescu. Michael ordered his arrest by the Royal Palace Guard.[1] On the same night, the new Prime Minister, Lt. GeneralConstantin Sănătescu—appointed by King Michael—gave custody of Antonescu to the communists (in spite of alleged instructions to the contrary by the King), and the latter delivered him to the Soviets on 1 September.[16] In a radio broadcast to the Romanian nation and army, Michael issued a ceasefire just as the Red Army was penetrating theMoldavian front,[15] proclaimed Romania's loyalty to the Allies, announced the acceptance of the armistice offered by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, and declared war on Germany.[17] However, this did not avert a rapid Soviet occupation and capture of about 130,000 Romanian soldiers, who were transported to the Soviet Union where many perished in prison camps.[15]
Although the country's alliance withNazi Germany was ended, the coup sped theRed Army's advance into Romania.[15] The armistice was signed three weeks later on 12 September 1944, on terms the Soviets virtually dictated.[15] Under the terms of the armistice, Romania recognized its defeat by the USSR and was placed under occupation of the Allied forces, with the Soviets, as their representative, in control of media, communication, post, and civil administration behind the front. The coup effectively amounted to a "capitulation",[18][19] an "unconditional"[20] "surrender".[14][15] It has been suggested by Romanian historians that the coup may have shortenedWorld War II by six months, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives.[21]
At the end of the war, King Michael was awarded the highest degree (Chief Commander) of the AmericanLegion of Merit byU.S. PresidentHarry S. Truman.[22] He was also decorated with the SovietOrder of Victory byJoseph Stalin "for the courageous act of the radical change in Romania's politics towards a break-up from Hitler's Germany and an alliance with theUnited Nations, at the moment when there was no clear sign yet of Germany's defeat", according to the official description of the decoration. With the death ofMichał Rola-Żymierski in 1989, Michael became the sole surviving recipient of the Order of Victory.[23]
In March 1945, political pressures forced King Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government headed byPetru Groza. For the next two-plus years, Michael functioned again as little more than a figurehead. Between August 1945 and January 1946, during what was later known as the "royal strike", King Michael tried unsuccessfully to oppose the Groza government by refusing to sign its decrees. In response to Soviet, British, and American pressures,[24] King Michael eventually gave up his opposition to the communist government and stopped demanding its resignation.
He did notpardonMareșal Antonescu, the former Prime Minister, who was sentenced to death "for betrayal of the Romanian people for the benefit of Nazi Germany, for the economic and political subjugation of Romania to Germany, for cooperation with theIron Guard, for murdering his political opponents, for themass murder of civilians andcrimes against peace". Nor did King Michael manage to save such leaders of the opposition asIuliu Maniu and theBratianus,[25] victims of Communist political trials, as the Constitution prevented him from doing so without the counter-signature of Communist Justice MinisterLucrețiu Pătrășcanu (who himself was later eliminated byGheorghiu-Dej's opposing Communist faction). The memoirs of King Michael's auntPrincess Ileana[26] quotedEmil Bodnăraș—her alleged lover,[27] Romania's Communist minister of defence, and a Soviet spy[28]—as saying: "Well, if the King decides not to sign the death warrant, I promise that we will uphold his point of view." Princess Ileana was sceptical: "You know quite well (...) that the King will never of his free will sign such an unconstitutional document. If he does, it will be laid at your door, and before the whole nation your government will bear the blame. Surely you do not wish this additional handicap at this moment!"
In November 1947, King Michael travelled to London for the wedding of his cousins, Princess Elizabeth (laterQueen Elizabeth II) andPrince Philip of Greece and Denmark, an occasion during which he metPrincess Anne of Bourbon-Parma (his second cousin once removed), who was to become his wife. According to his own account,[29] King Michael rejected any offers ofasylum and decided to return to Romania, contrary to the confidential, strong advice of the British Ambassador to Romania.
Early on the morning of 30 December 1947, Michael was preparing for a New Year's party atPeleș Castle inSinaia, when Groza summoned him back to Bucharest. Michael returned toElisabeta Palace in Bucharest, to find it surrounded by troops from theTudor Vladimirescu Division, an army unit completely loyal to the Communists. Groza and Communist Party leaderGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej were waiting for him, and demanded that he sign a pre-typed instrument of abdication. Unable to call in loyal troops, due to his telephone lines allegedly being cut, Michael signed the document.[30][31][32][33] Later the same day, the Communist-dominated government announced the abolition of the monarchy, and its replacement by aPeople's Republic, broadcasting the King's pre-recorded radio proclamation[34] of his own abdication. On 3 January 1948, Michael was forced to leave the country, followed[35] over a week later by PrincessesElisabeth and Ileana, who collaborated so closely with the Soviets that they became known as the King's "Red Aunts".[36] He was the last monarch behind theIron Curtain to lose his throne.
Michael's own account of the abdication varied over time, and was gradually embellished, especially after 1990. Thus, in accounts published in 1950 and 1977, Michael only mentioned seeing armed groups with machine-guns on their shoulders around the palace, while in much later accounts these were described as "heavy artillery, ready to fire at any moment". The story of the supposed blackmail also evolved: in the 1950 account, Groza tried to negotiate some form of material compensations for the abdication, noting he could not guarantee for Michael's life in case he refused, and his refusal could lead to thousand of arrests and possibly a civil war; in a hearing before theUnited States House of Representatives in 1954, Michael mentioned Groza's generic threats regarding his personal security, bloodshed and ruin of the country, as well as "vague hints" of persecution, with Groza suggesting the government had a large dossier on Michael; the possible arrest of thousands and a generic threat of bloodshed is also mentioned in the 1977 account; however, beginning with 1990, Michael claimed that Groza threatened to shoot 1,000 students that had already been arrested for publicly showing their attachment to the throne.[37] Thus, while according to aTime article published in 1948, Groza threatened to arrest thousands of people and order a bloodbath unless Michael abdicated,[32] in an interview withThe New York Times from 2007, Michael recounted: "It was blackmail. They said, 'If you don't sign this immediately we are obliged'—why obliged I don't know—'to kill more than 1,000 students' that they had in prison."[38] In historianIoan Scurtu's opinion, the new account was created in order to leverage the recentRevolution of 1989, presented at the time as a revolution of the youth and the students. Another new element in Michael's account after 1990 was that Groza had threatened him at gunpoint; in earlier accounts Michael mentioned that Groza had shown him the pistol he was carrying only after Michael signed the abdication.[37]
According to the autobiography of the former head of the Soviet intelligence agencyNKVD,Major GeneralPavel Sudoplatov, the DeputySoviet Foreign CommissarAndrey Vyshinsky personally conducted negotiations with King Michael for his abdication, guaranteeing part of a pension to be paid to Michael in Mexico.[39] According to a few articles inJurnalul Național,[40][41] Michael's abdication was negotiated with the Communist government, which allowed him to leave the country with the goods he requested, accompanied by some of the royal retinue.[41]
According to Albanian Communist leaderEnver Hoxha's account of his conversations with the Romanian Communist leaders on the monarch's abdication, it was Gheorghiu-Dej, not Groza, who forced Michael's abdication at gunpoint. He was allowed to leave the country accompanied by some of his entourage and, as confirmed also by the Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev recounting Gheorghiu-Dej's confessions,[42] with whatever properties he desired, including gold and rubies.[43] Hoxha also wrote that pro-Communist troops surrounded the palace, to counter army units who were still loyal to the King.
In March 1948, Michael denounced his abdication as illegal, and contended he was still the rightfulKing of Romania. According toTime magazine,[44] he would have done so sooner, but for much of early 1948, he had been negotiating with the Communists over properties he had left in Romania.
There are reports[45][46][47][48][49] that Romanian Communist authorities allowed King Michael to depart with 42 valuable Crown-owned paintings in November 1947, so that he would leave Romania faster.[47] Some of these paintings[50] were reportedly sold through the famed art dealerDaniel Wildenstein. One of the paintings belonging to the Romanian Crown, which was supposedly taken out of the country by King Michael in November 1947, returned to Romania in 2004 as a donation[45][51][52] made by John Kreuger, the former husband of King Michael's daughter Irina.
In 2005, Romanian Prime MinisterCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu[53] denied these accusations about King Michael, stating that the Romanian government has no proof of any such action by King Michael and that, prior to 1949, the government had no official records of any artwork taken over from the former royal residences. However, according to some historians, such records existed as early as April 1948, having been, in fact, officially published in June 1948.[54]
According to Ivor Porter's authorized biography,[55]Michael of Romania: The King and The Country (2005), which quotesQueen Mother Helen's daily diary, the Romanian royal family took out paintings belonging to the Romanian Royal Crown, on their November 1947 trip to London to the wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth II; two of these paintings, signed byEl Greco, were sold in 1976.
According to declassifiedForeign Office documents that were the subject of news reports in 2005, when he left Romania, the exiled King Michael's only assets amounted to 500,000Swiss francs.[56] Recently declassified Soviet transcripts of talks between Joseph Stalin and the Romanian Prime MinisterPetru Groza[57][58] show that shortly before his abdication, King Michael received from the communist government assets amounting to 500,000Swiss francs. King Michael, however, repeatedly denied[59][60][61] that the Communist government had allowed him to take into exile any financial assets or valuable goods besides four personal automobiles loaded on two train cars.
She did not want to accompany her parents to London for the royal wedding as she wished to avoid meeting Michael I in official surroundings. Instead, she planned to stay behind, go alone to the Paris railway station and, pretending to be a passerby in the crowd, privately observe the king as his entourage escorted him to his London-bound train.[63] However, at the last moment she was persuaded by her first cousin,Prince Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, to come to London, where he planned to host a party. Upon arrival in London, she stopped byClaridge's to see her parents, and found herself being introduced unexpectedly to King Michael I. Abashed to the point of confusion, sheclicked her heels instead ofcurtseying, and fled in embarrassment. Charmed, the king saw her again the night of the wedding at the Luxembourg embassysoirée, confided in her some of his concerns about the Communist takeover of Romania and fears for his mother's safety, and nicknamed herNan.[63] They saw each other several times thereafter on outings in London, alwayschaperoned by her mother or brother.
A few days later, she accepted an invitation to accompany Michael and his mother when he piloted aBeechcraft aeroplane to take his auntPrincess Irene, Duchess of Aosta, back home toLausanne.[63] Sixteen days after meeting, Michael proposed to Anne while the couple were out on a drive in Lausanne. She initially declined, but later accepted after taking long walks and drives with him.[64] Although Michael gave her an engagement ring a few days later, he felt obliged to refrain from a public announcement until he informed his government, despite the fact that the press besieged them in anticipation.[63]
Michael I returned toRomania, where he was told by the prime minister that a wedding announcement was not "opportune". Yet within days it was used as the government's public explanation for Michael's sudden "abdication", when in fact the king wasdeposed by theCommunists on 30 December.[63] Princess Anne was unable to get further news of King Michael I until he left the country. They finally reunited inDavos on 23 January 1948.[63]
As aBourbon, Anne was bound by thecanon law of theRoman Catholic Church, which required that she receive adispensation to marry a non-Catholic Christian (King Michael I wasOrthodox). At the time, such a dispensation was normally only given if the non-Roman Catholic partner promised to allow the children of the marriage to be raised as Roman Catholics. Michael refused to make this promise since it would have violated Romania's monarchical constitution, and would be likely to have a detrimental impact upon any possible restoration.[63] TheHoly See (which handled the matter directly since King Michael I was a member of a reigning dynasty) refused to grant the dispensation unless Michael made the required promise.
Helen, Queen Mother of Romania and her sisterPrincess Irene, Duchess of Aosta (an Orthodox married to a Catholic Prince) met with the fiancée's parents in Paris, where the two families resolved to take their case to theVatican in person. In early March, the couple's mothers met withPope Pius XII who, despite the entreaties of the Queen Mother and the fact that Anne's mother,Princess Margrethe pounded her fist on the table in anger, refused permission for Anne to marry King Michael I.[63]
It has been surmised that the Pope's refusal was, in part, motivated by the fact that whenPrincess Giovanna of Savoy married Anne's cousin,King Boris III of Bulgaria, in 1930, the couple had undertaken to raise their future children as Roman Catholics, but hadbaptized them in the Orthodox faith in deference toBulgaria's state religion.[63] However, King Michael I declined to make a promise he could not keep politically, while Anne's mother was herself the daughter of amixed marriage between a Catholic (Princess Marie d'Orléans) and aProtestant (Prince Valdemar of Denmark), who had abided by their pre-ne temerecompromise to raise their sons as Protestant and their daughter, Margrethe, as Catholic.[63]
Although under a great deal of stress,[64] the engaged couple resolved to proceed. Anne's paternal uncle,Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, issued a statement objecting to any marriage conducted against the will of the Pope and the bride's family. It was he, not thePontiff, who forbade Anne's parents to attend the wedding.[63] King Michael I's spokesman declared on 9 June that the parents had been asked and had given their consent, and that the bride's family would be represented at thenuptials by her maternal uncle, the ProtestantPrince Erik of Denmark, who was to give the bride away.[63]
As no papal dispensation was given for the marriage, when it was celebrated according to the rites of theEastern Orthodox Church, it was deemed invalid by the Roman Catholic Church, but perfectly legal by every other authority. The couple eventually took part in a religious ceremony again, on 9 November 1966, at the Roman Catholic Church of St Charles inMonaco, thus satisfying Roman Catholic canon law.[63]
Princess Elena of Romania (b. 15 November 1950), marriedRobin Medforth-Mills on 20 July 1983 and was divorced on 28 November 1991. They have two children. She married secondly Alexander McAteer on 14 August 1998.
Princess Irina of Romania (b. 28 February 1953), marriedJohn Kreuger on 4 October 1983, from whom she was divorced on 24 November 2003. They have two children. She married secondly John Wesley Walker on 10 November 2007.
Princess Sophie of Romania (b. 29 October 1957), married Alain Michel Biarneix on 29 August 1998 and was divorced in 2002, with a daughter.
Michael would never see his father again, after Carol II's 1940 abdication. Michael could see no point in meeting his father who had humiliated his mother so many times via his open affairs and did not attend his father's funeral in 1953.[66]
In January 1948,[32] Michael began using one of his family's ancestral titles, "Prince of Hohenzollern",[67][68] instead of using the title of "King of Romania". After denouncing his abdication as forced and illegal in March 1948, Michael resumed use of the kingly title.
Michael and Princess Anne lived nearFlorence, Italy, until 1948, near Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1950, and then inHertfordshire,England, until 1956.[69][70] After that, the couple settled nearVersoix, Switzerland, where they would live for the next 45 years. The Communist Romanian authorities stripped Michael of his Romanian citizenship in 1948.[71]
During exile, Michael had a variety of occupations including farming, stockbroker, entrepreneur, and pilot.[69][2][1] In 1957, he worked in Switzerland as a test pilot for a predecessor of aerospace manufacturerLearjet.[72][73]
Together with his wife, he took part in the ship tour organized byQueen Frederica and her husband KingPaul of Greece in 1954, which became known as the “Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.
He had five daughters with his wife between 1949 and 1964.
On 25 December 1990—a year after therevolution which overthrew the Communist dictatorship ofNicolae Ceaușescu—Michael, accompanied by several members of the royal family, landed atOtopeni Airport and entered Romania for the first time in 43 years. Using a Danish diplomatic passport, Michael was able to obtain a 24-hour visa. He intended to reachCurtea de Argeș Cathedral, pray at the tombs of his royal ancestors and attend the Christmas religious service. However, on their way toCurtea de Argeș, the former King and his companions were stopped by a police blockade, taken to the airport and forced to leave the country.[74]
In 1992, the Romanian government allowed Michael to return to Romania for Easter celebrations, where he drew large crowds.[1] His speech from the balcony of a Hotel Continental 1st Fl. room drew over 100,000 people. His visit in Bucharest drew over a million people in the streets of the capital to see him.[75] Michael refused the offer of the president of theNational Liberal Party,Radu Câmpeanu, to run for elections as president of Romania. Michael's popularity alarmed the government of PresidentIon Iliescu, and he was forbidden to re-visit Romania, being denied entry twice in 1994 and 1995.[76]
In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat byEmil Constantinescu, the Romanian government restored Michael's citizenship and again allowed him to visit the country.[76] He then lived partly in Switzerland atAubonne and partly in Romania, either atSăvârșin Castle inArad County or in an official residence in Bucharest—theElisabeta Palace—voted by the Romanian Parliament by a law concerning arrangements for former heads of state. Besides Săvârșin Castle, the former private residencesPeleș Castle andPelișor Castle were also restituted. While Peleș and Pelișor are open to the public, Elisabeta Palace and Săvârșin are used as private residences.
Michael neither encouraged nor opposed monarchist agitation in Romania and royalist parties have made little impact in post-communist Romanian politics. He took the view that the restoration of the monarchy in Romania can only result from a decision by the Romanian people. "If the people want me to come back, of course, I will come back," he said in 1990. "Romanians have had enough suffering imposed on them to have the right to be consulted on their future." King Michael's belief was that there is still a role for, and value in, the monarchy today: "We are trying to make people understand what the Romanian monarchy was, and what it can still do [for them]."[77]
According to a 2007 opinion poll conducted at the request of the Romanian royal family, only 14% of Romanians were in favour of the restoration of the monarchy.[78] Another 2008 poll found that only 16% of Romanians are monarchists.[79] Michael himself, however, was shown to be much more popular personally with the Romanian people: In a July 2013 survey, 45% of Romanians had a good or very good opinion of Michael, with 6.5% thinking the opposite. The royal family also enjoyed similar numbers, with 41% having a good or very good opinion of it, and just 6.5% having a poor or very poor one.[80]
Michael undertook some quasi-diplomatic roles on behalf of post-communist Romania. In 1997 and 2002 he toured Western Europe, lobbying for Romania's admission intoNATO and theEuropean Union, and was received by heads of state and government officials.
In December 2003, to the "stupefaction of the public opinion in Romania",[81][82] Michael awarded the "Man of The Year 2003"[83] prize to Prime MinisterAdrian Năstase, leader of theSocial Democratic Party (PSD), on behalf of thetabloidVIP.[84] The dailyEvenimentul Zilei subsequently complained that 'such an activity was unsuited to a king and that Michael was wasting away his prestige', with the majority of the political analysts 'considering his gesture as a fresh abdication'.[81]
Michael participated in theVictory Parade in Moscow in 2010 as the only living Supreme Commander-in-Chief of a European State in theSecond World War.[88] The name of Michael I is listed on the memorial in theGrand Kremlin Palace as one of only 20 recipients of theOrder of Victory.
In old age, Michael enjoyed a strong revival in popularity. On 25 October 2011, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he delivered a speech before the assembled chambers of the Romanian Parliament.[1] An opinion poll in January 2012 placed him as the most trusted public figure in Romania, far ahead of the political leaders.[89] Later, in October 2012, celebrating Michael's 91st birthday, a square in Bucharest was renamed after him.[90]
On 1 August 2016, he became a widower when Queen Anne died at the age of 92.[91]
On 2 March 2016, the Royal Council announced King Michael's retirement from public life;[92][93] with tasks assumed by Crown PrincessMargareta, his daughter. After surgery, Michael was diagnosed with chronicleukemia and metastaticepidermoid carcinoma and faced a complex and lengthy treatment.[94]
In June 2017, the Royal House stated in a press release that "His Majesty's health is fragile but stable. King Michael is quiet, has soulful appreciation and appreciates the care of his medical team. Along with the King, they are permanently employed by His Majesty's House, detached in Switzerland, and two Orthodox nuns."[95]
At the end of August 2017, the Royal House announced that King Michael was "in a fragile but balanced state, and has a good mood," stating thatPrincess Elena had completed a visit to Switzerland for a few days to see her father, at the private residence. According to the Royal House, Michael remained "daily under close supervision of physicians, medical staff of various specialties, and in the presence of devoted members of the staff of His Majesty's House, stationed in Switzerland." Two Orthodox nuns, detached from the Romanian Orthodox Church, remained at the private residence.[96]
On 5 December 2017, Michael died at his residence in Switzerland at the age of 96, in the presence of his youngest daughterPrincess Maria.[97][98][99] His coffin, draped by his Royal Standard, was brought back to Romania on 13 December, arriving at theOtopeni Airport inBucharest from Lausanne, viaPayerne Air Base, escorted by his second daughter,Princess Elena with her husband Alexander Nixon, fourth daughter Sophie and also members of the Royal Household, were transported by theRomanian Air Force'sAlenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, which was flanked by fourMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters.[100][101]
The coffin was first taken toPeleș Castle atSinaia in the Carpathian Mountains. Then, it was brought to Bucharest, where it was laid and displayed at theRoyal Palace for two days. King Michael I was buried on 16 December with full state honours in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family, on the grounds of theCurtea de Argeș Cathedral together with his wife Queen Anne who died in 2016.[102] His body was transferred from Bucharest to Curtea de Argeș with the help of afuneral train, the Royal Train, and a repainted domestic-traffic carriage, being led by a diesel locomotive. His funeral is stated to have been one of the largest in Romania, with almost a million Romanians flocking to the capital to pay their respects and watch the funeral, with it being comparable to the one ofCorneliu Coposu in 1995.[citation needed]
According to the succession provisions of the Romanian kingdom's last democratically approved monarchical constitution of 1923, upon the death of King Michael without sons, the claim to the Crown devolves once again upon theHohenzollern family. However, on 30 December 2007, on the 60th anniversary of his abdication, King Michael signed theFundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, by which he designatedPrincess Margareta as his heir.[9][103] The document has no legal standing, as it regulates an institution that is no longer extant.[104][105]
On 10 May 2011, on a background of lawsuits in Germany brought against his family by Michael's German relatives regarding the former name Hohenzollern-Veringen of his son-in-law,Radu, and of fears[106] expressed by some that the German Hohenzollerns may claim succession to the headship of the Romanian royal house, Michael severed all of the dynastic and historical ties with the princelyhouse of Hohenzollern, changed the name of his family to "of Romania", and gave up all princely titles conferred upon him and his family by the German Hohenzollerns.[107][108]
On 1 August 2015, Michael signed a document removing the title Prince of Romania and the qualification of Royal Highness from his grandson,Nicholas Medforth-Mills, who was also removed from the line of succession. The former king took the decision "with an eye on Romania's future after the reign and life of his eldest daughter, Margareta". The former king hoped that "Nicholas will find in future years a suitable way to serve the ideals and use the qualities that God gave him". Nicholas's mother, Princess Elena, received notification of the former king's decision in a personal letter.[109]
Aged 16, when Michael was crown prince, he hit a bicyclist while driving a car, causing the cyclist's death. The incident was censored in contemporary press, but appears in the official Censorship Records, and is confirmed by the memoirs of the former prime ministerConstantin Argetoianu.[111][112]
Michael was head of theRomanian Boy Scouts in the 1930s.[113] He was passionate about cars,[114] especially military jeeps.[115][116] He was also interested in aircraft, having worked as a test pilot during exile.[117][118]
Shortly after the Second World War, Michael became interested inMoral Rearmament, which was introduced to him by his first cousin Prince Richard of Hesse-Cassel,[119] and as Swiss residents after 1956 he and Queen Anne paid numerous visits to theMRA conference centre ofCaux, where he found solace for the loss of his country and his émigré status as well as new hope for future reconciliation.[120]
On 25 October 2012, a large monument to Michael including a large bronze bust was unveiled at King Michael I Square in Bucharest. Michael attended and unveiled the statue.[157]
On 25 October 2021, a statue of Michael was unveiled in the town ofSinaia, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Minister of CultureBogdan Gheorghiu was in attendance, along withMargareta of Romania, other government representatives, and members of parliament.[158] Representatives of the Army also attended.[159]
^Bucur, Marie "Carol II" pages 87-118 fromBalkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of South Eastern Europe edited by Bernd Jürgen Fischer, West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2007 p. 97.
^Constantiniu, Florin,"O istorie sinceră a poporului român" ("An Honest History of the Romanian People"), Ed.Univers Enciclopedic, București, 1997,ISBN973-9243-07-X(in Romanian)
^"The Republic was installed by way of the gun" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved13 April 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), undated interview with H.M. King Michael inZiua, as of 15 October 2008
^abScurtu, Ioan (2004).Istoria românilor în timpul celor patru regi (1866–1947) (2a. ed.). București: Editura Enciclopedică. pp. 191–199.ISBN973-45-0441-X.
^Pavel Sudoplatov, Anatoli Sudoplatov, Jerrold L. Schecter, Leona P. Schecter,Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness – A Soviet Spymaster.Little, Brown and Company,Boston, 1994, p. 232.ISBN0-316-77352-2 : "Vyshinsky personally conducted negotiations with King Michael of Romania for his abdication, guaranteeing part of his pension in Mexico."
^Michel van Rijn,"Hot Art, Cold Cash"(PDF). Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved24 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), pp. 177, 184, Little Brown & Co., 1994. For more on the credentials of the UK police expert in art smuggling Michel van Rijn, see1Archived 10 December 2006 at theWayback Machine and2.
^abcdefghijklmnopqEilers-Koenig, Marlene (2008). "The Marriage of King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania".European Royal History Journal.11.3 (LXIII). Arturo E. Beeche:3–10.
^See for instance in the film "Crossroad, the story of Frank Buchman" (1974), towards the end (1:07 to 1:08), King Michael's speech describing his relation toFrank BuchmanMRA historical filmsArchived 12 November 2017 at theWayback Machine, last access on 7 December 2017.
^(Soviet Union, 6 July 1945) "For the courageous act of decisive turning in the direction of the Romanian policy against Germany and the alliance with the Allies in a time when it was not yet set a clear defeat of Germany"
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