Michael I (Romanian: Mihai I [miˈhaj]; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last king of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947.

Michael I
Mihai I
Michael I in 1947
King of Romania
First reign20 July 1927 – 8 June 1930
PredecessorFerdinand I
SuccessorCarol II
Regents
See list
Second reign6 September 1940 – 30 December 1947
PredecessorCarol II
SuccessorMonarchy abolished
Constantin Ion Parhon (as President of the Provisional Presidium of the Republic)
Coronation6 September 1940
Born(1921-10-25)25 October 1921
Peleș Castle, Sinaia, Kingdom of Romania
Died5 December 2017(2017-12-05) (aged 96)
Aubonne, Vaud, Switzerland
Burial16 December 2017
Royal Cathedral, Curtea de Argeș Monastery, Curtea de Argeș, Romania
Spouse
(m. 1948; died 2016)
Issue
House
FatherCarol II of Romania
MotherHelen of Greece and Denmark
ReligionRomanian Orthodox
Signature

Shortly after Michael's birth, his father, Crown Prince Carol, had become involved in a controversial relationship with Magda Lupescu. In 1925, Carol was pressured to renounce his rights (in favour of his son Michael) to the throne and moved to Paris in exile with Lupescu. In July 1927, following the death of his grandfather Ferdinand 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 uncle Prince Nicolas, Patriarch Miron Cristea and Chief Justice Gheorghe 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 being heir apparent to the throne and was given the additional title of Grand Voievod 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 dictator Ion Antonescu, Romania became aligned with Nazi Germany. In 1944, Michael participated in a coup against Antonescu, appointed Constantin 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 by Petru Groza. From August 1945 to January 1946, Michael went on a "royal strike" and unsuccessfully tried to oppose Groza's communist-controlled government by refusing to sign and endorse its decrees. In November 1947, Michael attended the wedding of his cousins, the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in London. 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 married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, with whom he had five daughters.[1] The couple eventually settled in Switzerland.

Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist dictatorship was 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 for Easter, where he was greeted by huge crowds;[1] a speech he gave from his hotel window drew an estimated one million people to Bucharest. Alarmed by Michael's popularity, the post-communist government of Ion Iliescu refused to allow him any further visits. In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat by Emil 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 as Peleș Castle and Săvârșin Castle, were eventually returned to his family.

Early life

edit
 
Prince Michael, aged 5

Michael was born in 1921 at Foișor Castle on the Royal Complex of Peleș in Sinaia, Romania, the son of Crown Prince Carol of Romania and Crown Princess Elena.[2] He was born as the paternal grandson of the reigning King Ferdinand I of Romania and maternal grandson of the reigning King Constantine I of Greece. When Carol eloped with his mistress Elena Magda Lupescu and renounced his rights to the throne in December 1925, Michael was declared heir 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]

Reign

edit

1930s and the Antonescu era

edit
 
King Michael and Marshal Ion Antonescu on the banks of the Prut River, 1941

A regency, which included his uncle, Prince Nicolae, Patriarch Miron Cristea, and the country's Chief Justice (Gheorghe Buzdugan, and from October 1929, Constantin Sărățeanu [ro]) functioned on behalf of the five-year-old Michael, when he succeeded Ferdinand in 1927.[6] In 1930, Carol II returned to the country at the invitation of politicians dissatisfied with the regency in the context of the Great Depression, and was proclaimed king by the Parliament. Michael was demoted to crown prince with the title "Grand Voivode of Alba Iulia".[7] In November 1939, Michael joined the Romanian Senate, as the 1938 Constitution guaranteed him a seat there upon reaching the age of eighteen.[8]

Just days after the Second Vienna Award, the pro-Nazi anti-Soviet regime of Prime Minister Marshal Ion 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 was crowned[9] with the Steel Crown and anointed King of Romania by the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania, Nicodim Munteanu, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest, on the day of his accession, 6 September 1940.[10] Although King Michael was formally the Supreme Head of the Army, named Conducător ("Leader of the people"), and entitled to appoint the Prime Minister with full powers, in reality he was forced to remain a figurehead for most of the war, until August 1944.[11] Michael had lunch with Adolf Hitler twice—once with his father in Bavaria in 1937, and with his mother in Berlin in 1941.[12] He also met Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1941.[13]

Turning against Nazi Germany

edit
 
Romanian stamp from 1942, commemorating the first anniversary of the recapture of Bessarabia from Soviet occupation, featuring Michael and dictator Antonescu below the text Un an de la desrobire ("A year since liberation"), a portrait of Stephen the Great and the fortress of Bender in the background

In 1944, World War II was going badly for the Axis 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 a coup against Antonescu. Michael ordered his arrest by the Royal Palace Guard.[1] On the same night, the new Prime Minister, Lt. General Constantin 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 the Moldavian 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 with Nazi Germany was ended, the coup sped the Red 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 shortened World 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 American Legion of Merit by U.S. President Harry S. Truman.[22] He was also decorated with the Soviet Order of Victory by Joseph 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 the United 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 of Michał Rola-Żymierski in 1989, Michael became the sole surviving recipient of the Order of Victory.[23]

Reign under Communism

edit

In March 1945, political pressures forced King Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government headed by Petru 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 not pardon Mareșal 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 the Iron Guard, for murdering his political opponents, for the mass murder of civilians and crimes against peace". Nor did King Michael manage to save such leaders of the opposition as Iuliu Maniu and the Bratianus,[25] victims of Communist political trials, as the Constitution prevented him from doing so without the counter-signature of Communist Justice Minister Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (who himself was later eliminated by Gheorghiu-Dej's opposing Communist faction). The memoirs of King Michael's aunt Princess Ileana[26] quoted Emil 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!"

Forced abdication

edit
 
Abdication act, 1947

In November 1947, King Michael travelled to London for the wedding of his cousins, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, an occasion during which he met Princess 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 of asylum 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 at Peleș Castle in Sinaia, when Groza summoned him back to Bucharest. Michael returned to Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, to find it surrounded by troops from the Tudor Vladimirescu Division, an army unit completely loyal to the Communists. Groza and Communist Party leader Gheorghe 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 a People'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 Princesses Elisabeth 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 the Iron 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 the United 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 a Time article published in 1948, Groza threatened to arrest thousands of people and order a bloodbath unless Michael abdicated,[32] in an interview with The 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 historian Ioan Scurtu's opinion, the new account was created in order to leverage the recent Revolution 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 agency NKVD, Major General Pavel Sudoplatov, the Deputy Soviet Foreign Commissar Andrey 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 in Jurnalul Naţional,[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 leader Enver 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 leader Nikita 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 rightful King of Romania. According to Time 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 dealer Daniel 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 Minister Călin 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 quotes Queen-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 by El Greco, were sold in 1976.

According to declassified Foreign Office documents that were the subject of news reports in 2005, when he left Romania, the exiled King Michael's only assets amounted to 500,000 Swiss francs.[56] Recently declassified Soviet transcripts of talks between Joseph Stalin and the Romanian Prime Minister Petru Groza[57][58] show that shortly before his abdication, King Michael received from the communist government assets amounting to 500,000 Swiss 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.

Marriage

edit

Engagement

edit

In November 1947, Michael I met a distant relative, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma who was visiting London for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh.[62] In fact, a year previously Queen Helen, The Queen Mother had invited Anne, her mother, and brothers for a visit to Bucharest, but the plan did not come off.[63] Meanwhile, King Michael I had glimpsed Princess Anne in a newsreel and requested a photograph from the film footage.[63]

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 by Claridge's to see her parents, and found herself being introduced unexpectedly to King Michael I. Abashed to the point of confusion, she clicked her heels instead of curtseying, and fled in embarrassment. Charmed, the king saw her again the night of the wedding at the Luxembourg embassy soirée, confided in her some of his concerns about the Communist takeover of Romania and fears for his mother's safety, and nicknamed her Nan.[63] They saw each other several times thereafter on outings in London, always chaperoned by her mother or brother.

A few days later, she accepted an invitation to accompany Michael and his mother when he piloted a Beechcraft aeroplane to take his aunt Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta, back home to Lausanne.[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 to Romania, 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 was deposed by the Communists on 30 December.[63] Princess Anne was unable to get further news of King Michael I until he left the country. They finally reunited in Davos on 23 January 1948.[63]

Wedding

edit

As a Bourbon, Anne was bound by the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, which required that she receive a dispensation to marry a non-Catholic Christian (King Michael I was Orthodox). 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] The Holy 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 sister Princess 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 the Vatican in person. In early March, the couple's mothers met with Pope 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 when Princess 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 had baptized them in the Orthodox faith in deference to Bulgaria'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 a mixed marriage between a Catholic (Princess Marie d'Orléans) and a Protestant (Prince Valdemar of Denmark), who had abided by their pre-ne temere compromise 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 the Pontiff, 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 the nuptials by her maternal uncle, the Protestant Prince Erik of Denmark, who was to give the bride away.[63]

The wedding ceremony was held on 10 June 1948 in Athens, Greece, in the throne room of the Royal Palace;[64] the ceremony was performed by Archbishop Damaskinos, and King Paul I of Greece served as koumbaros.[63] Guests at the wedding included: Michael's mother The Queen Mother of Romania, aunts Queen Frederica, The Dowager Duchess of Aosta, Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark; cousins Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, the three youngest ones serving as bridesmaids and pageboy; Anne's maternal uncle Prince Erik of Denmark; Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Prince George Wilhelm of Hanover and many other dignitaries. King Michael I's father, Carol, and his sisters, Maria, Queen Mother of Yugoslavia, Princess Elisabeth of Romania (ex-Queen Consort of Greece) and Princess Ileana of Romania were notified, but not invited.[why?][63]

As no papal dispensation was given for the marriage, when it was celebrated according to the rites of the Eastern 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 in Monaco, thus satisfying Roman Catholic canon law.[63]

Family

edit

Michael and Anne had five daughters, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren:

  • Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania (b. 26 March 1949 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne); she married Radu Duda in 1996. They have not had issue.
  • Princess Elena of Romania (b. 15 November 1950 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne); she married Robin Medforth-Mills on 20 July 1983 and divorced on 28 November 1991. They have two children. She married a second time, with Alexander McAteer on 14 August 1998.
    • Nicholas de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills (b. 1 April 1985 in La Tour Hospital in Geneva); he civilly married Alina Maria Binder on 6 October 2017. They have two children. Nicholas also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
    • Elisabeta-Karina de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills (b. 4 January 1989 at Princess Mary Maternity Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England)
  • Princess Irina of Romania (b. 28 February 1953 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne); she married John Kreuger on 4 October 1983 and divorced on 24 November 2003. They have two children and three grandchildren. She married a second time, with John Wesley Walker on 10 November 2007.
    • Michael-Torsten de Roumanie-Kreuger (b. 25 February 1984 at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, Oregon); he married Tara Marie Littlefield on 26 February 2011.
    • Angelica-Margareta Bianca de Roumanie-Kreuger (b. 29 December 1986 at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, Oregon); she married Richard Robert Knight on 25 October 2009 (divorced in November 2018).
  • Princess Sophie of Romania (b. 29 October 1957 at Tatoi Palace in Athens); she married Alain Michel Biarneix on 29 August 1998 and divorced in 2002.
    • Elisabeta-Maria de Roumanie-Biarneix (b. 15 August 1999 in Paris)
  • Princess Maria of Romania (b. 13 July 1964 at Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen); she married Kazimierz Wiesław Daniluk Mystkowski on 16 September 1995 and divorced in December 2003. They had one son.

Life in exile

edit
 
Standard of King Michael l

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.[65]

In January 1948,[32] Michael began using one of his family's ancestral titles, "Prince of Hohenzollern",[66][67] 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 near Florence, Italy, until 1948, near Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1950, and then in Hertfordshire, England, until 1956.[68][69] After that, the couple settled near Versoix, Switzerland, where they would live for the next 45 years. The Communist Romanian authorities stripped Michael of his Romanian citizenship in 1948.[70]

During exile, Michael had a variety of occupations including farming, stockbroker, entrepreneur, and pilot.[68][2][1] In 1957, he worked in Switzerland as a test pilot for a predecessor of aerospace manufacturer Learjet.[71][72]

He had five daughters with his wife between 1949 and 1964.

Return and rehabilitation

edit

On 25 December 1990—a year after the revolution which overthrew the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu—Michael, accompanied by several members of the royal family, landed at Otopeni 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 reach Curtea de Argeș Cathedral, pray at the tombs of his royal ancestors and attend the Christmas religious service. However, on their way to Curtea de Argeș, the former King and his companions were stopped by a police blockade, taken to the airport and forced to leave the country.[73]

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.[74] Michael refused the offer of the president of the National Liberal Party, Radu Câmpeanu, to run for elections as president of Romania. Michael's popularity alarmed the government of President Ion Iliescu, and he was forbidden to re-visit Romania, being denied entry twice in 1994 and 1995.[75]

In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat by Emil Constantinescu, the Romanian government restored Michael's citizenship and again allowed him to visit the country.[75] He then lived partly in Switzerland at Aubonne and partly in Romania, either at Săvârșin Castle in Arad County or in an official residence in Bucharest—the Elisabeta Palace—voted by the Romanian Parliament by a law concerning arrangements for former heads of state. Besides Săvârșin Castle, the former private residences Peleș Castle and Pelișor Castle were also restituted. While Peleș and Pelișor are open to the public, Elisabeta Palace and Săvârșin are used as private residences.

Later years

edit
 
Fresco of King Michael I on the walls of Sâmbăta Monastery
 
Michael I in 2007

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]."[76]

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.[77] Another 2008 poll found that only 16% of Romanians are monarchists.[78] 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.[79]

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 into NATO and the European Union, and was received by heads of state and government officials.

In December 2003, allegedly to the "stupefaction of the public opinion in Romania",[80][81] Michael awarded the "Man of The Year 2003"[82] prize to Prime Minister Adrian Năstase, leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), on behalf of the tabloid VIP.[83] The daily Evenimentul 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'.[80]

On 10 May 2007, King Michael received the Prague Society for International Cooperation and Global Panel Foundation [de]'s 6th Annual Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award, previously awarded to Vladimir Ashkenazy, Madeleine Albright, Václav Havel, Lord Robertson, and Miloš Forman.[84] On 8 April 2008, King Michael and Patriarch Daniel were elected as honorary members of the Romanian Academy.[85][86]

Michael participated in the Victory Parade in Moscow in 2010 as the only living Supreme Commander-in-Chief of a European State in the Second World War.[87] The name of Michael I is listed on the memorial in the Grand Kremlin Palace as one of only 20 recipients of the Order 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.[88] Later, in October 2012, celebrating Michael's 91st birthday, a square in Bucharest was renamed after him.[89]

On 1 August 2016, he became a widower when Queen Anne died at the age of 92.[90]

Health issues and death

edit

On 2 March 2016, the Royal Council announced King Michael's retirement from public life;[91][92] with tasks assumed by Crown Princess Margareta, his daughter. After surgery, Michael was diagnosed with chronic leukemia and metastatic epidermoid carcinoma and faced a complex and lengthy treatment.[93]

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."[94]

At the end of August 2017, the Royal House announced that "King Michael I is in a fragile but balanced state, and has a good mood," stating that Princess Elena had completed a visit to Switzerland for a few days to see her father, at the private residence. According to the Royal House, King Michael I "continues to stay 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.[95]

 
Tributes to King Michael in Bucharest, December 2017

On 5 December 2017, King Michael I died at his residence in Switzerland at the age of 96, in the presence of his youngest daughter Princess Maria.[96][97][98]

Funeral

edit
 
King Michael I's coffin during the funeral procession on Victory Avenue towards the Union Square and the Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral

On Wednesday, 13 December 2017, at 11:00 am, King Michael I's coffin, draped by his Royal Standard, was brought back to Romania, arriving at the Otopeni Airport in Bucharest from Lausanne, via Payerne 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 the Romanian Air Force's Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, which was flanked by four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters.[99][100]

The coffin was first taken to Peleș Castle at Sinaia in the Carpathian Mountains. Then, it was brought to Bucharest, where it was laid and displayed at the Royal 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 the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral together with his wife Queen Anne who died in 2016.[101] His body was transferred from Bucharest to Curtea de Argeș with the help of a funeral 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 of Corneliu Coposu in 1995.[citation needed]

Line of succession

edit

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 the Hohenzollern family. However, on 30 December 2007, on the 60th anniversary of his abdication, King Michael signed the Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, by which he designated Princess Margareta as his heir.[9][102] The document has no legal standing, as it regulates an institution that is no longer extant.[103][104]

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[105] 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 princely house 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.[106][107]

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.[108]

Personality and personal interests

edit
 
A 1944 Willys Jeep from Michael's collection that belonged to General George S. Patton[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 minister Constantin Argetoianu.[110][111]

Michael was head of the Romanian Boy Scouts in the 1930s.[112] He was passionate about cars,[113] especially military jeeps.[114][115] He was also interested in aircraft, having worked as a test pilot during exile.[116][117]

Shortly after the Second World War, Michael became interested in Moral Rearmament, which was introduced to him by his first cousin Prince Richard of Hesse-Cassel,[118] and as Swiss residents after 1956 he and Queen Anne paid numerous visits to the MRA conference centre of Caux, where he found solace for the loss of his country and his émigré status as well as new hope for future reconciliation.[119]

Honours and awards

edit

Awards

edit

National awards

edit

Foreign awards

edit

Military ranks

edit
  Kingdom of Romania
  Kingdom of Greece

Honorific eponyms

edit
 
Michael I and Anne on a 2014 Romanian stamp

Statues and monuments

edit

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.[155]

On 25 October 2021, a statue of Michael was unveiled in the town of Sinaia. Bogdan Gheorghiu, Romanian Minister of Culture was in attendance, along with Margareta of Romania, other government representatives, and members of parliament.[156] Representatives of the Army also attended.[157]

Ancestry

edit

As a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, through both of his parents,[1] Michael was a third cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Harald V of Norway, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Through his maternal grandfather, King Constantine I of Greece, Michael was a first cousin of King Constantine II of Greece, Queen Sophia of Spain consort of Juan Carlos I of Spain.

In addition to being the claimant to the defunct throne of Romania, he was also a Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 10 May 2011, when he renounced this title.[32][66][106]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dunlop, Tessa (5 December 2017). "Michael I of Romania obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "MS Regele Mihai I". Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. ^ Bucur, Marie "Carol II" pages 87-118 from Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of South Eastern Europe edited by Bernd Jürgen Fischer, West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2007 p. 97.
  4. ^ "Regele Mihai la ṣcoală. Cum îşi amintea profesorul său despre el: N-a fost premiantul clasei, dar..." Realitatea .Net. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ^ "O şcoală pentru un singur copil". Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Rulers of Romania". Rulers. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  7. ^ "FOTODOCUMENT. Mihai, Mare Voievod de Alba Iulia – România liberă". 27 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Ce citeau românii acum 68 de ani?", Ziua, 29 November 2007.
  9. ^ a b Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania, The Romanian Royal Family website as. Retrieved 8 January 2008
  10. ^ (in Romanian) "The Joys of Suffering," Volume 2, "Dialogue with a few intellectuals", by Rev. Fr. Dimitrie Bejan – "Orthodox Advices" website as of 9 June 2007
  11. ^ (in Romanian) Ioan Scurtu, Theodora Stănescu-Stanciu, Georgiana Margareta Scurtu, The History of the Romanians between 1918 and 1940 ("Istoria românilor între anii 1918–1940") Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, page 280.
  12. ^ Thorpe, Nick (25 October 2011). "Romania's ex-King Michael I defends his wartime record". BBC. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  13. ^ (in Spanish) "Comí con Hitler, era estirado y frío. Mussolini parecía más humano"
  14. ^ a b "Bulgaria". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "Romania – Armistice Negotiations and Soviet Occupation". countrystudies.us.
  16. ^ "23 August – radiografia unei lovituri de Palat", paragraph "Predaţi comuniştilor", Dosare Ultrasecrete, Ziua, 19 August 2006
  17. ^ Dictatura a luat sfarsit si cu ea inceteaza toate asupririle Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine ("The Dictatorship Has Ended and along with It All Oppression") – From The Proclamation to The Nation of King Michael I on The Night of 23 August 1944, Curierul Naţional, 7 August 2004
  18. ^ "Secret CIA report – Rumania, 10/5/1949" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Hitler Resorts To 'Puppets' In Romania" Archived 11 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post, 25 August 1944.
  20. ^ "King Proclaims Nation's Surrender and Wish to Help Allies", The New York Times, 24 August 1944
  21. ^ Constantiniu, Florin, "O istorie sinceră a poporului român" ("An Honest History of the Romanian People"), Ed. Univers Enciclopedic, București, 1997, ISBN 973-9243-07-X (in Romanian)
  22. ^ (in Romanian) "Cuvintele lui Harry S. Truman", Romanian, Prince Radu's blog, includes scan of citation, 23 June 2011
  23. ^ (in Romanian) Armata Română în Al Doilea Război Mondial. Romanian Army in World War II. Bucharest: "Meridiane" publishing house, 1995, p. 196
  24. ^ (in Romanian) "What was done in Romania between 1945 and 1947 it has also been done since 1989", Ziua, 24 August 2000
  25. ^ (in Romanian) Brief history of Sighet prison, BBC, 18 April 2007
  26. ^ ""I Live Again" by Ileana, Princess of Romania, Chapter 21". Tkinter.smig.net. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  27. ^ (in Romanian)"History as a Soap Opera – The Gossips of a Secret Report (III)" Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Jurnalul Naţional, 18 June 2006
  28. ^ ""Development of the Romanian Armed Forces after World War II", Library of Congress Country Studies". Lcweb2.loc.gov. 20 August 1968. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  29. ^ Speech By His Majesty Michael I, King of Romania to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, London, 26 March 1997
  30. ^ (in Romanian) "King Michael between the ascension to the throne and abdication – VII", Ziarul financiar, 24 June 2001
  31. ^ "The Republic was installed by way of the gun" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), undated interview with H.M. King Michael in Ziua, as of 15 October 2008
  32. ^ a b c d "Compression", Time, 12 January 1948
  33. ^ (in Romanian) Mircea Ionnitiu : "30 December 1947", site dedicated to HM King Mihai I of Romania and to the Romanian Monarchy as of 15 October 2008
  34. ^ Friends & Enemies, Presidents & Kings by Tammy Lee McClure, Accendo Publishing, p. 99. Another account comes from the Romanian anti-Communist dissident Paul Goma's (in Romanian) "Skipped Diary" ("Jurnal pe sarite"), page 57.
  35. ^ "2 Princesses Exiled By Romanian Regime", The New York Times, 13 January 1948
  36. ^ W. H. Lawrence,"Aunts of Michael May Be Exiled Too", The New York Times, 7 January 1948
  37. ^ a b Scurtu, Ioan (2004). Istoria românilor în timpul celor patru regi (1866–1947) (2a. ed.). București: Editura Enciclopedică. pp. 191–199. ISBN 973-45-0441-X.
  38. ^ Craig S. Smith (27 January 2007). "Romania's King Without a Throne Outlives Foes and Setbacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  39. ^ 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. ISBN 0-316-77352-2 : "Vyshinsky personally conducted negotiations with King Michael of Romania for his abdication, guaranteeing part of his pension in Mexico."
  40. ^ (in Romanian)"The return from London and the abdication," Archived 16 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Jurnalul Național, 17 November 2005
  41. ^ a b (in Romanian) "Communism – King Michael I's Abdication" Archived 16 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Jurnalul Naţional, 11 December 2006
  42. ^ Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, Sergeĭ Khrushchev.Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev: Statesman, 1953–1964, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007, p. 701, ISBN 0-271-02935-8 : "As Dej reminisced, 'We told him he could take everything with him that he considered necessary, but he had to leave his kingdom.'"
  43. ^ Enver Hoxha.The Titoites. The "Naim Frasheri" publishing house, Tirana, 1982, pp. 519–522, 572
  44. ^ "Anne & I", Time, 15 March 1948
  45. ^ a b Miscellaneous, Evenimentul Zilei, 24 March 2005
  46. ^ Miscellaneous, Evenimentul Zilei, 14 March 2005
  47. ^ a b The Lia Roberts hope, Evenimentul Zilei, 19 January 2004
  48. ^ George Radulescu (29 December 2007) Monarchy, the only bastion against the communists, Adevărul
  49. ^ (in Romanian) Mihai Pelin has died Archived 21 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine, România liberă, 17 December 2007
  50. ^ Michel van Rijn, "Hot Art, Cold Cash" (PDF). Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 24 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, see 1 Archived 10 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine and 2.
  51. ^ (in Romanian) "Raibolini's Madonna at the National Museum of Art of Romania", Ziua, 20 November 2004
  52. ^ (in Romanian) "A Prestigious Donation: Madonna with the Infant by Francesco Raibolini, named "Il Francia"", Online Gallery site as of 8 December 2006
  53. ^ (in Romanian) "There Are No Proofs That King Michael Took Paintings out of Romania", Adevărul, 19 April 2005
  54. ^ Radu Bogdan (October 1998) "Testimonials of contemporary history – Peles, January–April 1948. The inventorying of the former royal art works (III)", Magazin istoric
  55. ^ (in Romanian) "The King and The Country", "Revista 22", 8 March 2006.
  56. ^ "Exiled king 'should become pilot'", BBC News, 2 January 2005
  57. ^ (in Romanian) "King Michael in exile – from poultry grower to test pilot and broker", ROMPRES, 13 April 2005
  58. ^ (in Romanian) "King Michael in exile—from poultry grower to test pilot and broker", Jurnalul de Botosani si Dorohoi, 13 April 2005
  59. ^ (in Romanian) "Romania under King Michael I", the Royal Family website, as of 12 April 2008
  60. ^ "Translation of King Michael's interview to Ziua daily, undated". 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  61. ^ (in Romanian) ""NATO was more important militarily, but Europe is politically more than we realize now", states H.M. King Michael", Adevărul, 3 May 2005
  62. ^ Walter Curley (1973). Monarchs-in-Waiting. Cornwall, NY: Dodd, Mead & Co. p. 77. ISBN 0-396-06840-5.
  63. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Eilers-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.
  64. ^ a b c "Queen Anne of Romania – obituary". The Telegraph. August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  65. ^ "Monique Urdareanu on Elena Lupescu and Carol II". Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Ziua, 14 January 2006
  66. ^ a b "Milestones", Time, 21 June 1948
  67. ^ Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, Sergeĭ Khrushchev. Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev: Statesman, 1953–1964, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007, p. 947, ISBN 0-271-02935-8
  68. ^ a b "Viaţa Regelui Mihai în exil: fermier, pilot, şomer, broker. "Care a fost sentimentul la plecarea din România? Am plecat cu moartea în suflet"". 2 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  69. ^ "Ex-King Michael of Rumania Becomes Market Gardener, 1953" Archived 18 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, British Pathe, as. Retrieved 17 October 2009
  70. ^ "Cum i-a fost retrasă cetăţenia regelui Mihai". 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  71. ^ Smith, Craig S. (27 January 2007). "Romania's King Without a Throne Outlives Foes and Setbacks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  72. ^ "RUMANIA: KING MICHAEL NOW TEST PILOT". British Pathé. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  73. ^ Sudetic, Chuck (27 December 1990). "Expelling Former King, Romanians Cite 'Stunt'". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  74. ^ Kings Without Crowns Michael of Romania, Danish Norsk Television
  75. ^ a b "Regele Mihai, de la interzicerea intrării în România la discursul istoric din Parlament". Retrieved 22 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  76. ^ "King Mihai I Turns 85 Archived 8 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine", Ziua, 25 October 2006
  77. ^ (in Romanian) "NLP: Monarchy saves Basescu-mania" ("PNL: Monarhia salvează Băsescu-mania"), Cotidianul, 31 August 2008
  78. ^ (in Romanian) "Monarchy: desired by only 16% of the population" ("Monarhia, dorită de doar 16% din populaţie"), Cotidianul, 21 September 2008
  79. ^ 41% dintre romani ar vota pentru mentinerea republicii, 27,2% ar alege monarhia – INSCOP. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  80. ^ a b "The Watchtower: The king and the jester". Evenimentul Zilei, 18 December 2003
  81. ^ (in Romanian) ?"Adrian Nastase received his prize from King Michael's hand, Adevarul, 17 December 2003
  82. ^ "100 %". Talk Show on Realitatea TV, Prince Radu's website, 12 April 2004
  83. ^ (in Romanian) VIP – Advertising Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The "VIP" website Archived 13 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine as of 22 July 2008
  84. ^ "Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award", www.globalpanel.org
  85. ^ (in Romanian) Communique, The Royal Family website, 8 April 2008
  86. ^ (in Romanian) Patriarch Daniel and King Michael have become members of the Romanian Academy, Antena 3, 19 December 2007
  87. ^ "Regele Mihai la Moscova". Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  88. ^ Romanians Have the Highest Confidence in King Mihai I Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. nineoclock.ro.
  89. ^ Bucharest square to be named after Romania's King Michael on his 91st birthday Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  90. ^ "Queen Anne of Romania – obituary". The Telegraph. August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  91. ^ Nume * (23 August 1944). "30 decembrie 1947 – Regele Mihai I al României este forțat să abdice | Radio România Cultural". Radioromaniacultural.ro. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  92. ^ "Declarația Consiliului Regal, 2 martie 2016". Romanian Royal Family. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  93. ^ Andrei Luca Popescu (2 March 2016). "Grav bolnav, Regele Mihai SE RETRAGE din viaţa publică". Gândul.
  94. ^ "Casa Regală: Starea de sănătate a Regelui Mihai este fragilă, dar stabilă". 27 June 2017.
  95. ^ Nume *. "PORTRET: Regele Mihai I împlineşte 96 de ani. | Radio România Cultural". Radioromaniacultural.ro. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  96. ^ "Romania's former King Michael I dies at age of 96". BBC News. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  97. ^ Clej, Petru (5 December 2017). "Romania's King Michael: A democrat in the face of totalitarian regimes". BBC News. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  98. ^ Murphy, Brian. "Michael I, last king of Romania and a Cold War exile, dies at 96". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  99. ^ "King Michael I has been brought to Romania; funeral to take place on Saturday". 13 December 2017.
  100. ^ "Romania's King Michael returns home for final rest after decades of exile". 13 December 2017.
  101. ^ "King Michael: Romanians unite to mourn their last monarch". BBC News. 9 December 2017.
  102. ^ (in Romanian) "Princess Margarita, heiress to the throne of Romania," Evenimentul Zilei, 30 December 2007
  103. ^ (in Romanian) "The King and Margareta – On The 'Day of the Republic' The King Designated His Successor" Archived 7 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Jurnalul National, 2 January 2008
  104. ^ (in Romanian) "The Actor Duda in The Role of A Lifetime: Prince Consort of Romania," Cotidianul, 3 January 2008
  105. ^ (in Romanian) Filip-Lucian Iorga : "The Royal House of Romania does not have to remain tied to the shady side of the Hohenzollern family", Hotnews.ro. Retrieved 14 May 2011
  106. ^ a b (in Romanian) King Michael I announces the severance of all historical and dynastic ties to the House of Hohenzollern, Adevarul, 11 May 2011
  107. ^ (in Romanian) "The history of the conflicts between the Royal House of Romania and the Princely House of Hohenzollern", Adevărul, 11 May 2011
  108. ^ (in Romanian) Comunicatul Biroului de Presă al Majestății Sale, 10 August 2015 Archived 13 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  109. ^ "25 octombrie 2014: La mulți ani, Majestate!". romaniaregala.ro (in Romanian). 25 October 2014.
  110. ^ Vlad Teodorescu (25 March 2013) "Secrets of the car crashes caused by King Michael and Nicu Ceausescu," Evenimentul Zilei
  111. ^ Sorin Semeniuc (14 January 2013) "King Michael's accident, the secret buried for 75 years", "7 Est" daily
  112. ^ "Nog een foto van Kroonprins Michael van Roemenië, die onlangs aan boord van de torpedohoot "Principessa Maria" tijdens een zwaren storm in de Zwarte Zee in levensgevaar heeft verkeerd. Men ziet den Prins als leider der Roemeensche padvinders, in welke functie hij zijn vader, Koning Carol, op 2en Kerstdag de gelukwenschen namens de padvindersbeweging overbracht". Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 11 January 1938. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  113. ^ (in Romanian) Andrei Săvulescu. King Michael – Car Driver, Mechanic, Professional Pilot, Humanitas publishing house, Bucharest, 1996
  114. ^ "King Michael of Rumania driving down steps leading out of Sinaia palace," Archived 16 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images, 1 April 1946
  115. ^ "King Michael of Rumania driving down steps leading out of Sinaia palace," Archived 16 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images, 1 April 1946
  116. ^ "King Michael air pilot". www.aviatori.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  117. ^ "Regele Mihai, în anii exilului: fermier, pilot de teste, broker". Evz.ro. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  118. ^ Petropoulos, Jonathan (12 August 2008). Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany. Oxford University Press. pp. 365–366. ISBN 9780199713196. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  119. ^ 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 to Frank Buchman MRA historical films Archived 12 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, last access on 7 December 2017.
  120. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Official List of honours". familiaregala.ro. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  121. ^ "Președintele Republicii Cehe, oaspetele Familiei Regale – Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  122. ^ a b "Familia Regala – Comunicate si mesaje". Familiaregeala.ro. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  123. ^ "Connaissance des Religions". Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  124. ^ Staf, Christophe. "L'Ordre Militaire et Hospitalier de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem – L'Ordre de Saint-Lazare". Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  125. ^ La Vie Chevaleresque, December 1938, 21/22: pp. 73–74
  126. ^ "I Cavalieri della SS Annunziata 11". Blasonariosubalpino.it. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  127. ^ Regele Mihai I în vizită la Ordinul Suveran de Malta
  128. ^ "Order of the White Eagle (Poland) | World War II" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. desertwar.net.
  129. ^ (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"
  130. ^ "Armata română şi frontul de est văzute din perspectivă rusă". Bucurestiivechisinoi.ro. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  131. ^ "Familia Regala – Activitati curente" Archived 25 January 2015 at archive.today. familiaregala.ro.
  132. ^ "Legion of Merit – Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  133. ^ http://www.familiaregala.ro/assets/images/2011/05/Nine-O-Clock-King-Mihai-severs-dynastic-historical-ties-with-House-of-Hohenzollern-11-May-2011-B.jpg [bare URL image file]
  134. ^ "Regele Mihai a devenit Cetățean de Onoare al orașului Techirghiol". Reporterntv.ro. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  135. ^ "Craiova: Regele Mihai, cetăţean de onoare". GAZETA de SUD. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  136. ^ "Alba: Regele Mihai, Cetățean de Onoare al comunei Stremț". Agerpres.ro. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  137. ^ "Familia Regala – Comunicate si mesaje". Familiaregeala.ro. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  138. ^ "Familia Regala – Comunicate si mesaje". Familiaregeala.ro. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  139. ^ "Universitatea Crestina DIMITRIE CANTEMIR". Ucdc.ro. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  140. ^ "Majestatea Sa Regele Mihai I distins cu titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa la UPB". Upb.ro. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  141. ^ "Principesa Margareta, Doctor Honoris Causa la Pitesti". Ziare.com. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  142. ^ "Doctor Honoris Causa". Aniversare 150 de ani. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  143. ^ "Regele Mihai, "Doctor Honoris Causa" al UMF Timișoara". România liberă. 13 October 2006. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  144. ^ "Regele Mihai a primit titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa al Universităţii Politehnica din Timişoara, la Săvârşin". Adevărul. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  145. ^ "Familia Regala – Activitati curente". Familiaregalia.ro. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  146. ^ "Regele Mihai I, Doctor Honoris Causa al Universității Naționale de Apărare Carol I". Romaniaregala.ro. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  147. ^ "Regele Mihai, distins cu titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa al Universității din Iași". Romaniaregala.ro. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  148. ^ "King Michael receives Alexandru Șafran Medal – Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  149. ^ King Mihai I jubilee – Evening dedicated to the Czech Republic. Embassy of the Czech Republic in Budapest. 23 October 2011
  150. ^ "Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award".
  151. ^ "In Memoriam: King Michael of Romania".
  152. ^ "In Royal Circles". CBS News. 7 June 2007.
  153. ^ Caterina Carola. "News from the Guild". Guild-freemen-london.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  154. ^ "Familia Regala – Stiri" Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. familiaregala.ro.
  155. ^ "Monument of King Michael I of Romania". Monuments of Remembrance 1918-2018. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  156. ^ Fodor, Simona (26 October 2021). "Romania photo of the day: Statue of King Michael unveiled in Sinaia". Romania Insider. Bucharest. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  157. ^ "Life-size statue of King Michael I unveiled in Sinaia marking 100 years since the monarch's birth | A Russian Orthodox Church Website". www.pravmir.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
edit
Michael I of Romania
Born: 25 October 1921
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Romania
20 July 1927 – 8 June 1930
Succeeded by
Preceded by King of Romania
6 September 1940 – 30 December 1947
Monarchy abolished
Constantin Ion Parhon
as head of state of Romania
Titles in pretence
Monarchy abolished — TITULAR —
Head of the Romanian royal family
30 December 1947 – 5 December 2017
Reason for succession failure:
Kingdom abolished in 1947
Succeeded by
Disputed
Margareta
or
Paul
or
Karl