Michael I ( ro, Mihai I ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last
King of Romania
The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romani ...
, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947.
Shortly after Michael's birth, his father,
Crown Prince Carol of Romania, had become involved in a controversial relationship with
Magda Lupescu
Magda Lupescu (born Elena Lupescu; 3/15 September 1899 – 29 June 1977), later officially known as Princess Elena of Romania, was the mistress and later wife of King Carol II of Romania.
Early life and family
Many of the facts relating to he ...
. In 1925, Carol was pressured to renounce his rights to the throne and moved to Paris in exile with Lupescu. In 1927, Michael ascended the throne, following the death of his grandfather
King Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...
. As Michael was still a minor, a regency council was instituted, composed of his uncle
Prince Nicolae,
Patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
Miron Cristea
Miron Cristea (; monastic name of Elie Cristea ; 20 July 1868 – 6 March 1939) was a Romanian cleric and politician.
A bishop in Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, Cristea was elected Metropolitan-Primate of the Orthodox Church of the newly unifi ...
and the president of the Supreme Court,
Gheorghe Buzdugan
Gheorghe V. Buzdugan (February 10, 1867 – October 7, 1929) was a Romanian jurist and politician.
Born in Focșani, Buzdugan studied law at the University of Bucharest, after which he served as a judge. Assigned to Piatra Neamț in early 1892, ...
. 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
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to the throne and was given the additional title of Grand
Voievod
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
of Alba-Iulia.
Carol II was forced to abdicate in 1940, and Michael once again became king. Under the government led by the military dictator
Ion Antonescu, Romania became aligned with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. In 1944, Michael
participated in a coup against Antonescu, appointed
Constantin Sănătescu
Constantin Sănătescu (14 January 1885 – 8 November 1947) was a Romanian general and statesman who served as the 44th Prime Minister of Romania after the 23 August 1944 coup after which Romania left the Axis powers and joined the Allies.
Earl ...
as his replacement, and subsequently declared an alliance with the Allies. In March 1945, political pressures forced Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government headed by
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
. 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
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
of the United Kingdom and
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
in London. Shortly thereafter, on the morning of 30 December 1947, Groza met with Michael and compelled him to abdicate. Michael was forced into exile, his properties confiscated, and his citizenship stripped. In 1948, he married
Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma (thenceforth known as Queen Anne of Romania), with whom he had five daughters, and the couple eventually settled in
Switzerland.
Nicolae Ceaușescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...
's communist dictatorship
was overthrown in 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; a speech he gave from his hotel window drew an estimated one million people to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. Alarmed by Michael's popularity, the post-communist government of
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
refused to allow him any further visits. In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat by
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...
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
Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...
and
Săvârșin Castle
Săvârșin Castle (, ) is a large Country house situated in ''Săvârșin Park'', a private estate that was owned by King Michael I of the Romanians (1921–2017) in Săvârșin, Arad County, Romania.
It is the Romanian Royal Family’s off ...
, were eventually returned to his family.
Early life
![Prince Michael of Rumania 1927](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Prince_Michael_of_Rumania_1927.jpg)
Michael was born in 1921 at
Foișor Castle on the
Royal Complex of Peleș in
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
, Romania, the son of
Crown Prince Carol of Romania and
Crown Princess Elena.
He was born as the paternal grandson of the reigning King
Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...
and maternal grandson of the reigning King
Constantine I of Greece.
When Carol
elope
Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
d with his mistress
Elena Magda Lupescu and renounced his rights to the throne in December 1925, Michael was declared
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
. Michael succeeded to the throne of Romania upon Ferdinand's death in July 1927, before his sixth birthday. Later, Michael attended a special school established in 1932 by his father.
Rule
1930s and the Antonescu era
![Signal 16-1941](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Signal_16-1941..jpg)
A
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, which included his uncle,
Prince Nicolae, Patriarch
Miron Cristea
Miron Cristea (; monastic name of Elie Cristea ; 20 July 1868 – 6 March 1939) was a Romanian cleric and politician.
A bishop in Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, Cristea was elected Metropolitan-Primate of the Orthodox Church of the newly unifi ...
, and the country's Chief Justice (
Gheorghe Buzdugan
Gheorghe V. Buzdugan (February 10, 1867 – October 7, 1929) was a Romanian jurist and politician.
Born in Focșani, Buzdugan studied law at the University of Bucharest, after which he served as a judge. Assigned to Piatra Neamț in early 1892, ...
, and from October 1929, ) functioned on behalf of the five-year-old Michael, when he succeeded Ferdinand in 1927. In 1930,
Carol II
Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
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
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. Michael was designated as
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
with the title "Grand
Voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
of
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...
". In November 1939, Michael joined the
Romanian Senate
) is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 136 seats (before the 2016 Romanian legislative election the total number of elected representatives was 176), to which members are elected by direct popular vote using party-list ...
, as the
1938 Constitution guaranteed him a seat there upon reaching the age of eighteen.
Just days after the
Second Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...
, the pro-
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
anti-
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
régime of Prime Minister Marshal
Ion Antonescu staged a ''coup d'état'' against Carol II, whom the Marshal 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[Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania](_blank)
The Romanian Royal Family website
as. Retrieved 8 January 2008 with the
Steel Crown and
anointed
Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body.
By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...
King of Romania by the
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
Patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
of Romania,
Nicodim Munteanu
Nicodim (), born Nicolae Munteanu (; 6 December 1864, Pipirig, Neamț County, Romania – 27 February 1948, Bucharest), was the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church (Patriarch of All Romania) between 1939 and 1948.
Biography
He studied theo ...
, in the
Patriarchal Cathedral of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, on the day of his accession, 6 September 1940. Although King Michael was formally the Supreme Head of the Army, named ''
Conducător
''Conducător'' (, "Leader") was the title used officially by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu during World War II, also occasionally used in official discourse to refer to Carol II and Nicolae Ceaușescu.
History
The word is derived from the Ro ...
'' ("Leader of the people"), and entitled to appoint the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
with full powers, in reality he was forced to remain a figurehead for most of the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, until August 1944. Michael had lunch with
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
twice — once with his father in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
in 1937, and with his mother in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
in 1941. He also met
Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1941.
Turning against Nazi Germany
![Cetatea Tighina 18+32](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Cetatea_Tighina_18%2B32.jpg)
In 1944,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
was going badly for the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
, but the military dictator Prime Minister Marshal Ion 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.
["Bulgaria"](_blank)
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. On 23 August 1944, Michael joined the pro-
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
politicians, a number of army officers, and armed Communist-led civilians
in staging a
''coup'' against Antonescu. King Michael ordered his arrest by the Royal Palace Guard. On the same night, the new Prime Minister, Lt. General
Constantin Sănătescu
Constantin Sănătescu (14 January 1885 – 8 November 1947) was a Romanian general and statesman who served as the 44th Prime Minister of Romania after the 23 August 1944 coup after which Romania left the Axis powers and joined the Allies.
Earl ...
— 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. In a radio broadcast to the Romanian nation and army, Michael issued a cease-fire just as the Red Army was penetrating the
Moldavian front,
proclaimed Romania's loyalty to the Allies, announced the acceptance of the armistice offered by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, and declared war on Germany. 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.
["Romania – Armistice Negotiations and Soviet Occupation"](_blank)
countrystudies.us.
Although the country's alliance with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
was ended, the ''coup'' sped the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
's advance into Romania.
The armistice was signed three weeks later on 12 September 1944, on terms the Soviets virtually dictated.
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", an "unconditional" "surrender".
It has been suggested by Romanian historians that the ''coup'' may have shortened
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
by six months, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives.
[Constantiniu, Florin,
"O istorie sinceră a poporului român" ("An Honest History of the Romanian People"), Ed. ''Univers Enciclopedic'', București, 1997, ]
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
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
. He was also decorated with the Soviet
Order of Victory
The Order of Victory (russian: Орден «Победа», translit=Orden "Pobeda") was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only ...
by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
"for the courageous act of the radical change in Romania's politics towards a break-up from
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's Germany and an alliance with the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, 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
Michał Rola-Żymierski (; 4 September 189015 October 1989) was a Polish high-ranking Polish United Workers' Party, Communist Party leader, communist military commander and NKVD secret agent. He was appointed as Marshal of Poland by Joseph Stalin ...
in 1989, Michael became the sole surviving recipient of the Order of Victory.
Reign under Communism
In March 1945, political pressures forced King Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government headed by
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
. 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, 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
A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression using state military force. The definition and scope of the crime is controversial. The Rome Statute contains an ...
". Nor did King Michael manage to save such leaders of the opposition as
Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the U ...
and the
Bratianus, victims of Communist political trials, as the Constitution prevented him from doing so without the counter-signature of Communist Justice Minister
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (; November 4, 1900 – April 17, 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he ...
(who himself was later eliminated by
Gheorghiu-Dej's opposing Communist faction). The memoirs of King Michael's aunt
Princess Ileana quoted
Emil Bodnăraș
Emil Bodnăraș (10 February 1904 – 24 January 1976) was a Romanian communist politician, an army officer, and a Soviet agent, who had considerable influence in the Romanian People's Republic.''Final Report'', p. 646
Early life
Bodnăraș was ...
— her alleged lover, Romania's Communist minister of defence, and a Soviet spy—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
![Actul de Abdicare Mihai I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Actul_de_Abdicare_Mihai_I.png)
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
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
, 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, King Michael rejected any offers of
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
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
Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...
in
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
, when Groza summoned him back to Bucharest. Michael returned to
Elisabeta Palace
Elisabeta Palace () is a palace on Kiseleff Road in Bucharest, Romania. Built in 1936, it is the official residence in Romania of Margareta of Romania, her husband Prince Radu, and her sister Princess Maria.
The Palace was designed in 1930 b ...
in Bucharest, to find it surrounded by troops from the
Tudor Vladimirescu Division
The Tudor Vladimirescu Division (full name: ''Romanian 1st Volunteer Infantry Division 'Tudor Vladimirescu – Debrecen' '') was a Soviet-organized division of Romanians that fought against Germany and Hungary during the final year of World War I ...
, an army unit completely loyal to the Communists. Groza and Communist Party leader
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
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.
["Compression"](_blank)
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', 12 January 1948 Later the same day, the Communist-dominated government announced the abolition of the monarchy, and its replacement by a
People's Republic
People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
, broadcasting the King's pre-recorded radio proclamation of his own abdication. On 3 January 1948, Michael was forced to leave the country, followed 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". He was the last monarch behind the
Iron Curtain to lose his throne.
Michael's own account of the abdication varied along the 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
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
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.
Thus, while according to a ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' article published in 1948, Groza threatened to arrest thousands of people and order a bloodbath unless Michael abdicated,
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."
In historian Ioan Scurtu's opinion, the new account was created in order to leverage the recent Romanian Revolution, 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.
According to the autobiography of the former head of the Soviet intelligence agency NKVD, Major General Pavel Sudoplatov, the Deputy List of Russian foreign ministers, 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. According to a few articles in ''Jurnalul Naţional'',
["The return from London and the abdication,"](_blank)
''Jurnalul Național'', 17 November 2005["Communism – King Michael I's Abdication"]
, ''Jurnalul Naţional'', 11 December 2006 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.
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, with whatever properties he desired, including gold and rubies.
[Enver Hoxha]]
''The Titoites''
The "Naim Frasheri" publishing house, Tirana, 1982, pages 519–522, 572 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
The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romani ...
. According to ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine,
["Anne & I"](_blank)
''Time'', 15 March 1948 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
[''Miscellaneous''](_blank)
''Evenimentul Zilei'', 24 March 2005[''The Lia Roberts hope''](_blank)
''Evenimentul Zilei'', 19 January 2004 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.
Some of these paintings 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
made by John Kreuger, the former husband of King Michael's daughter Princess Irina of Romania, Princess Irina.
In 2005, Romanian Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu 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.
According to Ivor Porter's authorized biography, ''Michael of Romania: The King and The Country'' (2005), which quotes Elena of Greece and Denmark, 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. Recently declassified Soviet transcripts of talks between Joseph Stalin and the Romanian Prime Minister
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
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 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
Engagement
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.
In fact, a year previously Helen of Greece and Denmark, Queen Helen, The Queen Mother had invited Anne, her mother, and brothers for a visit to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, but the plan did not come off.
Meanwhile, King Michael I had glimpsed Princess Anne in a newsreel and requested a photograph from the film footage.
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.
However, at the last moment she was persuaded by her first cousin, Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, 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 salute, 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''.
They saw each other several times thereafter on outings in London, always chaperone (social), 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.
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.
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.
Michael I returned to Kingdom of Romania, 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 deposition (politics), deposed by the Romanian Communist Party, Communists on 30 December.
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.
Wedding
As a House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Anne was bound by the Canon law (Roman Catholic Church), canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, which required that she receive a dispensation (Catholic Church), dispensation to marry a non-Catholic Christian (King Michael I was
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
). 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.
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 of Greece and Denmark, 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 City, Vatican in person. In early March, the couple's mothers met with Pius XII, Pope Pius XII who, despite the entreaties of the Queen Mother and the fact that Anne's mother, Princess Margrethe of Denmark, Princess Margrethe pounded her fist on the table in anger, refused permission for Anne to marry King Michael I.
It has been surmised that the Pope's refusal was, in part, motivated by the fact that when Giovanna of Italy, Princess Giovanna of Savoy married Anne's cousin, Boris III of Bulgaria, King Boris III of Bulgaria, in 1930, the couple had undertaken to raise their future children as Roman Catholics, but had baptism, baptized them in the Orthodox faith in deference to Bulgaria's state religion.
However, King Michael I declined to make a promise he could not keep politically, while Anne's mother was herself the daughter of a interfaith marriage, mixed marriage between a Catholic (Princess Marie of Orléans (1865–1909), 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.
![King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/King_Michael_I_and_Queen_Anne_of_Romania.jpg)
Although under a great deal of stress,
the engaged couple resolved to proceed. Anne's paternal uncle, Xavier, Duke of Parma, 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.
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 Count Erik of Rosenborg, Prince Erik of Denmark, who was to give the bride away.
The wedding ceremony was held on 10 June 1948 in Athens, Greece, in the throne room of the Royal Palace;
the ceremony was performed by Damaskinos of Athens, Archbishop Damaskinos, and Paul of Greece, King Paul I of Greece served as ''participants in wedding ceremonies#Groomsmen, koumbaros''.
Guests at the wedding included: Michael's mother Helen of Greece and Denmark, The Queen Mother of Romania, aunts Frederica of Hanover, Queen Frederica, Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta, The Dowager Duchess of Aosta, Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark; cousins Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (b. 1943), Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, Queen Sofía of Spain, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, Constantine II of Greece, 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 Count Erik of Rosenborg, Prince Erik of Denmark; Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Prince George William of Hanover (1915–2006), Prince George Wilhelm of Hanover and many other dignitaries. King Michael I's father, Carol II of Romania, Carol, and his sisters, Maria of Yugoslavia, Maria, Queen Mother of Yugoslavia, Princess Elisabeth of Romania (ex-Queen Consort of Greece) and Princess Ileana of Romania were notified, but not invited.
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.
Family
Michael and Anne had five daughters, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren:
* Princess Margareta of Romania, Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania (b. 26 March 1949 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne); she married Prince Radu of Romania, 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 Medforth-Mills, Nicholas de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills (b. 1 April 1985 in La Tour Hospital in Geneva); he married civilly Alina Maria Binder on 6 October 2017. He 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 Torsten Kreuger, 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 (born 1964), Princess Maria of Romania (b. 13 July 1964 at Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen); she married Kazimierz Wiesław Mystkowski on 16 September 1995 and divorced in December 2003.
Life in exile
![Royal standard of Romania (King, 1922 model)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Royal_standard_of_Romania_%28King%2C_1922_model%29.svg)
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.
In January 1948,
Michael began using one of his family's ancestral titles, "Prince of Hohenzollern",
["Milestones"](_blank)
''Time'', 21 June 1948 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.
The couple lived near Florence, Italy, until 1948, near Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1950, and then in Hampshire, England, until 1956.
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. During exile, Michael worked as farmer, pilot, entrepreneur and stockbroker.
With his wife, he had five daughters born between 1949 and 1964.
Return and rehabilitation
On 25 December 1990—a year after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, revolution which overthrew the Communist dictatorship of
Nicolae Ceaușescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...
—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 filter, taken to the airport and forced to leave the country.
In 1992, the Romanian government allowed Michael to return to Romania for Easter celebrations, where he drew large crowds. 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. Michael refused the offer of the president of the National Liberal Party (Romania), National Liberal Party, Radu Câmpeanu, to run for elections as president of Romania. Michael's popularity alarmed the government of President
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
, and he was forbidden to visit Romania, being denied entry twice in 1994 and 1995.
In 1997, after Iliescu's defeat by
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...
, the Romanian government restored Michael's citizenship and again allowed him to visit the country.
He then lived partly in Switzerland at Aubonne, Switzerland, Aubonne and partly in Romania, either at Săvârşin Castle, Săvârșin Castle in Arad County or in an official residence in Bucharest—the
Elisabeta Palace
Elisabeta Palace () is a palace on Kiseleff Road in Bucharest, Romania. Built in 1936, it is the official residence in Romania of Margareta of Romania, her husband Prince Radu, and her sister Princess Maria.
The Palace was designed in 1930 b ...
—voted by the Romanian Parliament by a law concerning arrangements for former heads of state. Besides Săvârșin Castle, the former private residences
Peleș Castle
Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...
and Pelișor Castle were also restituted. While Peleș and Pelișor are open to the public, Elisabeta Palace and Săvârșin are used as private residences.
File:Elisabeta Palace front1.jpg, Elisabeta Palace
Elisabeta Palace () is a palace on Kiseleff Road in Bucharest, Romania. Built in 1936, it is the official residence in Romania of Margareta of Romania, her husband Prince Radu, and her sister Princess Maria.
The Palace was designed in 1930 b ...
, Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
File:01 Chateau Peles.jpg, Peleș Castle
Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...
, Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
File:Pelisor Castle, Sinaia.jpg, Pelișor Castle, Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
File:CastelulSavar.jpg, Săvârşin Castle, Săvârșin Castle, Arad County
Later years
![Michael I 2014 Romanian stamp 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Michael_I_2014_Romanian_stamp_2.jpg)
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]."
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. Another 2008 poll found that only 16% of Romanians are monarchists. 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.
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",
["The Watchtower: The king and the jester"](_blank)
Evenimentul Zilei, 18 December 2003 Michael awarded the "Man of The Year 2003" prize to Prime Minister Adrian Năstase, leader of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD), on behalf of the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid ''VIP''. 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'.
On 10 May 2007, King Michael received the Prague Society for International Cooperation and 's 6th Annual Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award, previously awarded to Vladimir Ashkenazy, Madeleine Albright, Václav Havel, George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Lord Robertson, and Miloš Forman. On 8 April 2008, King Michael and Patriarch Daniel of Romania, Patriarch Daniel were elected as honorary members of the Romanian Academy.
Michael participated in the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade, Victory Parade in Moscow in 2010 as the only living Supreme Commander-in-Chief of a European State in the Second World War. 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
The Order of Victory (russian: Орден «Победа», translit=Orden "Pobeda") was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only ...
.
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. An opinion poll in January 2012 placed him as the most trusted public figure in Romania, far ahead of the political leaders. Later, in October 2012, celebrating Michael's 91st birthday, a square in Bucharest was renamed after him.
On 1 August 2016, he became a widower when Queen Anne died at the age of 92.
Health issues and death
On 2 March 2016, the Royal Council announced King Michael's retirement from public life; with tasks assumed by Princess Margareta of Romania, Crown Princess Margareta, his daughter. After surgery, King Michael was diagnosed with chronic leukemia and metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma, epidermoid carcinoma and faced a complex and lengthy treatment.
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."
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 next to King Michael, 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." Also, two Orthodox nuns, detached from the Romanian Orthodox Church, were still in the private residence.
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 Marie of Romania (born 1964), Princess Maria.
Funeral
![FuneralProcessionOfKingMichael](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/FuneralProcessionOfKingMichael.jpg)
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 Henri Coandă International Airport, Otopeni Airport in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
from Lausanne, via Payerne Air Base, escorted by his second daughter, Princess Elena of Romania, Princess Elena with her husband Alexander Nixon, fourth daughter Princess 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.
The coffin was first taken to
Peleș Castle
Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...
at
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
in the Carpathian Mountains. Then, it was brought to Bucharest, where it was laid and displayed at the Royal Palace of Bucharest, 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 his wife Queen Anne who died in 2016.
Foreign royalty that attended the state funeral included:
* Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and his wife, Queen Sofia of Spain, queen Sofia;
* Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and his wife, Queen Silvia of Sweden, queen Silvia;
* Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Queen Anne-Marie, her son, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, and sister-in-law, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark;
* Charles III of the United Kingdom, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, British prince
* Princess Muna al-Hussein, Princess Muna al-Hussein of Jordan,
* Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri, grand duke of Luxembourg,
* Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Maria Vladimirovna, grand duchess of Russia,
* Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, Georg Friedrich, prince of Prussia,
* Karl von Habsburg, Archduke Karl and Georg von Habsburg, archduke Georg of Austria and
* Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Astrid and prince Lorenz of Belgium.
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.
Line of succession
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 House of Hohenzollern, 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.
The document has no legal standing, as it regulates an institution that is no longer extant.
["The King and Margareta – On The 'Day of the Republic' The King Designated His Successor"]
, Jurnalul National, 2 January 2008
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 Duda, Radu, and of fears 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.
[King Michael I announces the severance of all historical and dynastic ties to the House of Hohenzollern]
Adevarul, 11 May 2011
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.
[Comunicatul Biroului de Presă al Majestății Sale, 10 August 2015]
Personality and personal interests
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.
Michael was head of the Cercetaşii României, Romanian Boy Scouts in the 1930s.
He was passionate about cars, especially military jeeps. He was also interested in aircraft having worked as a test pilot during exile.
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, and as Swiss residents after 1956 he and Queen Anne paid numerous visits to the Caux Palace Hotel, MRA conference centre of Caux, Switzerland, Caux, where he found solace for the loss of his country and his émigré status as well as new hope for future reconciliation.
Honours and awards
* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), Order of Leopold I
* : Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Lion
* : Recipient of the Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, Medal of Merit of the Ministry of Defence, 1
st Class
* : Recipient of the Royal Medal of Recompense, Royal Medal of Recompense, Special Class
* : Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose
* France
** : Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur, Order of the Legion of Honour
** House of Orléans: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saint Lazarus
* House of Glücksburg#Greece, Greek Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, Royal Order of the Redeemer
* Greek Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saints George and Constantine, Royal Order of Saints George and Constantine
* Greek Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of George I, Royal Order of George I
* House of Glücksburg#Greece, Greek Royal Family: Knight of th
Royal Decoration of the Greek Royal House, Special Classref name="Honours" />
* Greek Royal Family: Recipient of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Greece, Centenary Medal of the Kingdom of Greece
* House of Savoy, Italian Royal Family: Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Royal Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
* House of Savoy, Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
* House of Savoy, Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross the Order of the Crown of Italy, Royal Order of the Crown
** : Bailiff Knight Grand Cross with Collar of Orders, decorations, and medals of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
* : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland), Order of the White Eagle
* Russia
** : Member of the
Order of Victory
The Order of Victory (russian: Орден «Победа», translit=Orden "Pobeda") was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only ...
[(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"]
** : Recipient of the Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", 60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 Commemorative Jubilee Medal
* Serbia
** Karađorđević dynasty, Serbian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Karađorđe's Star, Royal Order of the Star of Karađorđe
** Karađorđević dynasty, Serbian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sava, Royal Order of Saint Sava
** : Recipient of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Serbia, Military Virtue Medal
* : Recipient of the Swedish Royal Jubilee Commemorative Medals, 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
* : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
* : Recipient of the King George VI Coronation Medal
* : Chief Commander of the
Legion of Merit
Awards
National awards
* : Honorary citizenship, Honorary Citizen of Călărași County
* : Honorary Citizen of the City of Techirghiol (in Constanța county)
* : Honorary Citizen of the City of Craiova
* : Honorary Citizen of the Village of Stremț (in Alba county)
* : Honorary Degree from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies
* : Honorary Degree from the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (in Bucharest)
* : Honorary Degree from the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University (in Bucharest)
* : Honorary Degree from the Politehnica University of Bucharest
* : Honorary Degree from the University of Pitești
* : Honorary Degree from the University of Bucharest
* : Honorary Degree from the Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara
* : Honorary Degree from the Polytechnic University of Timișoara
* : Honorary Degree from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca
* : Honorary Degree from the Carol I National Defence University (in Bucharest)
* : Honorary Degree from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (in Iași)
* History of the Jews in Romania, Romanian Jewish community: Recipient of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Romania#Community medals, Alexandru Șafran Medal
Foreign awards
* : Honorary citizenship, Honorary Citizen of the City of Kroměříž
** :
*** Prague Society for International Cooperation: Sixth Recipient of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
* : Freedom of the City of London, Freeman of the City of London
* : Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers
Military ranks
;
*file:Romania-Army-OF-10.svg, 25px Mareșal (Romania), Marshal of the Romanian Armed Forces
** file:RO-Army-OF9.png, 25px Supreme Commander–in–Chief, Supreme Commander–in–Chief General of the Romanian Land Forces
** file:Romania-AirForce-OF-9.svg, 25px Supreme Commander–in–Chief General of the Romanian Air Force
** file:Romania-Navy-OF-9.svg, 25px Supreme Commander–in–Chief Admiral of the Romanian Naval Forces
;
*
![Hellenic Air Force OF-9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Hellenic_Air_Force_OF-9.svg)
Honorary Air chief marshal, Air Chief Marshal of the Hellenic Air Force
Honorific eponyms
*
** House of Romania: Decorations of the Romanian Royal House#King Michael I Medal for Loyalty, King Michael I Medal for Loyalty
**
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
:
*** King Michael I Park
*** :ro:Bulevardul „Regele Mihai I”, King Michael I Boulevard
*** :ro:Piațeta Regelui din București, King Michael I Square
**
King Michael I High School
**
King Michael I Railway Technical College** Banat: Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, King Michael I Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine
** Curtea de Argeș
King Michael I Technological High School** Drobeta-Turnu Severin
King Michael I High School** Pucioasa: King Michael I Technical High School
** Săvârșin
King Michael I Technological High School*
** Cimișeni: King Michael I High School
Statues and monuments
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.
On 25 October 2021, a statue of Michael was unveiled in the town of
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
. Bogdan Gheorghiu, Romanian Ministry of Culture (Romania), Minister of Culture was in attendance, along with Princess Margareta of Romania, Margareta of Romania, other government representatives, and members of parliament. Representatives of the Army also attended.
Ancestry
As a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, through both of his parents, Michael was a third cousin of Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Harald V of Norway, King Harald V of Norway, Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden and Elizabeth II, 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 and Queen Sophia of Spain, consort of Juan Carlos I of Spain.
In addition to being the pretender, claimant to the defunct throne of Kingdom of Romania, Romania, he was also a Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 10 May 2011, when he renounced this title.
References
External links
The Official Website of The Romanian Royal FamilyThe Official Blog of The Romanian Royal Family(Michael at age 5), on the cover of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', 1 August 1927
"We reigned in darkness" ''The Spectator'', 14 June 1997
"World War II – 60 Years After: Former Romanian Monarch Remembers Decision To Switch Sides" Radio Free Europe, 6 May 2005
*Oliver North
"A Lesson in Leadership" ''The Washington Times'', 17 April 2006
* Costel Oprea
"Regele Mihai, retrocedare de un miliard de euro" ''România liberă'', 27 April 2007
* Costel Oprea
"Harta marilor retrocedări (II)" ''România liberă'', 18 April 2007
*
, -
{{Authority control
1921 births
2017 deaths
20th-century Kings of Romania
21st-century Romanian people
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