Death and state funeral of Michael I of Romania

On 5 December 2017, Michael I of Romania, former head of the House of Romania and former King of Romania from 1927 to 1930 and 1940 to 1947, died at his private residence in Switzerland at the age of 96, in the presence of his youngest daughter Princess Maria.



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 Princess Sophie and also members of the Royal Household, were transported by the Romanian Air Force's Alenia C-27J Spartan Military Plane, which was flanked by four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Military Combat Jets.

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 his wife Queen Anne who died in 2016.

The funeral ceremony was led by Patriarch Daniel of Romania. Queen Anne-Marie, her son Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark and sister-in-law, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark;, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium. Also, important Romanian politicians, such as Klaus Iohannis, Liviu Dragnea, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Mihai Tudose, Gabriela Firea, Victor Ponta, Ion Iliescu, Ludovic Orban, Dacian Cioloș, Adrian Năstase, Vasile Dîncu or Victor Ciorbea, participated in the funeral or expressed their condolences. A delegation of Moldovan politicians, led by Andrian Candu, also attended the funeral. Candu also proposed for 16 December to be declared national mourning day in Moldova, but President Igor Dodon refused, arguing that "King Michael led another state", but expressed his condolences.

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.

Days of 14, 15 and 16 December were declared as national mourning days.

A copy of the Steel Crown of Romania was placed on the coffin of the late king during the funeral.

Immediate family

 * Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania and Prince Radu, The King’s eldest daughter and her husband
 * Princess Elena and The Hon. Alexander Nixon, The King’s second daughter and her husband.
 * The Hon. Nicolae de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills and The Hon. Alina de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills, The King’s grandson and granddaughter-in-law
 * The Hon. Elisabeta-Karina de Roumanie-Medforth-Mills, The King’s granddaughter
 * Princess Irina, The King’s third daughter
 * Princess Sophie, The King’s fourth daughter
 * Princess Maria, The King’s youngest daughter
 * Archduke Dominik and Archduchess Emanuella of Austria-Tuscany, The King’s first cousin and his wife
 * Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria-Tuscany and Baron Hans von Holzhausen, The King’s first cousin and her husband
 * Baroness Alexandra von Holzhausen, Mrs Ferch, The King’s first cousin once removed

Royalty

 * Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia of Albania
 * Karl, Archduke of Austria
 * Archduke Georg of Austria
 * Archduke Martin and Archduchess Katharina of Austria-Este
 * 🇧🇭 Prince Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
 * 🇧🇪 Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este and Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este
 * Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
 * Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia
 * The Margrave and Margravine of Baden
 * Princess Chantal of France, Baroness François Xavier of Sambucy de Sorgue
 * Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
 * Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark
 * Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark
 * Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy
 * 🇯🇴 Princess Muna al-Hussein
 * 🇯🇴 Princess Rym al-Ali
 * 🇱🇮 Princess Isabelle, Princess Philipp of Liechtenstein
 * 🇱🇺 The Grand Duke of Luxembourg
 * Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
 * Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia
 * Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
 * 🇪🇸 King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain
 * 🇸🇪 The King and Queen of Sweden
 * 🇬🇧 The Prince of Wales
 * Duke Eberhard of Württemberg

Nobility

 * Princess Tatiana Radziwiłł and Mr Jean Fruchaud
 * Princess Anne of Ligne and Mr Charles de Fabribeckers de Cortils et Grâce