King led 1944 coup to back Allies
BUCHAREST, Romania — Former King Michael I, who was forced to abdicate by the communists in the aftermath of the Second World War, has died at the age of 96.
Michael, who played a pivotal role in Romania’s switch to the Allied cause following a coup in 1944, spent decades in exile working as a chicken farmer and aircraft pilot. He finally got his citizenship back in 1997, eight years after the collapse of communism.
Michael’s death on Tuesday leaves only two people alive who headed their nations during the war — former King Simeon II of Bulgaria, and the Dalai Lama of Tibet, both of whom were children at the time.
In a statement, the Romanian royal house said Michael died in his residence in Aubonne, Switzerland. Michael had been suffering from leukemia and another type of cancer and last year withdrew from public life, handing over his responsibilities to his oldest daughter.
President Klaus Iohannis declared “days of mourning,” saying Michael “wrote the history of Romania.”
British Ambassador Paul Brummell said in Romanian that Michael “fought against communism; he fought against fascism.”
Michael’s body will be flown to Romania next week and will lie in state for two days at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. He will be buried on Dec. 16 in Curtea de Arges, where members of Romania’s royal family are interred.
His eldest daughter Princess Margareta, who succeeds her father as head of the royal house, vowed to “serve the fundamental interests of the Romanian people with the same principles and sentiments as my father.” Alluding to what many consider a tragic destiny, she said: “for our tomorrow, he sacrificed his today.”
Michael, a great-great grandson to Queen Victoria, acceded to the throne in 1927 when he was six years old after his father Carol II eloped with his mistress and abdicated. After three years Carol returned to the throne and stayed there until abdicating again in 1940 and Michael became king for a second time. Michael reigned for seven years until he was forced to abdicate.
Michael’s reign is bestremembered for his coup on Aug. 23, 1944, against pro-Nazi leader Marshal Ion Antonescu, which took Romania into the war on the side of the Allies. For this, he was awarded Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit by U.S. President Harry S. Truman and was decorated with the Soviet Order of Victory by Joseph Stalin.
Romania’s switch gave the Soviets the opportunity to advance into the country. After the war, Michael was little more than a figurehead as the Soviets installed a communist-led government.
Many believed that he would remain in exile in London after his arrival for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in November 1947. However, he was summoned to the Elisabeth Palace in Bucharest and told to sign a pre-typed abdication on Dec. 30, 1947, or else 1,000 students in prison would be executed.
After his abdication, Michael settled with his wife and five daughters in Switzerland and later Britain, where he worked as a test pilot and chicken farmer.
On Dec. 25, 1990, a year after the revolution that overthrew the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, Michael and several other members of the royal family entered Romania for the first time in 43 years. However, Michael and his companions were stopped by tanks, taken to the airport and forced to leave the country.
In 1992, however, the government allowed Michael to return to Romania for Easter celebrations, where more than a million people turned out to see him. His popularity alarmed President Ion Iliescu, and Michael was forbidden to visit Romania again for five years. His citizenship, a castle and Elisabeth Palace were returned to him in 1996. On his 90th birthday in 2011, Michael addressed Parliament for the first time in 65 years.
Born Oct. 25, 1921, Michael married Anne of BourbonParme in 1948. She died in August 2016. They are survived by five daughters.