King Michael of Romania

[VJK]

King Michael of Romania, the last Mareşal al României, died on December 5th, 2017 at his residence in Aubonne, Switzerland.
R.I.P.

Kind regards,

VJK

[Sid Guttridge]

A real pity. He was the last surviving head of state from WWII by several decades.

He first came to the throne as a child in 1927. If the Romanian Government had restored him for one day so that he could have abdicated voluntarily, he would have ruled, on and off, for 90 years!

Sid

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

What about the son of Boris III of Bulgaria? Though much younger, Simeon II (born 1937) was de facto ruler of Bulgaria 1943-46 and
still alive.
w

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Waleed,
I would suggest that as Simeon was a minor under a regency, his rule was more de jure than de facto over 1943-45.
King Michael was an adult by 1944 and personally took an active leadership role in the detention of Anonescu. His rule was both de jure and de facto at that point.
Cheers,
Sid.

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

ok, ok Sid! I rest my case
cheers
w

[Nautilus]

Thus ended the last surviving flag officer of any WWII army (Field Marshal from May 10, 1941, by Decree no. 1354/1941), the last surviving holder of the First Class Order of Michael the Brave and the last surviving holder of the Soviet Order of Victory.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Nautilus,

A good list. Thanks.

Mihai was deposed while in London attending the wedding of the current British queen, Elizabeth II.

I see that, ironically, Mihai is being given a Romanian Orthodox religious funeral. About 20 years ago at RUSI in London, I was able to ask him a question about the role of the Romanian aristocracy and the Romanian Orthodox Church in the wartime and post-war years. I can't remember what he said about the aristocracy, but he was extremely scathing about the Romanian Orthodox Church for it quiescence under Communism.

He seemed a quiet, considered sort of man with considerable dignity and fluent English.

Cheers,

Sid.