Prince Charles will come to King Michael’s funeral in Romania

Prince Charles of Wales, the heir to the British throne, will come to King Michael’s funeral, which will take place at the Curtea de Arges Cathedral in Romania, according to a representative of Romania’s Orthodox Church. “I understand that he has already confirmed that he would come,” said Vasile Banescu, the spokesman of the Romanian Patriarchate said, according to Digi24.ro. A representative of the Spain’s Royal House will also attend the funeral, which will take place on Saturday, December 16. King Michael was a third-degree cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and a first-degree cousin of Spain’s Queen Sofia. King Michael, Romania’s last sovereign, died on Tuesday, December 5, at his private residence in Switzerland, after a long suffering. He was 96. His body will be brought to Romania on December 13 and taken to the Peles Castle in Sinaia and then to the former Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romania’s Government declared three days of national mourning in his honor, on December 14, 15, and 16. The Royal House of Romania announced several changes to the funeral program on Saturday. On the day of the funeral, King Michael’s coffin will be carried by a gun carriage from the Royal Palace to the Patriarchal Cathedral, where the funeral service will take place. Then, the Royal Train will carry the king’s casket to Curtea de Arges, where he will be buried next to his wife, Queen Anne, who died in August last year. King Michael was Romania’s last sovereign and ruled between 1940 and December 1947, when he was forced to abdicate and leave the country by the communists, who also abolished monarchy. Prince Charles meets Romanian royal family, takes a walk through Bucharest’s Old Town editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Agerpres/Silviu Matei)