Guests from royal families attend former Romanian king's funeral

An illustrious roster of royals, most of them from Europe, are attending the funeral of Romania's former king, Michael I, who died at the age of 96 in Switzerland.

By Staff Reporter
Soldiers carry the coffin of late Romanian King Michael as Britain's Prince Charles, Former Spanish Queen Sofia and former Spanish King Juan Carlos, King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and his wife, Sweden's Queen Silvia and Henri, Duke of Luxembourg, attend a funeral ceremony for late Romanian King Michael in Bucharest, Romania, on December 16, 2017. / Reuters

King Michael I, who ruled Romania twice before being forced to abdicate by the communists in 1947, died at age 96 in Switzerland this month.

The late monarch's remains were flown by military plane to Romania this week and received with great fanfare. 

Romanian politicians, diplomats and tens of thousands of mourners have paid their respects at his coffin, first in the mountain resort where he was born and then at the Royal Palace in Bucharest.

Michael's final journey before he is buried at the Curtea de Arges cemetery in central Romania will be by royal train.

Guests

An illustrious roster of royals, most of them from European royal families, are attending the funeral.

Britain's Prince Charles is in attendance. 

Michael was a first cousin of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are present, so are Spain's former King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia who are close to Romania's royal family.

Non-European royal guests include Princess Muna al-Hussein, mother of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The will

It's not clear exactly how much Michael and the royal house owns, but they do have castles and real estate.

While Romania has been a republic for 70 years, the monarchy still holds some allure for Romanians, and Michael was seen as a symbol of morality and modesty.

There is speculation that Prince Paul may seek material reparations, and Medforth-Mills, who's among the more popular royals, may seek a wider public role after his mysterious disinheritance in 2015, allegedly over a child born out of wedlock.