Romanian king Mihai (96) died

bucharest - King Mihai, the last king of Romania, has died. The 96-year-old Mihai, who sat on the Romanian throne until the end of 1947, died in Switzerland, the Romanian court has announced.

Last year it became known that Mihai suffered from leukemia and skin cancer. He therefore withdrew from public life. His state of health has deteriorated over the past month. In this way he could no longer move independently and the doctors tried to prevent Mihai from suffering.

King Mihai was twice king of Romania. First as a toddler between 1927 and 1930 and later again after the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1947 his reign ended when the communists expelled him.

As king in exile, however, he continued to fulfill his duties. In the late nineties Mihai was used as a special advocate when Romania sought to join NATO. In this capacity he was in The Hague in April 1997, where he was also received by Queen Beatrix.

Mihai lost his wife Queen Ana last August, with whom he was married for 68 years. Mihai and Ana met in November 1947 at the wedding of the British Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. The king was the only one of the then ruling and present kings who were still alive. He was also one of the last survivors of people who ruled during the Second World War. Mihai and Ana, often called Michael in the West, had five daughters.