2016-08-13
The Head of the House of Romanoff attends the funeral of Queen Anne of Romania
On August 13, 2016, Her Majesty Queen Anne of Romania (née Princess of Bourbon-Parma), wife of His Majesty King Michael I, was buried in the Dormition Cathedral in the city of Curtea de Argeș—the family mausoleum of the Romanian Royal House. She passed away on August 1, 2016, in Switzerland at the age of 93.
On August 9, the coffin containing the remains of Her Majesty arrived in Romania. The coffin was brought first to Peleș Castle and then to the royal palace in Bucharest.
On August 13, the funeral took place in the square in front of the Royal Palace. Many came to pay their respects to Her Majesty, including government officials, civic leaders, and a multitude of ordinary Romanian citizens.
His Majesty King Michael I of Romania, who is 94 years old, was unable to attend the funeral due to poor health. Her Majesty’s body was accompanied to its final resting place by H.R.H. Crown Princess Margareta of Romania and her husband, H.R.H. Prince Radu; H.R.H. Princess Elena of Romania and her husband, Mr. Alexander Nixon; H.R.H. Princess Sophia of Romania; H.R.H. Princess Maria of Romania; Mr. Nicholas Medforth-Mills (the son of Princess Elena); and Elisabeth-Maria Biarneix (the daughter of Princess Sophia).
Attending the church services and funeral were: the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; the Head of the German Imperial and Prussian Royal House, H.I. & R.H. Prince Georg-Friedrich of Germany and Prussia; H.I. & R.H. Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (Head of the Austria-Este line of the Austrian Imperial House) and his wife, H.R.H. Princess Astrid of Belgium; the Head of the Grand Ducal House of Baden, H.R.H. Margrave Maximilian II of Baden; the Head of the Royal and Ducal House of Parma, H.R.H. Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma; H.I. & R.H. Archduke Karl Christian of Austria, and his wife H.I. & R.H. Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (née Princess of Luxembourg); H.I. & R.H. Archduke Martin of Austria; H.I. & R.H. Archduke Dominic of Austria; H.I. & R.H. Archduchess Marie-Magdalena of Austria, and her husband H.R.H. Prince Eberhard of Württemberg; and other members of Europe’s royal houses and nobility.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania served the requiem service. Other requiem services were officiated by both Orthodox and Catholic clergy.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called Her Majesty Queen Anne a model of wisdom, dignity, and morality, underscoring her devotion to and love for the country, whose name she bore. In his address, President Iohannis noted that Her Majesty was at His Majesty King Michael’s side all the many long decades of “bitter exile” after his abdication from the throne in 1947.
Her Majesty Queen Anne was the daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Bourbon-Parma (née Princess of Denmark), the daughter of Prince Valdemar of Denmark. Prince Valdemar was a younger brother of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Queen Anne’s mother was therefore a first cousin of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.
Her Majesty met King Michael in November 1947 at the wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Their own wedding took place in Athens on June 10, 1948, after the King was deposed by the Communist government in Romania.
In the photos: Tsesarevich Wladimir Kirillovich and the future King Michael I of Romania; Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma; the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; the Head of the German Imperial House, Prince Georg-Friedrich; the Funeral in Curtea de Argeș; Bucharest. Before the Royal Place; the Throne Room.