Europe's Royals to Gather for Romanian Ex-King's Funeral

Members of several European royal houses, as well as royals from as far away as Bahrain and Japan, are set to gather in Bucharest at the end of the week to attend the funeral of Romania's last monarch, King Michael I, who died last week aged 96.

The king died at his modest residence in the village of Aubonne , in Switzerland, after over a year of battling cancer.

Britain's Prince Charles was among the first royals to announce their presence at Saturday's ceremonies.

Romania's royal family is closely related to the British monarchy: ex-king Michael I is Queen Elizabeth II's third cousin. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is also Romanian Princess Margareta's godfather.

Juan Carlos of Spain, as well as Queen Sofia, Michael's cousin and close friend, have also confirmed their presence. Queen Sofia of Spain is the eldest daughter of King Paul of Greece. Her aunt was Queen Elena of Romania, King Michael's mother.

Queen Anne-Marie of Greece is also set to attend the funeral.

Other royals who are reported to be arriving are Prince Alexander of Serbia, a cousin of King Michael; Prince Lorenz of Belgium, also a member of the Royal Council of the Romanian royal family; Prince Alexander of Sweden, and representatives of the royal families of Bahrain, Luxembourg and Japan.

Romania's last sovereign was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, but he also has blood ties with the Danish Royal Family. In the summer of 1948, King Michael, already in exile, married Queen Anne, the daughter of Prince Rene of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark, in Athens.

Meanwhile, the Romanian authorities are working to organise ceremonies for the three days of mourning decreed by the government to honour the former king.

The coffin with...