Mother Queen Helen reburied in Curtea de Arges

Mother Queen Helen was reburied on Saturday in the New Archbishop and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Arges, thousands of people participating in the ceremony. The funeral service was performed by high officials of the Romanian Orthodox Church, in the old cathedral founded by Neagoe Basarab. Attending the ceremony were the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Margareta, Prince Radu, Princess Sofia, Princess Maria and Dutch Amedeo de Aosta, Princess Mafalda (the daughter of the Dutch De Aosta) and Lord Peter Rosslyn (the Master of the Household of the Prince de Wales and Dutchess of Cornwall) and Nicolae Medforth-Mills, the nephew of King Mihai I. The members of the Royal family arrived at the cathedral a little before 12.00 am and they were welcomed with applause by the people waiting for them in the monastery's yard. After the religious service, the coffin was taken out of the cathedral by the soldiers of the 30th Guard Battalion. There followed the religious and military procession to the Cathedral, where the final ceremony took place and the coffin was re-buried, with the Royal Family in attendance, There were 21 gunshots and the national and royal anthems were played. The funeral ceremony ended after the Custodian of the Crown, Margareta, left the cathedral with the flag of the Mother Queen folded and gave it to the Royal Adjutant to exhibit it at the Savarsin museum. *** Mother Queen Helen's remains were brought back to the country on Friday, landing at the Otopeni International Airport in an aircraft belonging to the Romanian Air Forces. Attending the religious ceremony held at the airport were the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Margareta, Prince Radu, Princesses Sofia and Maria, lawyer Ioan Luca Vlad and Constanta Iorga, members of the Royal House. The funeral procession then went to the Elisabeta Palace, where the body lied in state for a short while in the Kings' Hall. In front of the Palace tens of sympathizers of the Royal House brought flowers and tricolor flags. The Custodian of the Crown, Margareta, Prince Radu and Princesses Sofia and Maria prayed at the catafalque, this being a private moment. They were joined by Patriarch Daniel and several priests. From the Elisabeta Palace, the funeral procession continued its road to Curtea de Arges, following the itinerary Chitila - Titu - Gaesti - Topoloveni - Pitesti. The procession coming from Bucharest stopped in front the New Cathedral in the Curtea de Arges, where tens of people, among which local officials, were waiting. Then the Royal Family followed the coffin by foot to the old cathedral built by Neagoe Basarab. Eight soldiers of the Mihai Viteazul 30th Guard Brigade took the coffin from the aircraft and then placed it on the catafalque covered in the royal flag. Queen Helen died in Switzerland on November 29, 1982, when Romania was under a communist dictatorship. She was buried at the Boix-de-Vaud Cemetery in Lausanne. *** Placed at the entry into the old yard of the Curtea de Arges Monastery, the new cathedral, which is also a royal necropolis, doesn't exceed the size of the old cathedral founded by Neagoe Basarab, which was through to have been built by the legendary master Manole. The new cathedral has more or less the architecture of the Royal Church in Curtea de Arges, founded by Ruler Basarab I in the mid 14 century. Here, in a special, place are buried the members of the Royal House of Romania and the Archbishops of Arges and Muscel. The foundation stone was placed on may 20 2009, in the presence of the Princess Margareta and Prince Radu. Buried in the new cathedral were King Mihai I and Queen Ana, and were re-buried King Carol II. In the old cathedral, founded by Neagoe Barsab in the early 16th century and rebuilt in the end of the 19th century are buried the first two kings of Romania, Carol I and Ferdinand. AGERPRES (RO - author: George Onea, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - editor: Cristina Zaharia)