Romania’s ex-Queen Anne dies in hospital at 92

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Former Queen Anne of Romania died on Monday in a Swiss hospital at the age of 92, the royal house said in a statement.

Anne and her husband, former King Michael of Romania have been living in Aubonne, Switzerland since 2004, visiting Romania during the holidays and for official functions. They had been married for 68 years.

Earlier this year, the royal house said Michael, who is 94, has withdrawn from public life due to illness after undergoing surgery for leukemia and cancer.

Michael, a cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and a descendant of Germany’s old Hohenzollern dynasty, was forced to abdicate in 1947 after the post-war Communist takeover of Romania. He lived in exile in the West for decades, returning to Romania in 1992.

He and Anne married in 1948 in Athens. They have five daughters. She was born in Paris and belong to the house of Bourbon-Parma.

Anne died at the hospital surrounded by family, the royal house statement read. The funeral will take place in the central Romanian city of Curtea de Arges.

While there is no popular demand for a restoration of the European Union state’s monarchy, Romanians widely respect Michael and Anne as historic figureheads especially as they have grown increasingly disillusioned with a political class perceived as corrupt.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)