Editing Michael I of Romania (section)

== Death and state funeral ==
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Michael I of Romania}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Bucuresti, Romania. Candele si flori pentru Regele Mihai I. Ultimul nostru Rege. 14 Decembrie 2017. (3).jpg
| image2            = FuneralProcessionOfKingMichael.jpg
| caption1          = Tributes to King Michael in Bucharest, December 2017
| caption2          = King Michael I's coffin during the funeral procession on [[Calea Victoriei|Victory Avenue]] towards the [[Piața Unirii|Union Square]] and the [[Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral]]
| direction         = vertical
}}
On 5 December 2017, Michael died at his residence in Switzerland at the age of 96, in the presence of his youngest daughter [[Princess Maria of Romania (born 1964)|Princess Maria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42234880 |title=Romania's former King Michael I dies at age of 96 |publisher=BBC News |date=12 July 2017 |access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Clej |first=Petru |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41959517 |title=Romania's King Michael: A democrat in the face of totalitarian regimes |date=5 December 2017 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy |first=Brian |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/michael-i-last-king-of-romania-and-a-cold-war-exile-dies-at-96/2017/12/05/6549aec8-d9b2-11e7-b859-fb0995360725_story.html |title=Michael I, last king of Romania and a Cold War exile, dies at 96 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> His coffin, draped by his Royal Standard, was brought back to Romania on 13 December, arriving at the [[Henri Coandă International Airport|Otopeni Airport]] in [[Bucharest]] from Lausanne, via [[Payerne Air Base]], escorted by his second daughter, [[Princess Elena of Romania|Princess Elena]] with her husband Alexander Nixon, fourth daughter Sophie and also members of the Royal Household, were transported by the [[Romanian Air Force]]'s [[Alenia C-27J Spartan]] transport aircraft, which was flanked by four [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]] jet fighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://business-review.eu/news/king-michael-i-has-been-brought-to-romania-funeral-to-take-place-on-saturday-154397|title = King Michael I has been brought to Romania; funeral to take place on Saturday|date = 13 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.romania-insider.com/romanias-king-michael-returns-home-final-rest-decades-exile|title = Romania's King Michael returns home for final rest after decades of exile|date = 13 December 2017}}</ref>

The coffin was first taken to [[Peleș Castle]] at [[Sinaia]] in the Carpathian Mountains. Then, it was brought to Bucharest, where it was laid and displayed at the [[Royal Palace of Bucharest|Royal Palace]] for two days. King Michael I was buried on 16 December with full state honours in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family, on the grounds of the [[Curtea de Argeș Cathedral]] together with his wife Queen Anne who died in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=King Michael: Romanians unite to mourn their last monarch|work=BBC News|date=9 December 2017|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42278734}}</ref> His body was transferred from Bucharest to Curtea de Argeș with the help of a [[funeral train]], the Royal Train, and a repainted domestic-traffic carriage, being led by a diesel locomotive. His funeral is stated to have been one of the largest in Romania, with almost a million Romanians flocking to the capital to pay their respects and watch the funeral, with it being comparable to the one of [[Corneliu Coposu]] in 1995.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}