Elisabeta Palace, 4 March 2016
Palatul Elisabeta
The
Press Office of His Majesty the King is authorised to release
the
following announcement:
Report on the health of King Michael I, 4 March 2016
His Majesty King Michael I was admitted,
five days ago, to a clinic in Lausanne. Out of respect for His Majesty’s
condition, the name of the clinic will not be made public.
The King is in a severe state of
physical weakness and is receiving constant treatment. His condition has been
steady up to now, and the doctors are of the opinion that His Majesty’s
progress will be relatively stable over the next few days.
Queen Anne is at the private residence
in Switzerland and the Custodian of the Crown has informed her of King
Michael’s admission to hospital. The Queen’s health is stable and she is taking
a course of treatment usual for Her Majesty’s age.
Margareta, Custodian of the Crown and
Prince Radu have been visiting Their Majesties every day and remain in
Switzerland at the side of the King and Queen.
The Princesses of Romania, Their
Majesties’ daughters, are planning to travel to Switzerland within the next few
days in order to be with their parents. They have been in daily contact with
the family and, with hope and sadness, have been following the development of
their father’s state of health.
The Custodian of the Crown wishes to
thank all those who have generously sent messages of encouragement to King
Michael and Queen Anne. The Royal Family is moved by people’s depth of feeling
towards the King and the Crown, and likewise by the decency and respect with
which the mass media has covered this sad and worrying event.
It sounds like Queen Anne is not directly involved in her husband's care and is not residing together with her husband. Is she unable to participate in his health care decisions? Or even sit by his bedside? I realize "Custodian of the Crown" is a formal distinction but it seems to place an unnecessary degree of distance between the King and his eldest daughter. It must be a very painful time for the Royal family and even great age doesn't prevent the grief of the possible loss of a parent. I hope they family can take solace from each other and strength in the example King Michael has set throughout his life.
ReplyDeleteQueen Anne has been in frail health for several years.
ReplyDeletei keep seeing the Crown Princess being referred to as "Custodian of the Crown." is this the same thing as a regent? as in, he is still king officially but all the duties are now upon her?
ReplyDeleteMichelle, Romania is a republic .. Michael is technically a former king. He has no official role in Romania.
ReplyDeletei know, but from what i've seen, a lot of the former monarchies have sort of organized themselves as if they were still in position. is Custodian of the Crown something that would've been used if the royal family was still in power, or is it something they are only using because they're not the ruling family anymore? i guess i'm just wondering what the phrase/title means - is it equivalent to regent, or does it mean something else?
ReplyDeleteYes, as the royal family has no legal status -- as a royal family -- in Romania.
ReplyDelete