Romania's Former King

Romania's former king Michael, 94, announced 2nd March he is seriously ill and is withdrawing from public life, handing over duties to his eldest daughter. His office said the ex-monarch, which is currently in Switzerland, has a cancer which has spread and chronic leukaemia, and has recently undergone surgery. At the end of 2007, 60 years after his abdication, the ex-king officially designated Margareta, now 66, as his successor in case the monarchy was restored in Romania. Born on October 25 1921 in Sinaia, 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Bucharest, Michael reigned twice, between 1927 and 1930 and then from 1940 to 1947, before the communists ended the monarchy in the Balkan country. A descendant of the German Hohenzollern dynasty, he long dreamed of "serving" his people again.