Romania Blocks Ex-King’s Return : Exiled King Michael: Bucharest cites fear of violence in advance of elections on May 20.

Exiled former King Michael abandoned plans to return to his native Romania today after the Bucharest government, warning of possible violence, revoked his entry visa.

“I just wanted to be in my country for Easter,” the former monarch told a news conference in Zurich, from where he was to have flown to Bucharest for his first visit in 42 years.

Clutching his passport in his hands and flanked by his wife, the former Queen Anne, Michael said it is a “very sad day when a country no longer accepts its citizens.”

He said his planned trip to Romania after four decades in exile was “entirely motivated by personal and spiritual reasons connected with my wish to spend Easter in my country.” He said he still hopes to return to Romania as soon as possible.

Michael, who abdicated in 1947 after the Communist takeover, has mainly worked as a private businessman in Geneva. Now semi-retired, he says he does not seek to regain the throne but will do all he can to help his country, suffering political and ethnic instability since the execution of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Michael flew from Geneva to Zurich on the first leg of his journey before aborting the effort. Earlier, the air carrier Swiss Air warned it would not allow Michael to fly to Romania without a visa.

Romania canceled entry visas for Michael, 68, and his family only hours before they were scheduled to depart for Bucharest.

The move came a day after the government formally asked him to postpone his trip until after May 20 elections. The government warned of possible violence during the turbulent period leading up to the country’s first democratic vote after more than 40 years of communist rule.

In Bucharest, about 100 pro-monarchy demonstrators staged a rally in the capital to demand the return of the former king.

Julia Dobre, 23, a student who was among the demonstrators, said restoring the monarchy might help solve Romania’s myriad problems.

Although few Romanians support the idea of restoring the monarchy, many expressed an interest in at least seeing what the former king looks like.

Wednesday, the former monarch’s second-oldest daughter, Helen, who arrived in Bucharest Tuesday with a convoy of relief aid, said her father is not seeking his old throne but sees himself as a unifying and stabilizing figure.