Romania will mark a day of national mourning on August 13, the day when former Queen Anne’s funeral will take place, the Government has decided. The Queen, who died on August 1, will be buried at Curtea de Arges.

Thus, on August 13, the flags will be flown at half-staff, and the national TV and radio stations, as well as the cultural institutions, will have to adapt their programs accordingly.

Romania has marked several days of mourning after the fall of Communism. Most recently, the country held a mourning day on March 24 this year, to commemorate the victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks. Prior to that, Romania declared three days of national mourning last year, after the tragic incident at Colectiv club in Bucharest, which occurred on October 30.

June 26, 2013, was also a day of national mourning in Romania after 18 people died in a bus crash in Montenegro.

Other days declared national mourning days in Romania were April 18, 2010 – when an aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near Smolensk, in Russia, August 3, 2007 – for the funeral of the Patriarch Theoctist, April 8, 2005 – for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, March 14, 2004 – after the terrorist attacks in Spain, and September 14, 2001 – after the terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com