Slideshow ( 11 images )

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania’s former King Michael died in Switzerland at the age of 96 on Tuesday, the Royal House was quoted by Digi 24 TV as saying on Tuesday.

King Michael of Romania withdrew from public life because of illness in 2016.

A cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Michael was forced to abdicate in 1947 after the post-war Communist takeover of Romania and has lived in exile in the West for decades. He underwent surgery for leukaemia and cancer.