`In memoriam King Mihai I (1921-2017)` postage stamp issue released by Romfilatelia

Romfilatelia will release into circulation on Wednesday the postage stamp titled "In memoriam King Mihai I (1921-2017)", with the face value of 8 lei and illustrating the portrait and monogram of the King, in sign of profound respect for Romania's last king.

"By personal example and through his political vision, King Mihai I has been one of the most important landmarks of the tumultuous Romanian transition from totalitarianism to democracy. He assumed an official position during World War II and then, after December 1947, he become a representative of the Romanian exile and came back to his home country a few years after the fall of communism," reads a press release of Romfilatelia sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday. 

The portraits of Romania's last monarch can be found represented on Romanian postage stamps stretching across nine decades, starting with 1928, portrayed as a young sovereign. The stamps with illustrations of Mihai, child-king are issued before the return of his father King Carol II to the country in June 1930 when he awarded his son the title of "Grand Voivode of Alba Iulia" so that Mihai continued to take part in the public life. 

He activated in the Scouts Organization, his figure being present on stamps issued in 1931, on the occasion of the Scouts' Exhibition and as Grand Voivode Crown Prince he is represented alongside his father on other stamps issued in the '30s. 

After 1945, the philatelic issue with the portrait of King Mihai I encouraged Romanians to participate in the country's reconstruction effort or to contribute to helping the hunger-stricken areas. 

In May 2006, a special project of stamps dedicated to Romania's four Kings was released to celebrate 140 years since the foundation of the Romanian Dynasty, thus taking up again the tradition to represent the Royal House in philatelic issue, and on the anniversary of 93 years, in October 2014, Romfilatelia dedicated His Majesty the issue of History of Royalty, King Mihai I. 

The postage stamp issue titled Royalty in Romania, released on January 2015, features a stamp with King Mihai and Queen Ana. 

Romfilatelia also honoured His Majesty's hobbies through the stamp issue themed "royal vehicles". Suggestively titled "Engines, a Royal Passion," the issue comprises four stamps and was released in circulation on his birthday, in October 2016.