Last week, Prince Radu of Romania undertook an official visit to Slovakia in cities of Bratislava, Zvolen, Piešťany, Trenčianska Teplá and Stará Turá.
It is the fourth time that the Romanian Royal Family has made official visits to Slovakia, after the three visits made by King Michael, Queen Anne, then-Crown Princess Margareta and Prince Radu in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
In Bratislava, Prince Radu visited the Ministry of National Defence. The meeting took place in the presence of the Ambassador of Romania in Bratislava. The military cooperation between Romania and Slovakia within NATO was discussed, as well as projects in the field of university military education, in the relationship between the civilian and the military environment and in the one regarding the veterans from the theatres of operations.
His Royal Highness was then the guest of the Parliament of Slovakia, where he met with the president of the Romania-Slovakia friendship group to discuss the perspectives of the Romanian-Slovak partnership in 2022 in the field of education and economic cooperation.
On behalf of Her Majesty the Custodian of the Crown, Prince Radu visited the Slovak Red Cross, where he met with the Vice President of the organisation and the Secretary-General. His Royal Highness brought with him a greeting from Her Majesty and the Romanian Red Cross; he also spoke with the hosts on the actions of the Red Cross in combating COVID-19, as well as the educational role of the Red Cross, especially among children and related projects. To conclude the day on 8 November, Prince Radu had a meeting with the Ambassador of Romania to Slovakia.
On the second day of the visit, Prince Radu, Colonel of the Romanian Army, participated in a military ceremony in Piestany at the monument dedicated to the 15 soldiers of the Romanian Royal Army who died in the Second World War. The event was attended by soldiers of the Romanian Ministry of National Defence and the Invictus Romania Association volunteers.
His Royal Highness laid a wreath and thanked the Slovak Ministry of Defence and the city hall. Radu also participated in the military ceremony in the Central Military Cemetery of the Romanian Royal Army in Zvolen. A total of 10,384 Romanian soldiers, who perished in the Second World War, are buried in the cemetery. The ceremony was organised on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of King Michael I of Romania.
This was the fifth foreign visit of the Romanian Royal Family this year, after the visit to Poland by Princess Sophie in September, the online participation of Prince Radu at the 24th Eurasian Economic Summit Marmara, in Istanbul in July as well as Princess Sophie’s visit to Italy and Germany, both in October.
