King Kigeli V came to power in 1959 . The monarchy was abolished in 1971 and he was forced into exile.

He was the last in a line of monarchs from the minority Tutsi ethnic group, which had dominated Rwandan for many years, but the Belgian former colonial power favoured the majority Hutus and backed a coup.

King Kigeli held onto the hope that he could return to the throne in Rwanda.

A small opposition party argued that the king might be a force of unity in a country still torn by the legacy of the genocide.

As recently as May, the Democratic Green Party requested the government to allow him to return with the benefits of a head of state.

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