HM the King Visits ‘Les thermes’ Hotel Where Late King Mohammed V Stayed in Exile

PERSISMA, Antsirabe – HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HH Prince Moulay Ismail and Malagasy president Hery Rajaonarimampianina, visited, on Wednesday in Antsirabe, “Les thermes” hotel where late King Mohammed V stayed, along with the royal family, during their forced exile in 1954 in Madagascar.

At his arrival at the hotel, listed as a national heritage, the sovereign and the Malagasy president received a heartfelt welcome marked by folklore shows.

Afterwards, HM the King and president Hery Rajaonarimampianina headed for the hotel’s first floor where the two leaders visited the first part of an exhibition of the royal family pictures in Antsirabe.

HM the King, accompanied by the Malagasy president, also toured the royal suite where late King Mohammed V stayed, then the two leaders visited the second part of the exhibition.

Entitled “HM King Mohammed V’s Exile in Antsirabe”, the photography exhibition is organized by the “association des Marocains et Amis du Maroc à la Réunion, L’Arganier”.

The exhibition completes articles and works by historians who shed light on this period of the late king’s exile history. It features pictures and texts related to an outstanding figure of Morocco, based on the concept of “shared memory”.

On this occasion, the sovereign decorated Ismail Katharada (aged 82), who knew late King Mohammed V, with the Alawite wissam of commander rank.

At the end of this visit, the hotel director offered HM the King a souvenir of Antsirabe.