Category Archives: Bulgarian Royals

Princess Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

Princess Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

Giovanna of Italy was the wife of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. She was born Princess Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria of Italy on November 13, 1907, in Rome, Italy the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro.

Giovanna had four siblings:

Princess Giovanna, c.1909. source: Wikipedia

As was typical at the time, Giovanna was educated privately at home. In 1923, she and her sister Mafalda fell ill with typhoid fever and were both very ill. After being nursed back to health by two Franciscan nuns, Giovanna pledged her devotion to St. Francis of Assisi which would remain with her for the rest of her life.

Wedding of Giovanna and Boris, 1930. source: Wikipedia

In 1927, Giovanna met her future husband, Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, and the two quickly fell in love. They married on October 25, 1930, in Assisi, Italy. After the civil ceremony, a Catholic ceremony took place at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, followed by a large reception at Villa Fidelia in nearby Spello. Later, an Orthodox ceremony was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, at which time Giovanna was also crowned Tsaritsa. Upon her marriage, she took the Bulgarian version of her name, Ioanna. The couple had two children:

In her role as Tsaritsa, Ioanna became well-loved by the Bulgarian people, in part because of her charitable work, including the establishment of a children’s hospital in Sofia. During World War II, she also helped to arrange travel visas, enabling many Jews to escape the country. In August 1943, her husband died, and their young son, Simeon, became Tsar, under a Regency Council led by Boris’s brother Kyril.

Tsaritsa Ioanna, c.1932. source: Wikipedia

Following the Soviet invasion in September 1944, Ioanna and her family were placed under house arrest at Vrana Palace. Two years later, the Soviet regime held a referendum which resulted in the abolition of the monarchy, and on September 16, 1946, the family was forced to flee the country. They went first to Egypt, where Ioanna’s father was living in exile, and then in 1951, settled in Madrid. After her son’s marriage in 1962, she moved to Estoril, Portugal, where she remained for the rest of her life. In 1993, following the fall of the communist regime, Ioanna made a memorable visit to Bulgaria, on the 50th anniversary of her husband’s death.

 

Tsaritsa Ioanna died in Estoril, Portugal on February 26, 2000. In accordance with her wishes to be buried in Italy, she was buried at the Chapel of the Friars at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy.

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Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

Tsar Boris III of Bulgarian

Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria was the son of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma. He was born Prince Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver on January 30, 1894, in Sofia, Bulgaria and created Prince of Tarnovo at birth. Boris had three younger siblings:

In keeping with the agreement made at the time of his parents’ marriage, Boris was christened in the Roman Catholic church. However, his father soon decided that he should be raised in the Orthodox church. Not only would this appeal to the people of Bulgaria, but would also help to be recognized as Sovereign – something which, until then, had been held back by the Great Powers. Despite his mother’s protests, Boris was christened in the Eastern Orthodox Church on February 2, 1896, with Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia serving as his godparent.

source: Wikipedia/Bulgarian Archives State Agency

Boris was educated at the Palace Secondary School, created by his father in 1908 specifically for Boris and his brother Kyril. He later graduated from the Military Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and served as Captain and Company Commander of the 6th Regiment. During the Balkan Wars, Boris fought on the front lines.

When World War I began, Bulgaria remained neutral until the fall of 1915, when they joined the war, aligned with the Central Powers. Boris strongly disagreed with his father’s decision to join the Central Powers, and at one point, was placed under arrest by his father for several days because of his dissent. However, he went on to serve with the Bulgarian forces, serving as a liaison officer with the General Staff on the Macedonian front. He was later promoted to Colonel and served as liaison officer to Army Group Mackensen and the Bulgarian Third Army for operations against Romania.

Despite their efforts, Bulgaria suffered great losses in the war. Taking responsibility, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated on October 3, 1918, and Boris ascended as Tsar Boris III. Trying to restore his country, after devastating losses, Boris’s reign began as an uphill battle. Under the terms of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1919, Bulgaria ceded several territories, was required to reduce its army to just 20,000 men and pay reparations of £100 million. A new political regime had taken control, led by Aleksandar Stamboliyski of the Agrarian Union, which was very hostile to Boris and the monarchy. After the Treaty of Neuilly, Stamboliyski’s government took complete control of the country, establishing a dictatorial regime. The people of Bulgaria, particularly the military officers, placed their faith and hope in Boris.

In 1923, a military coup overthrew Stamboliyski’s government. Boris was opposed to the idea of seizing power and threatened to abdicate. However, he soon agreed to the situation, provided that it would bring about peace in Bulgaria. Two years later, Boris was the target of several assassination attempts but fortunately was not harmed. Tensions still ran high within Bulgaria, with supporters of the Agrarian Union, and the Communist Party, very vocal in their opposition to the monarchy.

In January 1930, Boris became engaged to Princess Giovanna of Italy, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro. The two had met several years earlier, and after attending the marriage of Giovanna’s brother, the future King Umberto II, to Princess Marie José of Belgium, Boris asked for Giovanna’s hand.

As was often an issue with royal marriages, religion once again became an obstacle. Boris was Orthodox and Giovanna was Roman Catholic. The Bulgarian Constitution required that any heir to the throne be a member of the Orthodox Church, but the Pope refused to sanction the marriage without an agreement that all children from the marriage would be raised Catholic. Finally, an agreement was reached and the couple married on October 25, 1930, in Assisi, Italy. Following a civil ceremony, they were wed in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. After returning to Bulgaria, an Orthodox ceremony was held in Sofia on November 9, 1930. Boris and Giovanna had two children:

Despite the agreement that Boris had made with the Vatican, both children were baptized in the Orthodox church.

In May 1934, another coup took place, in which Zveno (a military and political group) abolished the political parties and established a dictatorship under their own Prime Minister. However, Boris was able to stage a counter-coup the following year and assumed complete control of the government. He brought back a form of parliamentary rule, but no political parties were restored. This became known as the “King’s Government” and for the next five years, Bulgaria experienced significant growth and prosperity.

With the outbreak of World War II, Boris fought to retain Bulgaria’s neutrality. Hitler, trying to gain Bulgaria’s help, arranged for an agreement between Bulgaria and Romania which returned some of the territory lost to Romania in the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine after World War I. Finally, in March 1941, following the threat of a German invasion, and with the promise of regaining territory formerly ceded to Greece, Boris signed the Tripartite Pact, aligning Bulgaria with the Axis powers. Following the surrender of the Yugoslavian and Greek governments, Bulgarian forces occupied their former territories which had been captured by the German forces. In 1941, Tsar Boris also signed into law the Law for Protection of the Nation, which imposed restrictions on Jewish Bulgarians. This law was greatly opposed by the Jewish community, as well as the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Despite signing the law, Boris helped to prevent the forced deportation of the Bulgarian Jews on several occasions, d attempted to find ways to get them safely out of the country. Sadly, he was unable to help those in Bulgarian-occupied territories in Greece and Yugoslavia.

In August 1943, Boris was once again summoned to a meeting with Hitler, who wanted Boris to deport Bulgarian Jews, and to declare war on Russia – both of which Boris strongly refused to do. Following the meeting, in which Hitler was reportedly furious, Boris returned home. Just weeks later, on August 28, 1943, Tsar Boris III died in Sofia. The circumstances of his death remain mysterious, with many believing that Boris had been poisoned because of his refusal to concede to the demands of the Nazis.

The grave of Tsar Boris III, Rila Monastery. source: Wikipedia, photo by Relativefrequency

Following a state funeral at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria, Tsar Boris III’s body and heart were buried at the Rila Monastery in Rila, Bulgaria. The following year, the new communist government very quietly had his remains exhumed and reburied at the Vrana Palace. Later, his casket was moved again, to a secret location that remains unknown. Following the fall of the communist government, an excavation at Vrana Palace found only Boris’s heart which had been buried separately. In 1993, Boris’s widow, Tsarina Ioanna, returned to Bulgaria for the 50th anniversary of Boris’s death, and his heart was reinterred at the Rila Monastery.

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Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz (Eleonore Caroline Gasparine Louise) was the second wife of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (born Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry). She was born on August 22, 1860, in Trebschen, a village in the Province of Brandenburg, now part of Poland, to Prince Heinrich IV Reuss of Köstritz and Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz.

Eleonore had three siblings:

  • Prince Heinrich XXIV Reuss of Köstritz (1855 – 1910), married his cousin Princess Elisabeth Reuss of Köstritz, had five children
  • Helene Reuss of Köstritz (1864 – 1876)
  • ElisabethReuss of Köstritz  (1865 – 1937)

From an early age, Eleonore was involved in helping others. In 1905, she traveled to the Far East to work as a nurse during the Russo-Japanese War. Two years later, following a bit of match-making by Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Eleonore became engaged to Ferdinand of Bulgaria in December 1907.  Ferdinand’s first wife, Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, died on January 31, 1899, after the birth of the youngest of their four children.

source: Wikipedia

Following extensive negotiations, due primarily to their different religions, Eleonore and Ferdinand were married in a Catholic ceremony at St. Augustine’s Church in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in the German state of Bavaria, on February 28, 1908. The following day, a Protestant ceremony was held at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in the German state of Thuringia. At the time, Ferdinand was the reigning Prince (Knyaz) and Eleonore became Princess of Bulgaria. Later that year, Eleonore would become the first Tsaritsa of Bulgaria after Ferdinand declared the country a kingdom.

Eleonore and Ferdinand did not have any children however, Eleonore was instrumental in raising her four stepchildren:

With very little attention or affection from her husband, Eleonore focused on the welfare of the Bulgarian people. She quickly became involved with the Bulgarian Red Cross, and later set up the Queen Eleonore Fund in 1910 to raise funds to build institutes for children who were blind and deaf. She also founded an orphanage for Jewish children, which still exists today as The Queen Eleonore Orphanage.

Eleonore also took a great interest in the medieval Boyana Church, on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria. The small church dating as far back as the 10th century was too small to accommodate the needs of the village and it was planned to tear it down and build a new church. However, Eleonore dreaded the loss of such a historic building, and purchased a plot of land for a new church, allowing the original building to remain and be restored.

Eleonore as a nurse with the Red Cross during the Balkan Wars. source: Wikipedia

During the Balkan Wars and World War I, Eleonore worked tirelessly as a nurse on the front lines. Sadly, after a serious illness, the Tsaritsa died on September 12, 1917, at Euxinograd Palace. near Varna, Bulgaria. Per her wishes, she was buried in a very modest grave next to the medieval Boyana Church which she had helped save.

Grave of Tsaritsa Eleonore. source: Wikipedia, photo by Elena Chochkova

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Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess of Bulgaria

Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma was the first wife of the future Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. She was born Princess Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Caroline Bianca Lucia Apollonia of Bourbon-Parma on January 17, 1870 in Rome, Italy. Maria Luisa was the eldest child of Robert I, Duke of Parma and his first wife, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and had eleven younger siblings. Six of her eleven siblings were mentally disabled.

  • Ferdinando (born and died 1871) died in infancy
  • Luisa Maria (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Enrico, Duke of Parma (1873 – 1939), unmarried, mentally disabled, Titular Duke of Parma 1907-1939, his brother Elias took up the role as regent and head of the family
  • Maria Immacolata (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, Titular Duke of Parma 1939-1950, his brother Elias continued the role as regent and head of the family
  • Maria Teresa (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Maria Pia (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Beatrice (1879 – 1946), married Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had issue
  • Elias, Duke of Parma (1880- 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had issue; Head of the Ducal Family of Parma (1950–1959)
  • Maria Anastasia (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Stillborn child (September 22, 1882), Maria Pia died in childbirth

Two years after her mother died in childbirth in 1882, Maria Luisa’s father married Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal and had another twelve children, Maria Luisa’s half-siblings:

  • Maria della Neve Adelaide (1885 – 1959), a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
  • Sixtus (1886 – 1934), married Hedwige de La Rochefoucauld, had issue
  • Xavier, Duke of Parma (1889 – 1977), married Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, had issue, the Carlist claimants to the Spanish throne descend through this line
  • Zita (1892 – 1989) – married Emperor Karl of Austria, had issue
  • Francesca (1890 – 1978), a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
  • Felix (1893 – 1970), married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, had issue
  • René (1894 – 1962), married Princess Margrethe of Denmark, had issue including Anne who married King Michael I of Romania
  • Maria Antonia (1895 – 1937), a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
  • Isabella (1898 – 1984), nun
  • Luigi (1899 – 1967), married Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy, had issue
  • Henrietta Anna (1903 – 1987), unmarried, was deaf
  • Gaetano (1905 – 1958), married and divorced Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis, had issue

Princess Maria Luisa was raised primarily in Switzerland, in the care of English governesses. Artistically gifted, she became fluent in five languages and enjoyed painting and music.

In 1892, her father began to arrange a marriage for Maria Luisa to the reigning Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. He and Ferdinand’s mother went through extensive negotiations in order to make the match possible. One of the biggest obstacles was religion. Maria Luisa’s family was staunchly Catholic and insisted that any children would be raised in the Catholic Church. Ferdinand was also Catholic and had been permitted to remain so when elected Prince of Bulgaria. However, the Bulgarian constitution required that any future Prince be a member of the Orthodox Church. This would mean that Ferdinand’s heir could not be raised Catholic. Capitalizing on the exceptions that had been given to both Ferdinand and his predecessor, Alexander of Battenberg, Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov quickly had the constitution amended to provide another exception for Ferdinand’s heir.

Maria Luisa and Ferdinand, 1893. source: Wikipedia

With this final issue resolved, the engagement was announced in August 1892. Being a truly arranged marriage, it would be on their engagement day that Maria Luisa and Ferdinand met for the first time. They married on April 20, 1893, at Villa Pianore, the Duke of Parma’s residence in Lucca, Italy. They had four children:

Maria Luisa with her sons, Boris and Kiril, 1896. source: Wikipedia

Less than two years after the birth of their first son, Boris, Ferdinand decided that he would have his son baptized in the Orthodox church, despite the agreements made at the time of their marriage. This was part of his efforts to be recognized as sovereign of Bulgaria by the new Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II. Maria Luisa, supported by both her family and her mother-in-law, argued strongly against the conversion but Ferdinand insisted. Prince Boris was received into the Orthodox Church, with Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia as his godparent. Maria Luisa left the country in protest, not returning until the late spring of 1896. The rest of their children were raised Catholic.

source: Wikipedia

Maria Luisa’s marriage, which had been strictly for political and dynastic reasons, was not a happy one. Having given birth to three children, and expecting a fourth within five years had taken a toll on her already frail health. She developed pneumonia while pregnant with her youngest child, and died on January 31, 1899, just a day after giving birth. She was just 29 years old. Princess Maria Luisa was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Louis of France, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Tomb of Marie Luisa; Credit – By Бирдас – Собствена творба, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22874195

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Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

source: Wikipedia

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was born on February 26, 1861, at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria. At birth, he was Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, a member of the Catholic Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was the son of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry and Princess Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis Philippe I of the French.

Ferdinand had four older siblings:

Ferdinand with his mother, c1866. source: Wikipedia

The Koháry branch began with Ferdinand’s grandfather who married Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya, who was Catholic. She was the daughter and heiress of one of the largest landowners in Hungary. Upon her father’s death in 1826, the couple inherited his estates and fortune, at which point her husband and the rest of the family converted to Roman Catholicism and added Koháry to the family name.

Prince Ferdinand grew up in Vienna, where his father was a General in the Austrian military. He attended and graduated from the Theresianum Academy and became a Colonel in the Second Regiment of the Austrian Hussars, where he would remain until 1887. From a young age, he developed an interest in ornithology, entomology, and botany – subjects that fascinated him his entire life. During his schooling, he and his brother Ludwig August embarked on a scientific expedition on the Amazon River, after which Ferdinand published a study, ‘Description of Birds by Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg and Gotha’ in 1884.

source: Wikipedia

In 1886, after the abdication of Alexander of Battenberg as reigning Knyaz (Prince) of Bulgaria, a search began for a new prince. While many European princes refused, fearing the same fate as Alexander Battenberg, Prince Ferdinand’s name was put forth by his mother. Following a vote by the National Assembly, Ferdinand was elected Knyaz of Bulgaria on July 7, 1887, although he remained unrecognized by the Great Powers.

Ferdinand and Maria Luisa, 1893. source: Wikipedia

Knowing that establishing a royal house and ensuring the succession would be crucial in order to be recognized as sovereign, Ferdinand married Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma on April 20, 1893. She was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The marriage had been arranged by Ferdinand’s mother, and the couple hadn’t met until the day of their engagement. Despite Ferdinand’s complete disinterest in his wife, the couple had four children:

The early years of Ferdinand’s reign brought Bulgaria to the forefront of the Balkan countries, primarily due to the efforts of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov. However, Russia had severed diplomatic relations, and Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia was strongly opposed to recognizing Ferdinand as Prince. After Alexander’s death, his son Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, who was much more moderate, proposed reconciliation provided that Ferdinand’s heir was raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Despite the feelings of Ferdinand’s Catholic family, he realized that formal recognition from Russia would be necessary before any European country would recognize him. On February 2, 1896, Ferdinand had his son Boris baptized in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, with Tsar Nicholas II as a godparent. Soon after, Ferdinand was recognized as Prince of Bulgaria by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Ferdinand quickly began to bring Bulgaria to the level of other European monarchies.

Prince Ferdinand, c1897. source: Wikipedia

The Bulgarian army became one of the most powerful in the Balkan region and Ferdinand established Universities, an Arts Academy, a Seminary, and technical schools around the country. He founded the Institute of Natural Sciences with a museum, zoo, and botanical gardens. The nation’s railway and road network was developed, and post offices and telegraph stations opened across the country.

Ferdinand and his second wife, Eleonore, on their wedding day. source: Wikipedia

Having given birth to three children, and expecting a fourth within five years had taken a toll on Maria Louise’s already frail health. She developed pneumonia while pregnant with her youngest child, and died on January 31, 1899, just a day after giving birth. Nine years later, on February 28, 1908, Ferdinand married Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz. She stepped in as a mother to his children, although the couple did not have any children together.

Since its establishment as a principality, Bulgaria had been under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire. However, on October 5, 1908, Ferdinand proclaimed independence, elevating Bulgaria to a kingdom and becoming Tsar Ferdinand I. Much of the next ten years was consumed by war. The First Balkan War in 1912 saw significant land gains, but these were nearly all negated by losses during the Second Balkan War the following year, and soon, World War I began. In the beginning, Bulgaria remained neutral while being courted by both sides due to the country’s location and strong military. Having entered the war in the fall of 1915, siding with the Central Powers, initial successes were soon overshadowed by significant losses and defeats. On October 3, 1918, taking full responsibility for the loss of the war, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son Boris. Ferdinand settled in Coburg, where he devoted his time to his favorite pastimes – art, gardening, travel, and history.

In 1943, his son Tsar Boris III died after visiting Hitler in Germany and was succeeded by his son Simeon who was just six years old. In 1945, Ferdinand’s other son Kyril was executed, and in 1946, the young Simeon was deposed, and the Bulgarian monarchy was abolished. Heartbroken at the loss of his family and his kingdom, Ferdinand died in Coburg on September 10, 1948. Unable to be buried in Bulgaria at the time, his remains were temporarily placed in the crypt of St. Augustine’s Church in Coburg, besides those of his parents. They remain there to this day.

The casket of Tsar Ferdinand I, at the foot of the tomb of his parents, St. Augustine’s Church, Coburg. source: Wikipedia

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Margarita Sakskoburggotska, wife of former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Margarita with het husband Simeon; Credit – Wikipedia

Margarita is the wife of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, who reigned from 1943 – 1946 as a child. Simeon was exiled from Bulgaria as a child, and never formally renounced his claim to the throne, but his wife and children never received titles from Bulgaria. Outside of Bulgaria, Margarita is sometimes styled Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria, and while in Bulgaria she is usually styled Margarita Sakskoburggotska. Sakskoburggotska is Bulgarian for Saxe-Coburg- Gotha. The first Tsar of Bulgaria was Simeon’s grandfather Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, whose father was a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela was born on January 6, 1935, in Madrid, Spain. She was the youngest of two children of Don Manuel Gómez-Acebo y Modet and Doña María de las Mercedes Cejuela y Fernández. Margarita’s family was wealthy and her father was a lawyer involved with commercial and banking companies. In 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War, Margarita’s parents and her maternal grandmother were arrested by Spanish Republicans and were executed. Because of what happened to their family, Margarita and her brother José Luis received the (link translated from Spanish).

Orphaned before she was two years old, Margarita, along with her brother José Luis Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela (died 2010) were placed in the care of their paternal grandmother Doña Margarita Modet y Amalgro. After her death, the two children were placed in the guardianship of two uncles. Margarita is a first cousin of the late Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, Duke of Badajoz, husband of Infanta Pilar, sister of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

In 1958, Margarita first met Simeon as he prepared to go to the United States to attend the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania. When the couple decided to marry, they were faced with some religious issues. Margarita was Roman Catholic and Simeon was Bulgarian Orthodox. The Roman Catholic Church required that the non-Catholic partner must declare in writing that the children of the marriage be baptized as Catholic. Simeon could not follow this rule without violating the Bulgarian constitution. After some roadblocks in solving the problem, the Second Vatican Council began meeting in Rome and one of the issues the Council dealt with was relations between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church. These circumstances largely contributed to the successful outcome of Margarita and Simeon’s case.

On January 20, 1962, the Roman Catholic wedding, the first of the three wedding ceremonies, took place in Lausanne, Switzerland. The civil ceremony conducted by the mayor of Lausanne then took place. The next day relatives and Bulgarians from all over the world met at the beautiful L’église russe (Russian Church) in Vevey, Switzerland for the Orthodox wedding ceremony. At the time, Margarita joked, “It is very hard and almost impossible to dissolve a triple wedding.”

After their marriage, the couple resided in Madrid, Spain where all five of their children were born.

  • Kardam, Prince of Turnovo (1962 – 2015), married Miriam Ungría y López, had issue
  • Kyril, Prince of Preslav (born 1964), married María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdorfila, had issue
  • Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte (born 1965), married Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu, had issue
  • Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin (born 1967), married María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar, had issue
  • Princess Kalina (born 1972), married Antonio “Kitín” Muñoz y Valcárcel, had issue
Margarita_family

Margarita with her family; Photo Credit – http://www.styleforum.net

In 1996, several years after the fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria, Margarita visited Bulgaria for the first time, accompanied by her husband. Their stays in Bulgaria became more frequent until 2001 when the former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria became Prime Minister of Bulgaria when his party won 120 of the 240 seats in Parliament. Since then Margarita and Simeon have lived in Bulgaria. The couple currently resides in what was Simeon’s boyhood home, Vrana Palace, near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vrana Palace was returned to Simeon and his sister Maria Luisa by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria in June 1998.

 

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Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Credit – By Grey Geezer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60679025

Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria was born on June 16, 1937, in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was the only son of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria and Princess Giovanna of Italy, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro.

Simeon has one elder sister:

Prince Simeon, before 1943; Credit -Wikipedia

On August 28, 1943, shortly after a meeting with  Adolf Hitler, Tsar Boris died suddenly. Officially, the cause was heart failure, but many, including the doctors who attended him, believe that he was poisoned because of his unwillingness to capitulate to Hitler’s demands that he join the war against Russia. Just six years old, the young Simeon became Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria. A Council of Regency was established, led by his uncle Prince Kyril. However, the following year, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and the regents were deposed and replaced. They would all be killed a year later.

The monarchy was overthrown in 1946 and the family was forced to leave the country. They settled in Egypt with Giovanna’s father, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was living in exile. In 1951, they were granted asylum in Spain and the family moved to Madrid, where Simeon attended the Lycée Français. In 1955, upon his majority, Tsar Simeon II declared his oath to the people of Bulgaria as monarch. Despite having been forced into exile, he had never abdicated. Three years later, in 1958, he enrolled at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in the United States, graduating as a second lieutenant. He returned to Spain where he studied law and business administration. During his time in Spain, Simeon attempted to form a government in exile but was not successful.

On January 21, 1962, he was married to Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela. Margarita’s cousin was Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, the late husband of Infanta Pilar of Spain, the sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain. The couple had five children:

  • Kardam, Prince of Turnovo (1962 – 2015), married Miriam Ungría y López, had issue
  • Kyril, Prince of Preslav (born 1964), married María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdorfila, had issue
  • Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte (born 1965), married Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu, had issue
  • Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin (born 1967), married María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar, had issue
  • Princess Kalina (born 1972), married Antonio “Kitín” Muñoz y Valcárcel, had issue

Following the fall of the Communist regime, Simeon was finally able to return to his homeland.  In 1996, fifty years after he had been forced out of the country, Simeon returned to Bulgaria.  He was known as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Over the next few years, several estates and properties were returned to him, including Vrana Palace in Sofia. In 2001, he returned to Bulgaria permanently and announced that he intended to form a new political party. In the upcoming elections, the campaign was successful and Simeon served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria until 2005. He remained head of the party until stepping down in 2009.

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Bulgaria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2014

photo: Wikipedia

Prince Alexander Joseph of Battenberg (known as Sandro) was born on April 5, 1857, in Verona, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy. His parents were Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke. Julia had been a lady-in-waiting to Alexander’s sister, Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia), and the couple met while Alexander was visiting St Petersburg, Russia. As the Emperor would not condone a relationship between the two, they left Russia and were married in 1851 in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, now Wroclaw, Poland. Because their marriage was morganatic, Julia did not gain any of her husband’s titles and their children would not be eligible for succession to the Hesse Grand Ducal throne. However, her brother-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine granted the title Countess of Battenberg to Julia and the children of the marriage. A few years later, this was elevated to Princess of Battenberg.

Alexander had four siblings:

Prince Alexander often visited his aunt in Russia and became close to his uncle by marriage Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. It was this relationship that saw Alexander’s future role as a sovereign. Bulgaria became a principality of the Ottoman Empire under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Alexander II proposed Alexander for the newly created throne, and he was unanimously elected as Prince of Bulgaria in April 1879. He arrived in his new homeland in July 1879, swearing allegiance to the new Bulgarian Constitution.

After a contentious reign, often caught between the conflicting goals of the Bulgarian politicians and the Russian Emperor, Alexander fell victim to a military coup on August 20, 1886. He was forced to sign his abdication before being rushed out of the country and handed over to the Russians. Following a counter-coup a few weeks later, Alexander returned to Bulgaria. However, with the Austrian, German and Russian governments all working against him, he formally, and freely, relinquished the Bulgarian throne on September 7, 1886, and left Bulgarian the following day.

On February 6, 1889, Alexander married opera singer Johanna Loisinger, at which point he assumed the title Count von Hartenau, which he used for the remainder of his life. The couple had two children:

  • Assènne Ludwig Alexander, Count von Hartenau (1890–1965), married Bertha Husa-Ramos, no children
  • Marie Therese Vera Zvetana, Countess von Hartenau (1893–1935), married CharlesErcula Boassevan, no children

Johanna Loisinger with her two children circa1894, Credit – Wikipedia

The couple lived in Graz, Austria where Alexander held a post in the Austrian Army. He died at his home in Graz, Villa Hartenau, on October 23, 1893. He was initially buried in Graz, but later his remains were returned to Bulgaria and a State Funeral was held at the St Nedelya Church in Sofia, at the direction of the new Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Soon after, he was entombed at the newly built Battenberg Mausoleum in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Johanna Loisinger, Countess von Hartenau

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Johanna Loisinger with her two children circa1894, Credit – Wikipedia

Born on April 18, 1865, in Preßburg, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia),  Johanna Maria Louise Loisinger, was the wife of the former reigning Prince of Bulgaria who was born Prince Alexander of Battenberg. Johanna, an opera singer, virtuoso pianist, and actress was the only daughter of conductor Johann Loisinger and his wife Maria Meier.  Coming from a musical family, it was natural that Johanna received musical training.  She sang soprano operatic roles in Prague and Opava (now in the Czech Republic), in Linz, Austria, and at the court theater in Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (now in Hesse, Germany).  Johanna was one of the best-known singers of Mozart’s music of her time.

Johanna’s husband Sandro, Credit – Wikipedia

On February 6, 1889, Johanna married the former reigning Prince of Bulgaria, born Prince Alexander of Battenberg, (known as Sandro) in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France. It is possible that the couple met in Darmstadt as Sandro’s father, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, was the son of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.  Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine had fallen in love with Countess Julia Hauke, lady-in-waiting to his sister Marie who had married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.  Alexander and Julia married morganatically and were allowed the style and title of His/Her Serene Highness Prince/Princess of Battenberg as were their children.  Besides Sandro, Alexander and Julia had two sons who made notable marriages.  Prince Henry of Battenberg married Queen Victoria’s youngest child Princess Beatrice and Prince Louis of Battenberg married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.  Louis and Victoria are the maternal grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

After their marriage, Sandro and Johanna assumed the style of Count and Countess of Hartenau and withdrew from public life.  Alexander joined the Austrian Imperial Army and lived with his family in Graz, Austria.  The marriage lasted only 4 1/2 years as Sandro died in 1893 at the age of 36.

Sandro and Johanna had two children:

  • Assènne Ludwig Alexander, Count von Hartenau (1890–1965), married Bertha Husa-Ramos, no children
  • Marie Therese Vera Zvetana, Countess von Hartenau (1893–1935), married CharlesErcula Boassevan, no children

After Sandro’s death, Johanna and her young children moved to Vienna, Austria and she received a pension from Bulgaria.  Johanna was active in Viennese musical life and was involved in the building of the Academy Mozarteum in Mozart’s birthplace, Salzburg, Austria. She served as president of the Vienna Mozart Society, the Vienna Concert Association, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Johanna died on July 20, 1951, in Vienna at the age of 86. She was buried at St. Leonhard Cemetery in Graz, Austria, where her daughter had been buried.

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