"Bulgarian Choice" and Tsar Ferdinand. Boris, Tsar of Bulgaria: biography and interesting facts

October 27, 2016 at 18.00 in the city art gallery in Varna will be the presentation of the book of the last Bulgarian Tsar Simeon II "One extraordinary fate". The attitude towards Simeon in Bulgaria can be described as ambiguous, but his fate is really extraordinary. However, judge for yourself.

Tsar

Simeon's father, Tsar Boris III, became the last Bulgarian monarch to rule the country. Simeon was still too small at the time of his father's death. Simeon was born in June 1937 in Sofia. His father was Tsar Boris III, the one who led, participated in and died unexpectedly after meeting with Hitler. Simeon at that time was too small to take the throne, the regency council ruled on his behalf from 1943 to 1946. Until 1944, the regents were Kirill Preslavsky, Boris Filov and Nikola Mikhov, and then - Todor Pavlov, Venelin Ganev and Cwiatko Boboshevsky.
In February 1945, the "People's Court" was held, many Bulgarian ministers, as well as three regents, were executed. The royal family lived under house arrest in the Vrana Palace.
In 1946, the monarchy in Bulgaria was abolished not without the help of the Soviet troops stationed in the country. 95% of Bulgarians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy. It is often said that the results were falsified, but the fact remains that there were already few fans of the monarchical system in the country at that time. Someone was destroyed, someone lost his faith.
On September 16, 1946, the royal family (Simeon II, his mother Tsarina Joanna and sister Maria Luisa) were expelled from the country. Not having time to really be a king, Simeon lost his kingdom. However, he did not officially abdicate the throne.

Emigrant

Tsars have many specific problems, but there will always be influential relatives. Simeon also found them. The royal family went to Egypt, where Joanna's father, the Italian King Victor Emmanuel the Third, lived. In Egypt, the king graduated from college, and then went to Spain, where he continued his studies.
Having reached the age of majority, Simeon confirmed his desire to be the Bulgarian king and to remain faithful to the Tarnovo Constitution. Nothing is known about the public reaction to these statements. Bulgaria at that time was already deeply socialist, and hardly anyone took seriously the intention of the last Bulgarian tsar to return to the throne.
Little is known about the life of the king in subsequent years. He attended a military academy in the United States and was allegedly involved in business.

Prime Minister

Citizens of Bulgaria from the reign of Simeon II are not enthusiastic In 1989, socialism in Bulgaria ended. Soon the last Bulgarian king made an attempt to return to his homeland, but this turned out to be fraught with various difficulties. It was with great difficulty that the tsar received his passport and the EGN, and during his first visit to Bulgaria in 1996, the prime minister did not even want to meet him, although the people received the tsar cordially.
Simeon's second trip to his homeland took place in 1999 - as part of a religious and environmental conference.
And for the third time, the stubborn king achieved his goal and stayed in Bulgaria for a long time, and not just like that, but in power. The political party NDSV (National Movement Simeon Vtori) was formed and won the elections. Simeon of Saxe-Coburgott became the head of the Bulgarian government. He held this position from 2001 to 2005. After that, the last Bulgarian tsar resigned as the leader of the movement.

Personal life

It would seem that the king is always in sight. But not much is known about Simeon's personal life. He married a wealthy Spanish woman (not of royal blood) and had 5 children with her. His last grandson was born in Bulgaria.
The wife of the king is a Catholic, he himself is Orthodox. Therefore, they did not limit themselves to one wedding ceremony - they arranged as many as three, to be sure.

Scandals

The autobiographical book is simply and tastefully called "One Extraordinary Fate". Simeon's desire for power was caused not only by love for the motherland. To date, the royal dynasty owns huge pieces of Bulgarian territory - the royal residence of Bistritsa, forests in the vicinity of the resort of Borovets and the city of Samokov, palaces and houses. Not everyone liked such restitution, but the last king knowingly studied the laws and engaged in politics - so far he successfully defeated all his opponents.
From time to time, reports appear in the Bulgarian media that the court considered this or that royal property not even royal, but state. Simeon does not think so, arguing that the palaces and estates were built at the expense of his father and grandfather, and successfully appeals against the court decisions one by one.
The history of the citizenship of the king is also rather muddy. When exiled royal family Bulgarian citizenship was not deprived. But in the future, the king traveled on an Italian diplomatic passport. He began to bother about Bulgarian citizenship only after 1991. There were persistent rumors about his dual citizenship (which is unacceptable for the country's prime minister), but no evidence was found.
Simeon II was also involved in a scandal related to the construction of the hospital. Suspiciously large sums were allocated for the construction. The scandal was international, large, but ended in nothing: endless checks began, which went so slowly that everyone gradually forgot about corruption schemes, fraud and Simeon.
In general, the people do not like the last king too much. At one time, great hopes were pinned on him, which Simeon skillfully warmed up with promises. But as a result of the reign, the country did not begin to live better, and Simeon II became noticeably richer, and this caused the natural discontent of the Bulgarians. There are some unkind comments even to the news report about the presentation of the book, so what to expect from this event is not very clear. We will be grateful for the comments of those who will attend the presentation or read the book - suddenly there will be something very interesting there.

In a sense, he is still alive, but not in power, although in 2001 he managed to lead Bulgaria for a short 4 years, becoming the head of the government of the Republic.
Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotsky was born in 1937 in Sofia. 6 years later, Simeon also had to enter the reign, but due to his childhood, the royal duties were performed for him by the regency council (Prince Kirill Preslavsky, Professor Bogdan Filov and General Nikola Mikhov).

On September 9, 1944, a communist coup took place in Bulgaria, and on September 15, 1946 a referendum was held, the results of which made it clear that Bulgaria wanted to become a republic and on September 16, 1946 royal family(Queen John, Simeon and his sister Maria Louise) left the country. Now the Bulgarians claim that the referendum was illegal and they were forced, and the USSR, the USA and Great Britain presided over it - they put pressure on it.
So Tsar Simeon II, even without really having the throne, lost it at the age of 9. Moreover, there was no official act of renunciation or overthrow. Simeon Sakskoburggota returned to the country only in 1996, when he was already 59 years old.

What did the Bulgarian Tsar do for these long 50 years and where did he live all this time?

From Bulgaria, the royal family went to their grandfather Victor Emanuel III in Egypt. In Alexandria, Simeon graduated from college and since 1951 began to live in Madrid, where he studied at the French Lyceum, studying law and political science. In his coming of age, Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha confirmed his will to be the king of all Bulgarians by reading the Manifesto, in the presence of the Russian Archimandrite Panteleimon, Queen Joanna and King Umberto II, to allegiance to the Tarnovo Constitution. After this, Simeon served one year at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in America, where he received the rank of second lieutenant and the nickname Cadet Rilski.
It is not known for certain what the former Bulgarian tsar was doing from 1962 to 1996. According to some sources, he was doing business in Spain and the USA.
Of course, it was all out of rank for him and he really wanted to return his in Bulgaria. Still, here he has both status and property - after all, she passed! Who is he in Europe? Another offspring of blue blood, and here is the king!

In 1991, Simeon asked the Bulgarian ambassador in Madrid to issue him a Bulgarian passport, citing his desire to participate in the political life of his former state. They gave him a passport, but he was not allowed to enter politics and life in the country. In 1996, the then Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Zhan Videnov, even refused to meet with Simeon.
For some reason, it is still not known under which passport the king lived earlier. One of his sons said that the family used an Italian diplomatic passport through his mother. It is also known that Saxe-Coburggotsky also had a Spanish passport, but not as a citizen. There is no evidence of dual citizenship of Simeon of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.

In 2001, Simeon arrived in Bulgaria successfully. He managed to create a party National Movement Simeon Vtori (NDV) and win parliamentary elections in a coalition with two other small parties and lead the government, and in June 2005 Simeon resigned.

Tsar Simeon II and Queen Margarita

Simeon Saxoburgotsky is married to a wealthy Spaniard, Margherita Gomez-Asebo and Sejuela, of non-aristocratic origin. There are five children from this marriage, including one daughter, notorious for her own.

Tsar Simeon II, Princess Kalina and grandson of Tsar Simeon-Khasan

Simeon, by the way, is the godfather of the Russian Prince Georgy Mikhailovich Romanov, who was born in 1981 in Madrid - the first son of Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova (considered heir to the throne of the Russian throne).

At the moment, Simeon II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his sister Maria Louise Bulgarska(born in 1933) own 2,100 hectares of forest for skiing, winter residence, palace, palace Sarygyol, winter house Sitnyakovo, house in gr. Banya, forest areas near the town of Samokov - Borovets and villages Beli Iskar(I was there - beautiful nature!).
Of course, there are those who do not agree with such restitution and prove that most of this property did not belong to the king, but Simeon is still doing an excellent job with all litigation.

In the article we will talk about Boris the Tsar of Bulgaria, who is also called Boris III. This is a very interesting historical figure that took Active participation during the Second World War and its prehistory. Let's get acquainted with this famous king from the earliest years of his life.

Birth

Boris (Tsar of Bulgaria) was born on January 30, 1894. The boy was born under gunshots. Thus, the royal family announced that their first son was born - the son of Tsar Ferdinand and his wife Maria of Bourbon-Parma.

The political situation in the country at that time was quite tense. The Grand Duchy was created only in 1878, it was still too young. Small Orthodox state that is a vassal Ottoman Empire and ruled by two Catholics. At that time, relations with Russia were strained, since the Russian nobility did not like the fact that a Catholic and a native of Austria-Hungary was chosen to rule Bulgaria. At the same time, one must take into account the fact that Ferdinand was chosen by the anti-Russian campaign. Despite the fact that Russia was also Orthodox, she did not want to recognize the authority of the new ruler.

Prince Boris of Turnovo was originally baptized as a Catholic, but his father thought about converting the boy to the Orthodox faith. This would help improve relations with their people and establish more friendly relations with Russia. However, this state of affairs could significantly worsen relations with Europe, where some rulers threatened war or excommunication in the event of such an outcome. However, political motives eventually prevailed and little Boris, the Tsar of Bulgaria, was transferred to the Orthodox faith. Nicholas II became the godfather of the future ruler. Ferdinand was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for this, and his wife and their second son Cyril had to disappear from the court for a while.

Upbringing

The Bulgarian Tsar Boris was engaged in by the grandmother from the father's side, Clementine of Orleans. The fact is that the boy's mother died in January 1899, that is, almost immediately after the second daughter Nadia was born. The daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France, Clementine of Orleans, also died, but much later. She left this world in 1907. Further, the upbringing of the young ruler fell on the shoulders of his father. Ferdinand personally engaged in the selection of teachers for the Tsar of Bulgaria Boris 3. It was he who gave them instructions to be as strict with the boy as possible.

His son studied exactly the same subjects as all children in Bulgarian schools. In addition, he also studied French and German. I must say that Boris mastered them to perfection. After that, he also learned English, Albanian and Italian. Talented officers arrived at the palace in order to engage in the military education of the guy.

Ferdinand paid special attention to the scientific and natural disciplines, and believed that they should be studied with special care. It must be said that his son Boris carried his love for such sciences throughout his life. The son and father were very interested in technology and in particular locomotives. In the fall of 1910, the guy successfully passed the exam for a railway mechanic. Despite all this, Boris rather hard endured life in the palace, with all the many rituals, ceremonies and conventions, calling it a "prison". It was not so easy to get along with my father, a rather authoritarian man.

In the winter of 1906, a young man, having the rank of lieutenant, entered military school. After 6 years, the guy graduated from college and received the rank of captain.

Politics around

In September 1908, Ferdinand came to the throne. Then he publicly declared that the country is completely independent. From 1911, the future Prince of Bulgaria, Boris, began to travel abroad and gradually get out of the full care of his father. At the same time, the boy became more and more popular and famous on the world stage. In 1911, a young man visited two important events. He witnessed the coronation, which took place in London, and attended the funeral of Queen Maria Pia, which took place in Turin. At the same time, the young guy was not just an observer, he entered the circle of members royal families, noble families and heads of state.

Balkan Wars

On September 1, the guy went to visit his godfather. At this time, the young man witnessed how Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin was killed in the Kyiv opera. Finally, in the winter of 1912, the guy became an adult. Until that moment, the future tsar associated himself with both Catholics and Orthodox, but after coming of age he admitted that he was faithful only to Orthodoxy. As we already know, in the same year he received the official rank of captain. And literally 9 months later, the First Balkan War began, in which the union of Serbs, Montenegrins, Greeks and Bulgarians opposed the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in order to recapture Macedonia. Boris took a direct part in the war as a liaison officer and was on the front lines more than once.

Despite the fact that they still managed to win, the association of winners simply could not share the fruits of their work among themselves. Then Bulgaria decided to take active steps and attack its former allies in order to divide Macedonia. This was the beginning of the Second Balkan War. In this case, Tsar Boris of Bulgaria again took part in the course of the war. The war ended in defeat, as a large number of soldiers suffered from cholera. Young Boris, who observed the situation, became a pacifist after this incident.

Renunciation

After such an outcome of events, it seemed that there was no other way out than Ferdinand's abdication from the throne. The advisers believed that Boris should immediately leave the palace and go to the ranks of an ordinary army. For a time, he had to separate from his father so as not to be associated with his reign. However, the guy himself spoke out that he would not hold on to power, and if the monarch leaves, then his son will also leave the palace. However, things didn't turn out quite the way they expected. Ferdinand did not abdicate, and Boris was sent to the Military Academy.

In 1915, Ferdinand decided to enter the First World War, but Boris did not support the decision. Great Britain and France found out about this and recognized him as king in 1918.

Throne

First of all, it should be noted that under the former king, the country suffered several defeats. At first it was the Second Balkan War, due to which Bulgaria lost territories and even paid reparations. The second defeat was the first World War, as a result of which the country again lost its territories and access to the Aegean Sea, paid reparations. The population was dissatisfied, other rulers did not want to recognize the king. He abdicated in favor of his son, and in the fall of 1918, Boris ascended the throne.

His reign did not start very well, as he lacked experience, he could not communicate with his family. In addition, crop failure, foreign occupation and the rationing system affected. All this led to the fact that the activity of ultra-left parties increased. It should be added that of all the countries participating in the First World War, only Bulgaria retained monarchical rule.

First time

In 1919, according to the results of the elections, he won the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union. The tsar had to appoint Alexander Stamboliysky as prime minister. Since Bulgaria remained an agrarian country, Alexander was loved by the people. The man showed a negative attitude towards the army and the middle class, towards the monarchical system and tried to build an authoritarian rule. Boris, the Tsar of Bulgaria, has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with him, but nothing has changed.

In the summer of 1923, a military coup took place, as a result of which Stamboliysky was shot, and the leader of the movement, Alexander Tsankov, was appointed prime minister of the new government. This event marked the beginning of a long period of instability. In the fall, the communists raised an uprising, and after that the "white terror" began. As a result of the actions of terrorist and anti-terrorist forces, more than 20 thousand people died. In 1925 Greece declared war on Bulgaria. Despite the fact that the League of Nations tried to improve the situation inside the country, the situation remained extremely precarious.

Assassination attempts

In 1925, during a hunt near the town of Orkhaniye, there was an assassination attempt on Boris, but he managed to escape in a passing car. Three days later, in the Cathedral of the Holy Week, there was a funeral of the general killed during the assassination attempt on the king, which was attended by many representatives of the authorities. Communists and anarchists took the opportunity to plant a bomb. The explosion happened during the ceremony itself, killing more than a hundred people. Boris was late for the general's funeral, as he was at the funeral of his friend. After that, there was a wave of repression by the government, many people were arrested on suspicion of rebellion and sentenced to death.

Last years

Only in 1934 did the man get married. Giovanna, the daughter of Victor Emmanuel III, became his chosen one.

In the same year, a military coup took place, which led to the complete dictatorship of Boris. Some of the tsar's ministers expressed a desire to get closer to Hitler, and the tsar did not put any special obstacles to this. In 1938, he participated in world politics to "appease" Hitler. As a result of the division of lands, Bulgaria received Southern Dobruja, some areas of Macedonia, and access to the sea. Realizing that most of his people were pro-Russian, the tsar did not declare war on the USSR and decided not to send his soldiers to the Eastern Front. Who would have thought that on August 28, 1941, Tsar Boris of Bulgaria had only a year to live.

At the same time, the ruler managed to save about 50 thousand Jews. The German troops in Bulgaria were only along railway that led to Greece. On August 28, 1942, Tsar Boris died in Bulgaria, presumably from a heart attack. This happened a few days after the meeting with Hitler. The successor was his son Simeon, who at that time was 6 years old.

On August 28, Tsar Boris in Bulgaria died under rather vague circumstances, which will be investigated more than once.

In art

On the screen, the great king was portrayed by the actor Naum Shopov. In 1965, the film "The Tsar and the General" was released, and in 1976 the film "Soldiers of Freedom" was released. D. Dimov played the tsar in the famous television series Vangelia. The reason for the death of the Tsar of Bulgaria Boris in each tape is explained in its own way. At the same time, no one believes in the natural outcome of events.