Monarchies of Europe

Bulgarian Royal FamilyBulgarian Coat of Arms

Coats of Arms by permission of Arnaud Bunel

Press here for more information and a description of the numbering system adopted on the genealogical table below.

REFERENCE TITLE NAME BORN DIED   TITLE NAME BORN DIED COMMENTS
17 King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria 1861 1948 Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma 1870 1899 See 28.525 & 38.1 - Ferdinand was born Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, he was elected Prince of Bulgaria 7 July 1887 and proclaimed himself King (Tsar) of Bulgaria on 5 October 1908.
Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Boris on 3 October 1918 following Bulgaria's defeat in World War I and he left Bulgaria to spend most of the rest of his life at Coburg, Germany.

(Note: Bulgaria for centuries had been a province of the Ottoman Empire and in 1875 there was an abortive uprising of the Bulgarians against Turkish Rule. Russia invaded and defeated Turkey and by 1879 Bulgaria was granted autonomy under the Treaty of San Stefano. Prince Alexander of Battenberg was elected Prince of Bulgaria on 29 April 1879 and after strong pressure from Russia was forced to abdicate on 4 September 1886).

Wedding report of Prince (wasn't King at time of his marriage) Ferdinand of Bulgaria and Princess Maria Luisa

It was reported in 1896 that Maria Luisa wanted an annulment of her marriage to Ferdinand because of his intention to re-baptise his son Boris into the Greek Orthodox Church.

If that wasn't enough, Ferdinand's mother Princess Clementine of Orleans was threatening to abandon his cause in Bulgaria if he persisted with the re-baptism of Boris.

A newspaper article in 1896 said Princess Maria was one of the kindest and gentlest of princesses.
Maria Luisa fell victim to pneumonia and died 24 hours after the birth of her daughter Nadejda.

New York Times Report on Ferdinand's aim to be King

Death report of King Ferdinand
Death report of Princess Maria Luisa
17 King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria 1861 1948 Princess Eleanor Reuss-Köstritz 1860 1917 See 28.525 - Ferdinand was born Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, he was elected Prince of Bulgaria 7 July 1887 and proclaimed himself King (Tsar) of Bulgaria on 5 October 1908. Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Boris on 3 October 1918 following Bulgaria's defeat in World War I and he left Bulgaria to spend most of the rest of his life at Coburg, Germany.

Eleanor was the daughter of Princess Luise Reuss-Greiz (1822-1875) and her second husband Prince Henry XXXIII Reuss-Köstritz (Fürst Reuss-Köstritz ) (1821-1894).

Wedding report of Prince (wasn't King at time of his marriage) Ferdinand of Bulgaria and Princess Eleanor.

Quite a nice article on Eleanor which was published in 1914 just six weeks before her intended visit to United States of America.

Death report of King Ferdinand
Death report of Queen Eleanor
17 King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria 1861 1948   Alžbeta Brezáková 1921 2015 Apparently in 1947 Ferdinand married his 26 year old assistant Alžbeta Brezáková, the age gap between them being 60 years. The information regarding this marriage is from
17.1 King Boris III of Bulgaria 1894 1943 Princess Giovanna of Savoy 1907 2000 See 8.1214 -
It was reported October 1911 that "The engagement of the Grand Duchess Olga of Russia and Prince Boris of Bulgaria will be announced officially on 15 November".
Boris died in mysterious circumstances following a visit to Hitler. The official cause of death was given as "a thrombosis of the left artery to the heart, double pneumonia and a cerebral congestion". One theory is that the oxygen mask used by Boris in the airplane to fly back home had been tampered with.
A perspective from 1940 on King Boris
A report on the wedding of King Boris and Princess Giovanna
Much to the consternation of the "Vatican" Boris and his wife Giovanna secretly baptised their daughter Maria Louise in the Orthodox Church apparently breaking a promise their children would be brought up in the Roman Catholic faith
17.11 Princess Maria Louise of Bulgaria 1933   Prince Karl of Leiningen 1928 1990 See 39.21232
17.11 Princess Maria Louise of Bulgaria 1933     Bronislaw Chrobok 1933    
17.111   Alexandra Chrobok 1970     Jorge Champalimaud Raposo de Magalhăes 1970    
17.1111   Luis Raposo de Magalhăes 2003            
17.1112   Giovanna Raposo de Magalhăes 2006            
17.1113   Clémentine Raposo de Magalhăes 2010            
17.112   Paul Chrobok 1972     Ariana Oliver Mas ?    
17.12 King Simeon II of Bulgaria 1937     Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela 1935   An announcement on the birth of Simeon, he was named after Tsar Simeon I who ruled Bulgaria 893–927.
Simeon succeeded his father King Boris when he was only six years of age and reigned under the regency of his uncle Prince Kyril until the latter was executed on 1 February 1943 by the Communists. Simeon and the Bulgarian Royal Family were expelled from Bulgaria on 16 September 1946 after a Communist Party staged-managed referendum. Simeon was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 24 July 2001 until 17 August 2005 and uses the name Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha (some sources show Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, a correspondent emailed me on 26 November 2007 to advise this latter name was given by his political opponents and was somewhat derisory). Simeon was Leader of the NATIONAL MOVEMENT SIMEON II (NMSS) .
Margarita is the daughter of a Spanish marquis (Manuel Gomez Acebo y Modet 1889-1936) who along with his wife (Mercedes Cejuela y Fernández 1904-1936) were arrested and after a three-month stay in prison were executed by the Spanish Loyalists in 1936 at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. Margarita is a cousin of Luis Gomez-Acebo (Viscount de la Torre) (the husband of Infanta Maria del Pilar of Spain (Duchess of Badajoz))
17.121 Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria (Prince of Tirnovo) 1962 2015   Miriam Unigria y Lopez 1963   Tirnovo was Bulgaria's Ancient Capital.
Prince Kardam and his wife were involved in a serious car accident on 15 August 2008, Kardam injuries were quite serious and he was comatosed. Although his wife suffered serious injuries she was released from hospital on 5 September 2009, Kardam on the other hand was allowed to return home at a later but suffered a subsequent relapse and rushed back to hospital where he remained in a coma until his death on 7 April 2015.
17.1211 Prince Boris of Bulgaria 1997            
17.1212 Prince Beltran of Bulgaria 1999            
17.122 Prince Kyril of Bulgaria (Prince of Preslav) 1964     Rosario Nadal y Fuster-Puigdorfila 1968    
17.1221 Princess Mafalda of Bulgaria 1994           Birth registration of Mafalda
17.1222 Princess Olympia of Bulgaria 1995           Birth registration of Olympia
17.1223 Prince Tassilo of Bulgaria 2002            
17.123 Prince Kubrat of Bulgaria (Prince of Panagjuriste) 1965     Carla-Maria Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu 1969   Prince Kubrat is a qualified medical doctor specialising in colorectal surgery under the name of Dr. Kubrat Sajonia-Coburgo
17.1231 Prince Mirko of Bulgaria 1995            
17.1232 Prince Lucas of Bulgaria 1997            
17.1233 Prince Tirso of Bulgaria 2002            
17.124 Prince Konstantin-Assen of Bulgaria (Prince of Vidin) 1967     Maria Garcia de la Rasilla y Gortazar 1970    
17.1241 Prince Umberto of Bulgaria 1999           Prince Umberto and Princess Sofia are twins 
17.1242 Princess Sofia of Bulgaria 1999           Prince Umberto and Princess Sofia are twins
17.125 Princess Kalina of Bulgaria 1972     Antonio Muńoz y Valcárcel 1958   Antonio is known as Kitín Muńoz. He is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador promoting indigenous culture and environment,
17.1251   Simeon Hassan Muńoz 2007            
17.2 Prince Kyril of Bulgaria (Prince of Preslav) 1895 1945         Kyril was a co-regent pending his nephew King Simeon II reaching his majority. Kyril along with the other two co-regents ( Prime Minister Bogdan Filov and Lieutenant-General Nikola Mihailov Mihov of the Bulgarian Army) on 1 February 1945 were executed by the Communists in Sofia
17.3 Princess Eudoxia of Bulgaria 1898 1985         An interesting article on Princess Eudoxia and reasons why perhaps she never married.
In 1931 it was reported that Princess Eudoxia was engaged to King Zogu of Albania.
A later report in 1933 mentions that King Carol of Roumania and King Boris of Bulgaria discussed a proposal for King Carol to marry Princess Eudoxia. This was denied by King Carol.
It is interesting to note that even as far back as 1912, apparently there were discussions between Bulgaria and Roumania for Princess Eudoxia to marry King (Prince at the time) Carol of Roumania and for Eudoxia's brother King (Prince at the time) Boris to marry Carol's sister Princess Elisabeth of Roumania.
Eudoxia was considered to be a talented painter of landscapes.
17.4 Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria 1899 1958 Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg 1895 1954 See 22.K3112 - An announcement on the betrothal of Nadejda to Albrecht Eugen, although the date of the announcement is some four months after their marriage on 24 January 1924.

Note - QVD against a reference number indicates the first named individual is a descendant of Queen Victoria.

Last Updated on 29 January 2024
By Allan Raymond
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