Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian : Фердинанд I Български ; born : 26 February 1861 : Vienna,Austria – died : 10 September 1948 : Coburg,Bavaria,Germany)[1] was a Bulgarian monarch and Tsar of Bulgaria,born in the Austrian Empire in 1861 . He was Prince Of Bulgaria from 1887-1908 and Tsar Of Bulgaria and reigned from 1908 until 1918 when he was replaced by Boris III Of Bulgaria (1894-1943) his son . Under his rule Bulgaria joined the Central Powers during World War I in 1915 after the First Balkan War 1912-1913 and the Second Balkan War Of 1913 before WW1 . He joined Central Power along the side with Kaiser Wilhelm II (Kaiser Of Germany),Franz Joseph I (Kaiser Of Austria)and ,Charles I or Karl I, and Mehmed V (Sultan of Turkey) until there defeat in 1918 and he was exiled and lived in Weimar Germany from 1918-1933 and Nazi Germany from 1933-1945,until his death in 1948 in Occupied Germany just 30 year’s after World War 1 and 3 years after World War 2 .
Biography
He was born in Vienna as Ferdinand Maximilan Charles Leopold Marie, Duke of Saxony, later becoming Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the son of Augustus of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1818–1881) and his wife née Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907). He was proclaimed prince regnant of Bulgaria on 25 June 1887 (O.S.)/7 July 1887 (N.S.).[2]
On 20 April 1893 at the Villa Pianore in Luccia in Italy, he married Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Carolina Bianca Lucia Appollonia, Princess of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Roberto I of Parma. He was also thought to be bisexual, even after marrying his first wife.[3]
They had four children, Boris III (born : 1894 : Varna Palace ,Sofia,Bulgaria–died : 28 August 1943 : Sofia, Bulgaria), Kyril (1895–1945), Eudoxia (1898–1985), Nadejda (1899–1958) and Maria Luisa died in 1899. On 28 February 1908 in Coburg Ferdinand married his second wife, Eleonore Caroline Gasparine Louise, Princess Reuss-Köstritz (1860-1917), daughter of Heinrich IV Reuss von Köstritz (1821–1894) and née Luise Caroline Reuss zu Greiz (1822–1875).[4]
Ferdinand became king of Bulgaria after it became independent on 22 September 1908 (O.S.)/5 September 1908 (N.S.). He abdicated on 3 October 1918.
He died in Burglassschloßen in Coburg, and is buried in St. Augustin's Catholic Church.
Ferdinand I Of Bulgaria Media
Ferdinand in Bulgaria uniform 1941
The Nine Sovereigns at Windsor for the funeral of King Edward VII, photographed on 20 May 1910. Standing, from left to right: King Haakon VII of Norway, Tsar Ferdinand of the Bulgarians, King Manuel II of Portugal and the Algarve, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Prussia, King George I of the Hellenes and King Albert I of the Belgians.
Silver coin: 5 leva, Ferdinand I, 1894
Emperor Wilhelm and Tsar Ferdinand in Sofia, 1916
WWI-era portrait of Ferdinand I
Royal Monogram of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Variant 3
Arms of Ferdinand I as knight of the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece
General of infantry shoulder straps, сhef of 54th Minsk Infantry Regiment, 1902-1912
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References
- ↑ Louda, 1981, Lines of Succession, Table 149.
- ↑ Finestone, 1981, The Last Courts of Europe, p 227.
- ↑ Constant, 1986, Foxy Ferdinand, p 96.
- ↑ Aronson, 1986, Crowns In Conflict, p 85.
Further reading
- Aronson, Theo (1986). Crowns in Conflict: The Triumph and The Tragedy of European Monarchy, 1910–1918. London: J. Murray. ISBN 0719542790.
- Böttcher, Hans-Joachim: Ferdinand von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha 1861 - 1948 - Ein Kosmopolit auf dem bulgarischen Thron. Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-89998-296-1.
- Finestone, Jeffrey (1981). The Last Courts of Europe. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0460045199.
- Louda, Jiri; Michael Maclagan (1981). Lines of Succession. London: Orbis Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0856132764.
- Constant, Stephen (1986). Foxy Ferdinand, 1861–1948, Tsar of Bulgaria. London: Sidgwick and Jackson. ISBN 0-283-98515-1.
- Palmer, Alan (1978). The Kaiser: Warlord of The Second Reich. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0297773933.
Other websites
Media related to Ferdinand I of Bulgaria at Wikimedia Commons- Historical photographs of the royal palace in Sofia
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander I |
Prince of Bulgaria 7 July 1887 – 5 October 1908 |
proclaimed Tsar Bulgarian independence
from Ottoman Empire |
| New title |
Tsar of Bulgaria 5 October 1908 – 3 October 1918 |
Succeeded by Boris III |