Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
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| Ferdinand I | ||
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| Tsar of Bulgaria | ||
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| Reign | 7 July 1887 – 3 October 1918 | |
| Born | 26 February 1861 | |
| Vienna, Austria | ||
| Died | 10 September 1948 | |
| Coburg, Germany | ||
| Predecessor | Alexander of Bulgaria | |
| Successor | Boris III of Bulgaria | |
| Consort | Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma Eleonore of Reuss-Köstritz |
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| Issue | Boris III of Bulgaria Kyrill, Prince of Preslav Eudoxia of Bulgaria Nadejda of Bulgaria |
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| Royal House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | |
| Father | August of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha | |
| Mother | Clementine of Orleans | |
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (February 26, 1861 - September 10, 1948), born Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the Prince Regnant and later King of Bulgaria as well as an author, botanist and philatelist.
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[edit] Biography
Ferdinand was born in Vienna, a prince of the Kohary branch of the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He grew up in the cosmopolitan environment of Austro-Hungarian high nobility and also in their ancestral lands in Slovakia and in Germany. The Kohary, descending from a noble Slovak family of Hungary, was very wealthy, holding for example the princely lands of Čabrad and Sitno, in what is now Slovakia. The family's property was also augmented by Clémentine of Orléans' remarkable dowry.
The son of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary and his wife Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of king Louis Philippe I of the French, Ferdinand was a grand-nephew of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and of Leopold I, first king of the Belgians. His father Augustus was a brother of the Prince Consort of Portugal, and also a first cousin to Queen Victoria, her husband Prince Albert, Empress Carlota of Mexico and her brother Leopold II of Belgium. These last two, Leopold and Carlota, were also first cousins of Ferdinand I's through his mother, a princess of Orleans. This made the Belgian siblings his first cousins, as well as his first cousins once removed (his father's first cousins). Indeed, the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha had contrived to occupy, either by marriage or by direct election, several European thrones in the course of the 19th century. Following the family trend, Ferdinand was himself to found the royal dynasty of Bulgaria.
Ferdinand had some ancestry from medieval rulers of Bulgaria, descents from both his mother's and father's side: Bulgarian ancestry of royals of Bulgaria.
Ferdinand was proclaimed Prince Regnant of autonomous Bulgaria on 7 July 1887 in the Gregorian calendar (the "New Style" used hereinafter), ten months after the abdication of his predecessor Prince Alexander.
Bulgaria's domestic political life was dominated during the early years of his reign by liberal party leader Stefan Stambolov, whose foreign policy saw a marked cooling in relations with Russia, formerly seen as Bulgaria's protector.
[edit] Marriage and family
Despite Ferdinand's evident preference for handsome young blond men, he took his responsibility to wed and father a dynasty with the utmost seriousness, marrying Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Roberto I of Parma on April 20, 1893 at the Villa Pianore in Luccia in Italy, producing four children:
- Boris III (1894–1943)
- Kyril (1895–1945)
- Eudoxia (1898–1985)
- Nadejda (1899–1958). Married Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg.
Following Maria Luisa's death (on 31 January 1899), Ferdinand married Eleonore Caroline Gasparine Louise, Princess Reuss-Köstritz, on 28 February 1908.
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Ferdinand's bisexuality was both well-known and exploited throughout European diplomatic circles. His regular holidays on Capri, then a famous haunt for wealthy gay men, was common knowledge in royal courts throughout Europe. It became the custom for visiting dignitaries seeking favour from Ferdinand to be accompanied by a handsome young equerry. A much recounted tale of First World War vintage centred around the occasion the Bulgarian war minister arrived at Ferdinand's quarters to discuss an urgent military matter, only to discover that Ferdinand had left for a picnic with a young man he had just met.
Stambolov's fall (May 1894) and subsequent assassination (July 1895) paved the way for a reconciliation of Bulgaria with Russia, effected in February 1896 with the conversion of the infant Prince Boris from Catholicism to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
[edit] Independence and later years
Ferdinand became Tsar of Bulgaria upon that country's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire on 5 October 1908 (celebrated on 22 September). The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed at the Saint Forty Martyrs Church in Turnovo.
The two Balkan Wars of October 1912-July 1913 saw the partial reversal of initial Bulgarian territorial gains.
On 11 October 1915, the Bulgarian army attacked Serbia after signing a treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary which stated that Bulgaria would gain the territory she sought at the expense of Serbia. See Serbian Campaign (World War I) for details. At first the war went well, Serbia was defeated and Bulgaria took possession of the disputed land of Macedonia. For the next two years, the Bulgarian army fought a defensive war against the Allied army based in Greece. A small part of the Bulgarian army was involved in the conquest of Romania in 1916.
Then, in the fall of 1918, the Bulgarian army was badly beaten by an attack from the Allied army in Greece. With his army shattered, King Ferdinand abdicated on October 3, 1918. Bulgaria surrendered to the Allies and once again, lost the territory it had fought for.
He died in Burglassschloßen on September 10, 1948 in Coburg, Germany. Ferdinand I is buried there in St. Augustin's Catholic Church.
| Styles of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha |
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| Image:S-c-g-arms.JPG | |
| Reference style | His Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
| Styles of King Ferdinand I of The Bulgarians |
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| Image:S-c-g-arms.JPG | |
| Reference style | His Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sir |
[edit] References
- Aronson, T. (1986) Crowns in conflict: the triumph and the tragedy of European monarchy, 1910–1918, J. Murray, London. ISBN 0-7195-4279-0
- Constant, S. (1979) Foxy Ferdinand, 1861–1948, Tsar of Bulgaria, Sidgwick and Jackson, London. ISBN 0-283-98515-1
| House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Born: 26 February 1861 Died: 10 September 1948 |
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| Preceded by Alexander I |
Prince of Bulgaria 1887–1908 |
Bulgaria independent |
| New Title Proclaimed Tsar |
Tsar of Bulgaria 1908–1918 |
Succeeded by Boris III |
| Bulgarian monarchs |
|---|
| Great Bulgaria (632–681)
First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018) Asparukh | Tervel | Kormesiy | Sevar | Kormisosh | Vinekh | Telets | Sabin | Umor | Toktu | Pagan | Telerig | Kardam | Krum | Omurtag | Malamir | Presian | Boris I | Vladimir | Simeon I | Peter I | Boris II | Roman | Samuil | Gavril Radomir | Ivan Vladislav | Presian II Second Bulgarian Empire (1186–1396) Ivan Asen I | Peter IV | Ivanko | Kaloyan | Boril | Ivan Asen II | Kaliman I Asen | Michael Asen I | Kaliman II Asen | Mitso Asen | Constantine I Tikh | Ivailo | Ivan Asen III | George Terter I | Smilets | Chaka | Theodore Svetoslav | George Terter II | Michael Shishman | Ivan Stephen | Ivan Alexander | Ivan Shishman | Ivan Sratsimir Kingdom of Bulgaria (1878–1946) Alexander I | Ferdinand I | Boris III | Simeon II |
