三帝同盟
The crown princess, however, was not so lucky with the marriage plans for her daughter Viktoria. In 1881 she fell in love with Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria and her mother tried to obtain permission from the emperor for the engagement. Despite being a sovereign, the Bulgarian prince was born of a morganatic marriage, which placed him in a position of inferiority in front of the proud House of Hohenzollern. In addition, Alexander's policy in his Principality of Bulgaria was greatly disliked by Russia, a traditional ally of Prussia. Bismarck feared that marriage between a German princess and an enemy of Tsar Alexander III of Russia would represent a blow to the League of the Three Emperors, i.e. the Austro-German-Russian alliance. The chancellor, in the meanwhile, gained the disapproval of William I to the union, much to the dismay of Victoria and Frederick.