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)Louda, 1981, Lines of Succession, Table 149. 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.).Finestone, 1981, The Last Courts of Europe, p 227.

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.Constant, 1986, Foxy Ferdinand, p 96.

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).Aronson, 1986, Crowns In Conflict, p 85.

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.

References

 Further reading 

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.

 Other websites 

 Historical photographs of the royal palace in Sofia

Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece
Category:Bisexual people
Category:1861 births
Category:1948 deaths
Category:Bulgarian royalty
Category:Botanists
Category:Philatelists
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Legion of Honour
Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Legion of Honour