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) 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
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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.).

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.

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).

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.

Further reading
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* 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
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* Media related to Ferdinand I of Bulgaria at Wikimedia Commons
* Historical photographs of the royal palace in Sofia

| Regnal titles |
| --- |
| Preceded byAlexander I |  **Prince of Bulgaria**7 July 1887 – 5 October 1908 | **proclaimed Tsar**Bulgarian independencefrom Ottoman Empire |
| **New title**Principality elevatedto kingdom |  **Tsar of Bulgaria**5 October 1908 – 3 October 1918 | Succeeded byBoris III |