Ferdinand I (26 February 1861 - 10 September 1948), born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, first as knyaz (prince regnant, 1887-1908) and later as tsar (1908-1918). He was also an author, botanist , entomologist and philatelist .
Family background
Ferdinand
was born in Vienna , a prince of the Koháry branch of the ducal family
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha . He was baptised in St. Stephen's Cathedral,
Vienna on the 27th of February, having as God-parents Emperor Maximilian
of Mexico and his wife Empress Carlota of Mexico . He grew up in the
cosmopolitan environment of Austro-Hungarian high nobility and also in
their ancestral lands in Slovakia and in Germany. The Koháry descended
from an immensely wealthy Upper Hungarian (now Slovakian) noble family,
who held the princely lands of Čabraď and Sitno in Slovakia , among
others. The family's property was augmented by Clémentine of Orléans '
remarkable dowry.
The son of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and his
wife Clémentine of Orléans , daughter of king Louis Philippe I of the
French , Ferdinand was a grandnephew of Ernest I , Duke of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and of Leopold I , first king of the Belgians. His
father Augustus was a brother of Ferdinand II of Portugal , and also a
first cousin to Queen Victoria , her husband Albert, Prince Consort ,
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 Orléans. 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 .
Prince of Bulgaria
The
first Knyaz (Prince Regnant) of the Third Bulgarian State , Alexander
of Battenberg , abdicated in 1886, only seven years after he was
elected. Ferdinand, who was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army was
elected Knyaz of autonomous Bulgaria by its Grand National Assembly on 7
July 1887 in the Gregorian calendar (the "New Style" used hereinafter).
In desperate attempts to prevent Russian occupation of Bulgaria, the
throne had been previously offered, before Ferdinand's acceptance, to
princes from Denmark to the Caucasus and even to the King of Romania.
His accession was greeted with disbelief in many of the royal houses of
Europe. Queen Victoria , his father's first cousin, stated to her Prime
Minister, "He is totally unfit ... delicate, eccentric and
effeminate ... Should be stopped at once." To the amazement of his
initial detractors, Ferdinand generally made a success during the first
two decades of his reign.
Bulgaria's domestic political life was
dominated during the early years of Ferdinand's reign by liberal party
leader Stefan Stambolov , whose foreign policy saw a marked cooling in
relations with Russia , formerly seen as Bulgaria's protector.
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 Roman Catholicism to
Eastern Orthodox Christianity. However, this move earned him the
animosity of his Catholic Austrian relatives, particularly that of his
uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria .
Tsar of Bulgaria
On 5 October 1908 (celebrated on 22 September), Ferdinand proclaimed Bulgaria's de jure
independence from the Ottoman Empire (though the country had been
basically independent since 1878). He also elevated Bulgaria to the
status of a kingdom, and proclaimed himself tsar, or king. The
Bulgarian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed by him at the Saint
Forty Martyrs Church in Turnovo . It was accepted by Turkey and the
other European powers.
Ferdinand was known for being quite a
character. On a visit to German Emperor Wilhelm II , his second cousin
once removed, in 1909, Ferdinand was leaning out of a window of the New
Palace in Potsdam when the Emperor came up behind him and slapped him on
the bottom. Ferdinand was affronted by the gesture and the Emperor
apologised. Ferdinand however exacted his revenge by awarding a valuable
arms contract he had intended to give to the Krupp 's factory in Essen
to French arms manufacturer Schneider-Creusot . Another incident
occurred on his journey to the funeral of his second cousin, British
King Edward VII in 1910. A tussle broke out over where his private
railway carriage would be positioned in relation to the heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand . The Archduke won
out, having his carriage positioned directly behind the engine.
Ferdinand's was placed directly behind. Realising the dining car of the
train was behind his own carriage, Ferdinand obtained his revenge on the
Archduke by refusing him entry through his own carriage to the dining
car. On 15 July the same year during a visit to Belgium Ferdinand also
became the first head of state to fly in an airplane.
Balkan Wars
Like
many other rulers before him, Ferdinand desired the creation of a "new
Byzantium". In 1912, Ferdinand joined the other Balkan states in an
assault on the Ottoman Empire to free occupied territories. He saw this
war as a new crusade declaring it, "a just, great and sacred struggle of
the Cross against the Crescent." Bulgaria contributed the most and also
lost the greatest number of soldiers. The great powers insisted on the
creation of an independent Albania. Soon after, Bulgaria invaded its
recent allies Serbia and Greece, before being attacked itself by Romania
and the Ottoman Empire. Although Bulgaria was defeated, the 1913 Treaty
of Bucharest granted the Kingdom some territorial gains. A tiny area of
land giving access to the Aegean Sea was secured.
On 11 October
1915, the Bulgarian army attacked Serbia after signing a treaty with
Austria-Hungary and Germany stating that Bulgaria would gain the
territory it sought at the expense of Serbia. Ferdinand was not an
admirer of German Emperor Wilhelm II (his second cousin once removed) or
Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I whom he described as "that idiot, that
old dotard of a Francis Joseph". However, Ferdinand wanted additional
territorial gains after the humiliation of the Balkan Wars. This also
entailed forming an alliance with his former enemy, the Ottoman Empire .
During
the initial phase of World War I, the Kingdom of Bulgaria achieved
several decisive victories over its enemies and laid claim to the
disputed territories of Macedonia after Serbia's defeat. For the next
two years, the Bulgarian army shifted its focus towards repelling Allied
advances from nearby Greece. They were also partially involved in the
1916 conquest of neighboring Romania, now ruled by another Ferdinand I ,
who was also Ferdinand's second cousin once removed.
To save the
Bulgarian throne, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his eldest son
who became Tsar Boris III on 3 October 1918. Under new leadership,
Bulgaria surrendered to the Allies and as a consequence, lost not only
the additional territory it had fought for in the major conflict, but
also the territory it had won after the Balkan Wars giving access to the
Aegean Sea.
Ferdinand entered a marriage of convenience with
Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma , daughter of Robert I, Duke of
Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , on 20 April 1893
at the Villa Pianore in Lucca . The marriage produced four children:
- Boris III (1894-1943)
- Kyril (1895-1945)
- Eudoxia (1898-1985)
- Nadezhda (1899-1958).
Marie
Louise died on 31 January 1899 after giving birth to her youngest
daughter. Ferdinand did not think again about marriage until his mother,
Princess Clémentine died in 1907. To satisfy dynastic obligations and
to provide his children with a mother figure, Ferdinand married Eleonore
Reuss of Köstritz , on 28 February 1908. Neither romantic love or
physical attraction played any role, and Ferdinand treated her as no
more than a member of the household, and showed scant regard.
In
his private relations, Ferdinand was a somewhat hedonistic individual.
He was thought to be bisexual throughout his life, but up to middle age,
his inclination was more towards women, and he enjoyed affairs with a
number of women of humble position, siring a number of illegitimate
children whom he then supported financially.
But rumours abounded
of homosexual trysts with blue-eyed lieutenants and valets. Ferdinand's
regular holidays on Capri , then a famous haunt for wealthy gay men,
were common knowledge in royal courts throughout Europe. In 1895 an
interview given by the embittered former Prime Minister, Stefan
Stambolov to the Frankfurter Zeitung created a nine day scandal
across Europe, when he focused strongly on his personal witness of
Ferdinand's alleged homosexual interests.
Exile and death
After
his abdication, Ferdinand returned to live in Coburg , Germany. He had
managed to salvage much of his fortune and was able to live in some
style. He saw his being in exile simply as one of the hazards of
kingship. He commented, "Kings in exile are more philosophic under
reverses than ordinary individuals; but our philosophy is primarily the
result of tradition and breeding, and do not forget that pride is an
important item in the making of a monarch. We are disciplined from the
day of our birth and taught the avoidance of all outward signs of
emotion. The skeleton sits forever with us at the feast. It may mean
murder, it may mean abdication, but it serves always to remind us of the
unexpected. Therefore we are prepared and nothing comes in the nature
of a catastrophe. The main thing in life is to support any condition of
bodily or spiritual exile with dignity. If one sups with sorrow, one
need not invite the world to see you eat." He was pleased that the
throne could pass to his son. Ferdinand was not displeased with exile
and spent most of his time devoted to artistic endeavors, gardening,
travel and natural history. However, he would live to see the collapse
of everything he had held to be precious in life. His eldest son and
successor, Boris III , died under mysterious circumstances after
returning from a visit to Hitler in Germany in 1943. Boris III's son,
Simeon II , succeeded him only to be deposed in 1946, ending the
Bulgarian monarchy. The Kingdom of Bulgaria was succeeded by the
People's Republic of Bulgaria , under which his sole surviving son,
Kyril , was executed. On hearing of his son's death he said, "Everything
is collapsing around me." He died a broken man in Bürglaß-Schlösschen
on 10 September 1948 in Coburg , Germany, cradle of the
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty. His final wish was to be buried in Bulgaria,
and for this reason his coffin was temporarily placed in the crypt of
St. Augustin, Coburg , next to his parents' coffins. It can still be
found there today.
Grand Master of the following Bulgarian Orders:
- Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius
- Order of Bravery
- Order of St. Alexander
- Order of Civil Merit
- Order of Military Merit
Also a member of the following foreign orders:
- Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austria)
- Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (Kingdom of Italy)
- Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle (German Empire)
- Knight of the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden)
- Knight of the Order of St. Andrew (Russian Empire)
- Order of St. Vladimir , 1st class (Russian Empire)
- Knight of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (Russian Empire)
- Order of St. Anna , 1st class (Russian Empire)
- Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa (Austria-Hungary)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary (Austro-Hungarian Empire)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph (Kingdom of Bavaria)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
- Pour le Mérite (German Empire)
- Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Iron Cross of 1914, 1st and 2nd class (German Empire)
- Military Merit Cross , 3rd class with war decorations (Austrian Empire)
- Knight of the Order of the Elephant (Denmark)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (United Kingdom)
Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, tr. Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, tr. Republika Bǎlgariya,
IPA: [rɛˈpublikɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country in southeastern Europe. It
is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west,
Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a
territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is
Europe's 16th-largest country.
Organised
prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during
the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the
Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and
Huns. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the
establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated
most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during
the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in
1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries.
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 led to the formation of the Third
Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its
neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world
wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the
Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Communist Party
allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's
transition into a democracy and a market-based economy.
Bulgaria's
population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised and mainly
concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces. Most
commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and
largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy
industry, power engineering, and agriculture, all of which rely on local
natural resources.
The country's current political structure
dates to the adoption of a democratic constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a
unitary parliamentary republic with a high degree of political,
administrative, and economic centralisation. It is a member of the
European Union, NATO, and the Council of Europe; a founding state of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); and has
taken a seat at the UN Security Council three times.