Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria; Credit – By Grey Geezer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60679025

Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria was born on June 16, 1937, in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was the only son of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria and Princess Giovanna of Italy, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro.

Simeon has one elder sister:

Prince Simeon, before 1943; Credit -Wikipedia

On August 28, 1943, shortly after a meeting with  Adolf Hitler, Tsar Boris died suddenly. Officially, the cause was heart failure, but many, including the doctors who attended him, believe that he was poisoned because of his unwillingness to capitulate to Hitler’s demands that he join the war against Russia. Just six years old, the young Simeon became Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria. A Council of Regency was established, led by his uncle Prince Kyril. However, the following year, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and the regents were deposed and replaced. They would all be killed a year later.

The monarchy was overthrown in 1946 and the family was forced to leave the country. They settled in Egypt with Giovanna’s father, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, who was living in exile. In 1951, they were granted asylum in Spain and the family moved to Madrid, where Simeon attended the Lycée Français. In 1955, upon his majority, Tsar Simeon II declared his oath to the people of Bulgaria as monarch. Despite having been forced into exile, he had never abdicated. Three years later, in 1958, he enrolled at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in the United States, graduating as a second lieutenant. He returned to Spain where he studied law and business administration. During his time in Spain, Simeon attempted to form a government in exile but was unsuccessful.

On January 21, 1962, he was married to Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela. Margarita’s cousin was Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, the late husband of Infanta Pilar of Spain, the sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain. The couple had five children:

  • Kardam, Prince of Turnovo (1962 – 2015), married Miriam Ungría y López, had issue
  • Kyril, Prince of Preslav (born 1964), married María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdorfila, had issue
  • Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte (born 1965), married Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu, had issue
  • Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin (born 1967), married María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar, had issue
  • Princess Kalina (born 1972), married Antonio “Kitín” Muñoz y Valcárcel, had issue

Following the fall of the Communist regime, Simeon was finally able to return to his homeland.  In 1996, fifty years after he had been forced out of the country, Simeon returned to Bulgaria.  He was known as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Over the next few years, several estates and properties were returned to him, including Vrana Palace in Sofia. In 2001, he returned to Bulgaria permanently and announced that he intended to form a new political party. In the upcoming elections, the campaign was successful and Simeon served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria until 2005. He remained head of the party until stepping down in 2009.

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Bulgaria Resources at Unofficial Royalty