Eightieth Birthday of Bulgaria’s Last Tsar

The last Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II, today celebrates his eightieth birthday. A private party will be held this weekend in Sofia attended by his family and close friends.

Simeon was born on this day in 1937 to Boris III of Bulgaria and his wife, Princess Giovanna of Savoy. At the age of six, he became Tsar of the Bulgarians upon the early death of his father. The new Tsar’s Regency Council brought the country into the Second World War, a decision which ultimately led to Simeon’s forced abdication in September 1946 after a reign of just over three years.

The ‘Boy King’ and his family went into exile after his abdication, eventually settling permanently in Spain.

In January 1962, Simeon married Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, with whom he had five children: Kardam (1962-2015), Kyril, Kubrat, Konstantin-Assen and Kalina. They have eleven grandchildren.

Tsar Simeon was unable to return to his homeland for almost fifty years, only setting foot in the country in 1996, half a decade after the fall of communism. In 2001, Simeon formed his own political party in Bulgaria – National Movement Simeon II – with which he ran for Prime Minister, winning the 2001 parliamentary elections. He thus became the second former monarch to be elected to head a government in history.

The former Tsar joins former King Mihai I of Romania and the 14th Dalai Lama as the only living World War Two heads of state.

Filed under Bulgaria
Tagged Birthday, Simeon II of Bulgaria.

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