Notes:

[royalfam.ged]

In 1878, Russia forced Turkey to give Bulgaria its independence after the Russo-Turkish War ( 1877-78), but the European powers, fearing Russia's and Bulgaria's dominance in the Balkans , intervened at the Congress of Berlin (1878), limited Bulgaria's territory, and fashioned i t into a small principality ruled by the nephew of the Russian czar, Alexander of Battenburg.

Alexander was succeeded in 1887 by Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who declared a king dom independent of Russia on Oct. 5, 1908. In the First Balkan War (1912-13), Bulgaria and th e other members of the Balkan League fought against Turkey to regain Balkan territory. Angere d by the small portion of Macedonia it received after the battle-it considered Macedonia an i ntegral part of Bulgaria-the country instigated the Second Balkan War (June-Aug. 1913) agains t Turkey as well as its former allies. Bulgaria lost the war and all the territory it had gai ned in the First Balkan War. Bulgaria joined Germany in World War I in the hope of again gain ing Macedonia. After this second failure, Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son in 1918. Bo ris III squandered Bulgaria's resources and assumed dictatorial powers in 1934-35. Bulgaria f ought on the side of the Nazis in World War II, but after Russia declared war on Bulgaria o n Sept. 5, 1944, Bulgaria switched sides. Three days later, on Sept. 9, 1944, a Communist coa lition took control of the country and set up a government under Kimon Georgiev.

Ferdinand married Mary Louise, of Parma in 1893. Mary (daughter of Robert Of Parma, I and Maria Antonia Of Portugal) was born in 1870 in Parma, Italy; died in 1899. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Giovanna of Italy, Queen of Bulgaria. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Margaret Gomez-Acebo. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]