Mafalda-Cecilia von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry (''Mafalda-Cecilia Sakskoburggotska''; born 27 July 1994), known professionally as Ona Mafalda, is a British singer-songwriter and member of the former Bulgarian royal family. As a granddaughter of Simeon II, the last reigning

tsar of Bulgaria The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of As ...

, she is a princess of the

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry is the Roman Catholic, Catholic cadet branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, founded after the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág, Princess ...

Early life and family

Mafalda was born on 27 July 1994 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to Rosario Nadal, a Spanish aristocrat and art director, and Kyril, Prince of Preslav, a member of the Bulgarian royal family. She is a granddaughter of

Simeon II of Bulgaria Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( bg, Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски, translit=Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last tsar of the Kingdom of Bul ...

, who was the last

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

of the

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...

and later served as the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the

Republic of Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. In 1999 Mafalda served as a bridal attendant in the wedding of

Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark ( el, Αλεξία; born 10 July 1965) is a Greek princess and educator. She is the eldest child of Constantine II and Anne-Marie of Denmark, who were King and Queen of Greece from 1964 until the abolition ...

and Carlos Morales Quintana. She grew up in London and later moved to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she was a student for three years.

Music career

Mafalda describes her music as "dark pop" and cites

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

, Cat Power,

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

, Belle & Sebastian, and

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

as musical influences. She started writing music when she was fourteen years old. She released her first single, ''Don't Let Go'', in 2015 while she was a student at Berklee. She released an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

titled ''Daisy Chain'' in June 2019, which was produced by Ian Barter and Doug Schadt. In 2016, she performed for a Valentino fashion show at Island Club on the

Athens Riviera Athens Riviera is the coastal area in the southern suburbs of Athens, Greece from Piraeus to Sounio. It is located about from downtown Athens stretching from the southern suburbs of Athens to the southernmost point of Attica, Cape Sounio. Hist ...

in Greece. Mafalda has performed in

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

and went on a music tour in Italy in 2019.

Personal life

Mafalda moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 2017 and lives in Lower Manhattan. In 2016 she was featured in a society list of ''New Modern Swans'' by '' Town & Country''. On May 28, 2022, she married Marc Abousleiman in Palma, Mallorca.

References

{{Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Living people 1994 births Berklee College of Music alumni Bulgarian princesses English people of Bulgarian descent English people of Spanish descent English women pop singers English women singer-songwriters German duchesses House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Singers from London 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers