Prince Kiril of Bulgaria, Prince of Preslav (, ; 17 November 1895 – 1 February 1945) was the second son of

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria; 26 February 1861 – 10 September 1948) was Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria entered the First Worl ...

and his first wife

Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma (Marie Louise Pia Theresa Anna Ferdinanda Francisca Antoinette Margaret Josepha Carolina Blanche Lucia Apollonia; 17 January 1870 – 31 January 1899) was the eldest daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma, Ro ...

. He was a younger brother of

Boris III of Bulgaria Boris III (; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier), was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in 1943. The eldest son ...

and a

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

of the

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...

from 1943 to 1944. He was sentenced to death by the People's Court and executed on the night of 1 February 1945.

Biography

Royal Monogram of Prince Kiril of Bulgaria

He was born on 17 January 1895 in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

as the second son of

and his first wife,

. Kiril was a candidate for the restored Polish crown in 1917. In September 1936, Prince Kiril accompanied

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

on a whistle-stop tour of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Present at the death of his brother, Tsar Boris, on 28 August 1943, Prince Kiril was appointed head of a

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

council by the Bulgarian

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, to act as

Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

until the late Tsar's son,

Simeon II of Bulgaria Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a referendum, forcing Simeon ...

, became 18. Prince Kiril, with the widowed Tsaritsa,

Giovanna of Savoy Giovanna of Savoy (, ''Joanna Savoiska'', ; 13 November 1907 – 26 February 2000) was an Italian princess of the House of Savoy who later became the List of Bulgarian royal consorts, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria by marriage to Boris III of Bulgaria. E ...

, daughter of the Italian king, led the state funeral for his brother Tsar Boris III on 5 September 1943 at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, thereafter proceeding across the city to the main railway station where the funeral train waited to take the body to the 12th-century

Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski" (), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in th ...

in the mountains. Thereafter, three consecutive governments made efforts to extricate themselves from Bulgaria's agreements with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, notably that which permitted their use of the railway to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and the German troops stationed along it for protection. A Bulgarian delegation travelled to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in an attempt to negotiate with the United States and the United Kingdom but failed, as the latter refused to meet the delegation without the participation of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Despite Sofia's continuous diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, on 5 September 1944, that country declared war on Bulgaria, and on 8 September Soviet armies crossed the Romanian border and the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The Fatherland Front, a coalition of the Communist Party, the left wing of the Agrarian Union, the

Zveno Zveno (), ''Politicheski krag "Zveno"'', officially Political Circle "Zveno" was a Bulgarian political organization, founded in 1930 by Bulgarian politicians, intellectuals and Bulgarian Army officers. It was associated with a newspaper of that ...

group, and a few pro-Soviet politicians who had returned from exile in the Soviet Union, executed a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-backed military coup on 9 September and seized power. In late January 1945 Prince Kiril was sentenced to death by the People's Court. On the night of February 1, 1945 he was executed at Sofia Central Cemetery along with former Prime Minister and Regent Professor Bogdan Filov, Regent General

Nikola Mihov Nikola Mihaylov Mihov (, 11 December 1891 – 1 February 1945) was a Bulgarian lieutenant general of artillery who served as one of the three Regents of Bulgaria for the underage Simeon II (1943–44). Biography left, Meeting between Nikola ...

, and a range of former cabinet ministers, royal advisors and 67 MPs. On August 26, 1996, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

overturned the sentences of February 1, 1945, which had sentenced the three regents, ministers, and councilors to death.

Honours and arms

;DecorationsJustus Perthes, ''Almanach de Gotha'' (1922
p. 33
/ref> * : Knight of the Royal

Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius The Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius is an award conferred by the Republic of Bulgaria. History It has had three incarnations : * first on 18 May 1909 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria (named Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-apostles), ...

* : Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

* : Knight of the

Order of Saint Hubert The Royal Order of Saint Hubert (), or sometimes () is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of ...

* : Knight of the

Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Catholic order of chivalry, originating in County of Savoy, Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy#The Kingdom of Italy, honours system in the ...

, ''1930'' * : Grand Cross of the Royal

Order of the Star of Karađorđe Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

;Arms

Ancestors

References

Literature

* ''Bulgaria in the Second World War'' by Marshall Lee Miller, Stanford University Press, 1975. * ''Boris III of Bulgaria 1894–1943'', by Pashanko Dimitroff, London, 1986, * ''Crown of Thorns'' by Stephane Groueff, Lanham MD., and London, 1987, * ''The Betrayal of Bulgaria'' by Gregory Lauder-Frost, Monarchist League Policy Paper, London, 1989. * ''The Daily Telegraph'', Obituary for "HM Queen Ioanna of the Bulgarians", London, 28 February 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirill Of Bulgaria, Prince 1895 births 1945 deaths House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) Princes of Preslav World War II political leaders Executed Bulgarian people Executed royalty Nobility from Sofia Regents of Bulgaria People executed by Bulgaria by firing squad People's Court (Bulgaria) Burials at the Rila Monastery Sons of kings Heirs presumptive Sons of princes regnant