Michailow, Nicola: Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria (1861–1948; Prince of Bulgaria from 1887, Tsar 1908–1918).

With Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, the “policy of expansion” of the House of Saxe-Coburg reached its peak. As descendant from the Catholic Austrian branch of the family, he was grandson of Maria Antonia Gabriele Koháry and Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the founders of the Coburg-Koháry line. His parents were their second son August Ludwig and Clementine d’Orléans, the daughter of the last French king, Louis Philippe. After military service, Ferdinand was appointed Prince of Bulgaria in 1887 and, in 1908, he even reached for the tsar’s crown. He achieved greater political independence for his country, especially from Turkey, and led it to economic and cultural prosperity. When he resigned with the end of monarchy in 1918, he went into exile in Coburg. Tsar Ferdinand’s extravagant hobbies – he loved to drive a locomotive – and his passion for collecting natural sciences are legendary. He was mainly interested in botany, in insects and in birds. The Coburg Museum of Natural History owes part of its holdings to Tsar Ferdinand.

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