Who would be the Tsar of Bulgaria today?

Bulgaria abolished their monarchy in 1946, but had the country retained the monarch as head of state, who would be the Tsar of Bulgaria today?

The Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria in 1944, and it deposed the regents at the time. By 1946, a Soviet backed referendum was held, and the people voted to abolish the monarchy. The Bulgarian Royal Family then went into exile in Egypt. They later claimed asylum in Spain.

Once communism fell in Bulgaria, the former monarch, Simeon, returned to his home country to create a new political party. By 2001, the last Tsar of Bulgaria was sworn in as Prime Minister.

Had the monarchy remained in 1946, Tsar Simeon would be marking 82 years on the Bulgarian throne in 2025.

Tsar Simeon was born on 16 June 1937 to Tsar Boris III and Tsarista Giovanna in Sofia, Bulgaria. Young Simeon ascended to the throne in 1943 after his father’s death. As he was only six years old, three regents were appointed (his uncle, Prince Kiril, Prime Minister Bogdan Filov, and Army Lt. General Nikola Mihov).

The Tsar, as Prime Minister, meeting US President George W. Bush in 2003 at the White House. White House photo by Eric Draper

Bulgaria was part of the Axis in World War II, and Tsar Boris had just returned from a meeting with Hitler when he died. By 1944, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and the country would be under Soviet communist influence for decades.

After growing up abroad in exile, Simeon was finally able to return to Bulgaria after the fall of communism. The former monarch went by the name Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and eventually ran for Prime Minister. He served in office from 2001-2005.

Since 2015, Simeon has been known as Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria in the dioceses of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and is referred to as such in private and public services. For his part, the former monarch has not revealed his views on the restoration of the monarchy.

Tsar Simeon is married to Spanish aristocrat Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, and they have five children and 11 grandchildren. The heir to the Bulgarian Royal Family is Simeon’s grandson, Prince Boris, 27. Boris’s father died in 2015.

Take a look at who would be the Tsarista of Bulgaria over at our sister site, History of Royal Women!