Prince Henry to rule Bulgaria

November 10, 1885

The Chicago Daily Tribune is reporting on an unanimous decision by the Ambassadors of the Powers at Constantinople. They are recommending "the complete autonomy of Bulgaria and Roumelia." This resolution of the union of the two states is considered to be a "fait accompli." The Powers have agreed to Russia's demand that Prince Alexander of Battenberg be removed as the Bulgarian sovereign. The British opposition to his removal was "overcome" by the offer of the vacant throne to Alexander's younger brother, Prince Henry, who is married to Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, Beatrice. Germany has objected to Prince Henry, but might consent to the election of Henry's eldest brother, Prince Louis, who currently serves in the Royal Navy.
Prince Louis' wife, Victoria, is one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters.

Prince Alexander is seeking counsel "on how to arrange matters" with the Bulgarian government "in the event of the conference of the Conference proving abortive or requiring the adoption of fresh measures."

George II accepts Greek throne

November 10, 1935

George II of the Hellenes has spent the last twelve years in exile, and today, "the eldest son of the unhappy King Constantine of the war" agreed to return to the throne that he had held for only fifteen uneasy months in 1922-23," according to the New York Times.
The invitation to become king again was made by three delegates from Athens. George, who wore "sombre morning dress," listened "with mounting emotion" when he was told that 90 percent of the Greek people "had voted for his return to the throne."
An official who was present for the ceremony said that the King's face "was deathly white and his eyes clouded over with tears as he replied:"
""Gentlemen, it is with the deepest emotion that I receive you -- representatives of the National Assembly, the government and the armed forces of the country -- bringing to me the joyful message that the unanimous will of the Hellenic people I am invited to assume once more the exercise of my royal duties.
"In obedience to the imperative call of my country, I come home among you. In so far as it concerns me I will in the full consciousness of my obligations loyally carry out my duty in drawing the curtain over the recent past and looking forward only to the future. But through you I appeal to all conscious of their own responsibilities to extend to me their unqualified support so we have together go forward in cooperation and concord.
"A soldier myself and the son of a soldier, I gladly accept the greetings of the armed forces of the nation as well as the assurance of their devotion to duty as the first auspicious beginning of this support which I particularly ask of all, so that with the help of God, we may see our Greece prosper."
Afterward, King George II, his brother, Crown Prince Paul, his sister, Princess Katherine, and his cousins, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia and Prince Peter, went to the Greek Orthodox church to "give thanks."
In the afternoon, the King went to Buckingham Palace, where he had lunch with King George V and Queen Mary. He expressed his gratitude to the British sovereigns, "who befriended him in his darkest days and are believed to have done more than any one else to make his restoration possible."
If it had not been for the personal support of King George V, "it would hardly have been possible for this restoration to have been financed by a London banker -- as is commonly believed." The British government also apparently pulled numerous strings "in the Near East" to return George II to the throne.
The close ties between the British and the Greek royal houses will continue and may be "convenient for Britain some day in the event of naval trouble in the eastern Mediterranean."
George II is said to be "a quiet person who would like nothing more than to be a constitutional monarch like his well-loved namesake in Buckingham Palace." His dream depends solely on whether Greece's turbulent past will pass, and allow the bloodshed and tragedy to end.

Ena at Buckingham Palace

November 10, 1929

Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain and her two daughters, Infanta Beatriz and Infanta Maria Cristina, "had luncheon today" with King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace, reports the New York Times. Earlier today, Ena and her daughters attended St. James's Church with the Spanish ambassador and other members of their suite.

Princess Viktoria's condition

November 10, 1929

The condition of the former Princess Viktoria of Prussia "was very grave tonight." The pneumonia is now showing signs of spreading to the right lung. Viktoria's sister, Margarete, the Landgravine of Hesse, is at her bedside.
Viktoria is also the sister of the former Kaiser Wilhelm II, who is in exile in the Netherlands.

Little Belgian princess is baptised

November 10, 1927

The infant daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant was baptised today. The Duke of Brabant is the heir to the Belgian throne.
The New York Times reports that Princess Josephine Charlotte's baptismal ceremony took place this morning in the Royal Palace in Brussels in the presence of King Albert and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Prince and Princess Carl of Sweden, "and others of royal and princely blood."
The Archbishop of Malines, Cardinal de Roey, officiated at the ceremony with several other Roman Catholic priests.
The Princess' godparents are the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the Count of Flanders.

KIng Gustav arrives in Copenhagen

November 10, 1917

King Gustav V of Sweden is "making a private visit" to Denmark, where he met with King Christian X. Gustav's visit, according to the New York Times, "confirmed their continued concord and cooperation, and that happy results would be obtained for the two nations."
King Gustav's visit has spurred rumors of an engagement between his niece, Princess Martha, and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Princess Martha is the daughter of Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg, who is a princess of Denmark by birth.

Grand Duke Boris dead in Paris

November 9, 1943


Paris radio is reporting that Grand Duke Boris of Russia, a cousin of the late Czar Nicholas II, died "last night" in Paris. He would have been 66 years old on Friday.
The AP's obituary notes that the Grand Duke "was a gay and colorful figure in the capitals of Europe before and after the Russian revolution."
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovitch was born at St. Petersburg on November 12, 1877, the son of Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna. He served in the army in the Russo-Japanese war and in the first World War and "was decorated for gallantry." In 1917, Boris and members of his entourage "were arrested for a purported plot to place Grand Duke Nicholas on the throne."
During the Russian revolution, Boris escaped to Italy, and was active "in efforts to establish his elder brother," Kirill as Czar.
In the "turbulent post-war period considerable mystery" surrounded Boris' finances. In 1923, he acquired a chateau, and friends said he had "recouped his fortune." But two years later, when Boris came to the United States, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, then a member of Congress, "sought an inquiry into the source of his funds for the visit."
LaGuardia inquired if Boris was an "assisted alien visitor." The Grand Duke's friends called the "inquiry outrageous."
Although Grand Duke Boris's name "was linked to many eligible princesses," he chose to marry Zinaide Sergeivna Rachevsky in Genoa in 1919. The marriage was morganatic, and Zinaide was not styled as Grand Duchess. The couple had no children. Zinaide's brother, Vladimir, lives in the United States, and in 1930, was named head of the New York's Ambassador Hotel.
In 1929, during Boris' final visit to the United States, he filed suit in the New York Supreme Court against the National City Bank to "to recover a deposit of 100,000 rubles made in its Petrograd branch in January 1917." Boris lost the case because the bank was never able to recover its assets after "their seizure by the Soviet government."