Monday, January 26, 2015

Boris' first love, Ileana, to marry another man








January 26, 1930

King Boris III returned to his capital, Sofia, today, "apparently as far away from winning a wife and queen as ever," reports the Chicago Daily Tribune


Accompanied by his brother, Prince Kyril, and his sister, Princess Eudoxia,  the "democratic young king" drove his own car from Bucharest, Romania, where he stopped briefly, after attending the wedding of Crown Prince Umberto of Italy and Princess Marie Jose of Belgium.

There is a sense of tragedy in the king's quest for a "royal bride.  He has been dogged by "ill-luck," ever since assuming the throne following his father's abdication.

Court circles are reporting that King Boris was rebuffed "both in Rome and Bucharest," removing the possibility of marriage to "two of Europe's most eligible princesses.

In Rome,  King Boris is said to have received "final word from the Vatican," that "under no circumstances" that the Church would sanction his marriage to the "pretty Princess Giovanna."   He had heard this before, but he lived in hope that the Vatican would have changed its mind.


Princess Giovanna is the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele and Queen Elena.







King Boris has now "accepted his fate," and has crossed Princess Giovanna off his list.

En route to Bulgaria, he stopped off in Bucharest, the home of his "first love," Princess Ileana.  The 20-year-old princess, the youngest daughter of Queen Marie and the late King Ferdinand,  was a likely candidate.   But as the king arrived in Bucharest, he learned that the Bucharest newspapers announced that Princess Ileana "would not marry a king of any sort, but was engaged to Count Alexander von Hochberg, a member of the Princely House of Pless. 





Queen Marie has postponed her trip to Egypt to "fix up the details" of the wedding.   Count von Hochberg arrived in Bucharest several weeks ago and formally asked Queen Marie's consent to marry Princess Ileana. 

Ileana and Count Alexander met in Paris "some time ago," and it was a "case of love at first sight."

Another bride to cross off the list.  King Boris did not stay long in Bucharest after learning the news. 

The new likely candidate that King Boris might pursue is Queen Marie's 19-year-old niece, Grand Duchess Kira of Russia, the younger daughter of Grand Duke Kirill, and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna.

King Boris would not need to worry about religion, as Kira is Russian Orthodox.




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