Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Princess Nadejda weds Duke Albrecht


 
HRH Princess Nadezhda Klementine Maria Pia Majella of Bulgaria was married today to HRH Duke Albrecht Eugen Maria Philipp Carl Joseph Fortunatus of Württemberg in a Roman Catholic service at Bad Mergentheim, Germany, shortly after the civil ceremony  The princess will celebrate her 26th birthday on January 30.  The groom turned 29 on January 8.

Nadezhda was the fourth and the youngest child of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and Princess Marie Louise Bourbon-Parma, who died shortly after giving birth to her daughter.  Duke Albrecht was the HRH Duke Albrecht of Württemberg and Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria, the younger sister of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The couple was secretly engaged in the fall of 1923, as Nadezhada's older brother, King Boris III, then in the middle of a political crisis, did not want the news of the engagement made public.  Boris informed his father that "it would be a good idea to have his sisters married."

"In principle, I am not enthusiastic about marriages, as you know, and I will not change my convictions about it," he wrote to his father.  He recommended an early marriage for his sister "while the firm still has some appearances of luster left."

The king planned to announce the marriage as a fait accompli after it had taken place.  He did not travel to the wedding. Still, Nadezhada's father, King Ferdinand, who lived in exile in Coburg, and her brother, Prince Kyril, were among the guests, including members of the Austria and Württemberg families.  

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