The sister of King Simeon II chose to celebrate her anniversary in Bulgaria with her children
In 1991, she was the first of the royal family to return to her homeland after the fall of the communist regime. Today, 32 years later, Princess Maria Louisa chose to celebrate her 90th birthday in Bulgaria.
The sister of Tsar Simeon II lives in the USA, but every year (except for the pandemic two) she returns to her homeland. He usually does it in May, when they hand out the diplomas at the American University in Blagoevgrad, of which he is on the board.
This year, Maria Luisa chose to be in Sofia for her holiday – January 13. Together with her, her four children arrived here, as well as some of her grandchildren, and the celebration was in a family circle. Earlier in the day on Friday in the cathedral church “St. Al. Nevsky” was served
thanksgiving prayer on the occasion of the princess’s birthday
4 children, 11 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren – so far are the heirs of Maria Luisa. However, little is known about her private life, the princess does not like publicity.
Throughout her life, she was strongly involved in the Bulgarian cause and helped our compatriots abroad. And after he began to return to his homeland, quietly and without media flashes, he organized charity events for orphanages.
The first-born daughter of Tsar Boris III and Tsarina Joanna wept on January 13, 1933 in Sofia. She was named after her late grandmother and first Bulgarian princess of the Third Kingdom Maria Luisa, princess of Parma and Piacenza.
The little princess was introduced to the Orthodox faith by the then Sofia Metropolitan Stefan, who later became the Exarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Her godfather is the then parliamentary chief Alexander Malinov.
Maria Luisa received her primary education in the palace, being enrolled as a regular student at the “Neofit Rilski” elementary school.
In August 1943, under unknown circumstances, Tsar Boris III died. This is a crushing blow to the whole family and especially to his daughter who adores him.
At the end of 1946, after the referendum, with which the monarchy was abolished and Bulgaria became a people’s republic, the royal family was forced to leave the country.
Queen Joanna and her two children settled in Alexandria, where her parents – the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Helena – lived. Maria Luisa was enrolled in the School of the Sacred Heart, cared for by Irish nuns.
When the family settled in the Spanish capital of Madrid in 1951, Maria Luisa wanted to study at the Art Academy. But in the spirit of the charitable tradition of women in the royal family, she enrolled in the School of the Sisters of Charity, graduating with honors.
In 1957, she married Karl Vladimir, Prince of Zu Leiningen, who was a descendant of Queen Victoria and Tsar Liberator Alexander II. A year later, the two moved to Canada, where their sons, Karl Boris and Herman, were born.
On their father’s side, both are direct heirs to the British crown
In 1968, the marriage between Maria Luisa and Karl was annulled. The following year, the princess married Bronislaw Hrobok, who was the son of a colonel in the Polish army. They have two children – Alexandra Nadezhda and Pavel.
In addition to being a member of the board of the American University in Blagoevgrad, the princess is also an honorary doctor of humanities. In her honor and in her name, an annual academic award with a necklace was established for university graduates who have since successfully realized themselves in life and business.
In 2015, Simeon II transferred the dynastic rights to the princely and ducal titles of Kohari, Chabrag and Zhitnia to his sister. Princess Maria Luisa is a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Royal Order “St. Alexander” and of the Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine Dynastic Order.
