Bulgaria - Personal background

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born in Sofia, the capital, on 16 June 1937, heir to the throne as Prince of Tirnovo. He spent his early childhood with his parents, King Boris and Queen Joanna, and older sister in the palace of Vrana near Sofia. The death of his father in 1943 made him King Simeon II. Since he was a minor at the time of his father's death, a three-member Council of Regency ruled the country. In September 1944, a Communist coup changed everything. Many former leaders and intellectuals were executed, although Simeon II was permitted to remain on the throne. Conditions deteriorated, however, and in September 1946, a referendum toppled the existing government, abolished the monarchy, and replaced it with a people's republic. The royal family left Bulgaria, but without abdicating. The exiled family settled at first in Alexandria, Egypt, but subsequently moved to Madrid, Spain, having been granted asylum there in 1951.

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha began his education at the British school, Victoria College, while a child in Alexandria. In Spain, he attended the Lycee Francais, graduating in 1957. For a short time, he studied law and political science at home, then in 1958 he enrolled in Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1959 as a second lieutenant.

Throughout his years in exile, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha developed business interests; for 13 years he was chairman of the Spanish subsidiary of a French defense and electronics group. He remained active in matters pertaining to Bulgaria and Bulgarian refugees, traveled frequently, and formed many international relationships with business leaders, connections that would help reestablish him in Bulgaria.

In 1962, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha married Spanish aristocrat Dona Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela. The couple has five children—four sons and a daughter. An accomplished linguist, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, with some facility in Arabic and Portuguese. Among his hobbies are cross-country skiing, walking, reading history, and listening to religious Slavonic music.