Royal 👑 affairs

In order to apply to university, I was preparing for exams in history (and German). But as with many other things in my life, it didn't happen in time. I mean, when I decided to study history for the exams, I probably wasn't really interested in history, or maybe, rebelling against the system again, I wasn't studying well. Preparing for the exams took a long time, I almost lost a summer, changed two private teachers, and ended up with pre-written essays that I simply read a few times before taking the exams.
It looks easy, but it really wasn't. I don't know what the university application and admission process is like now, I think everything was changed during the Covid, but in my time, getting into a university was not that easy. Anyway, I wanted to say that I once studied Bulgarian history, for university exams at that, but like everything about school, which I hated, I don't remember much of it which is quite a shame, of course. I acquired much of my knowledge of geography and history later in life through travel, and that is how I learn best. As well as by accidentally or not quite accidentally coming across articles or documentaries.
Like the one I happened to be watching on TV a few nights ago.

Nowadays, being already grown up and aware, seeing what is happening in our life and the life of our country, our absurd political life, the people who rule us, the fights between them, etc., the whole crisis from which we we can't go out so many decades anymore, the history already makes sense and arouses interest. Now it makes sense even to be studied, researched and analyzed. Something that at that age, 18, I certainly wasn't able to do back then.
I don't know if I'm just getting old lol. I remember my parents always listening to the news on the radio with interest when I was a child, and it was endlessly boring to me. Now the news on the radio is also very interesting to me, as it was to them then.

But let me stop digressing from the topic of the day and start writing to the point. History.
I mentioned this catchphrase to you recently: Eh, why weren't we lucky enough to be enslaved by the Germans, for example.
I also mentioned several times that we were really unlucky with the conquerors - Ottomans and Russians. But this does not seem to be entirely true, as the country has also fallen into other foreign hands. And this experience, these periods and this history are just as tragic, unsuccessful and unhappy as the other periods.

For a long time I have been reading in social networks and online media the comments of people who are very negative towards the Bulgarian royal family.
People claim that these people have nothing really to do with Bulgaria and have no right to make any claims, nor to be here. Last year there was a scandal with the princess who crashed with a high blood alcohol content. This year there was another scandal with her, because of her obviously abnormal appearance. Every year this family causes some scandals.
And only now I understand why this is so and why this is the attitude of most people towards them. These people are not Bulgarians in the first place.

You know, the English have an English king, so do the Spanish. And in 1887, Bulgarian envoys went to Vienna, from where they imported the first monarch, who was from the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family, a German one. 😂 I had completely forgotten about these political games of the past involving western figures. As I said, just as unsuccessful as the previous ones.

Bulgaria's first modern monarch was interested in ornithology and botany. But he has led to terrible losses for the country in terms of territory, human casualties, finances and so on, as a result of a short-sighted military policy. He even abdicated the throne and went into exile, not being allowed to return to the country until the end of his life.

His son and successor seems to be a much more positive figure, but there are still many contradictions in his politics, he probably found it difficult to vary between the great powers because of his German background during the Second World War. And eventually he ends up being poisoned.

And so we come to modern times. His son, the modern "Bulgarian" king/tsar, has been living abroad since 1946 because of the communist changes that took place in the country at that time. He lives mostly in Madrid, where he married a Spanish noblewoman and all his children were born there, including the scandalous princess, all of them graduated from the French Lycée, and then studied in the United States, England, Germany, Spain, etc.

The last Bulgarian monarch returned to Bulgaria and even entered politics at the beginning of the current century, and both his return and his stay are quite controversial. There is information that he was involved in fraudulent transactions, corruption, etc. But if one examines every single participant in any modern Bulgarian government of recent decades, one will not find people who are not involved in dirty deals, fraud and corruption.

The last Bulgarian monarch, who was by no means of Bulgarian origin, but was born in Bulgaria, after his return to the country managed to regain a large part of his properties, confiscated by the state during his expulsion. In my personal opinion, that's exactly why he came back here. I don't see any other reason. These properties are many, huge and expensive.

But the biggest surprise for me is actually the last "royal" event - the return of the remains of his grandfather, that expelled first monarch who practically ruined Bulgaria.
There was an official ceremony at the end of May this year, in the presence of the entire royal family, politicians, journalists, clergy, public figures... To return the mortal remains of the monarch to "native land", as mentioned among other things in the documentary.
Well, this first monarch of Bulgaria, as I told you, was not born in Bulgaria, nor is he Bulgarian. He was born in Vienna and died in Germany. It is ridiculous to mention that he is returning to his native land, even though he has ruled this foreign land for 31 years. He even professes a religion, unconventional for Bulgaria, which is an Orthodox country. He, being German, is Catholic.

But we will never understand the games of the greats. The games that continue to be played by the political world. And the common people, they will just watch some documentaries, watch the news, the reports about these royal events and take it all in, or they will be indifferent because they have forgotten their history or never knew it (myself included here).

I remember when the current monarch returned to the country and entered politics. Many people, the common people, welcomed him, were very happy. My grandmother for example, too. The point is that they lived, they or their parents, during the time of this king's father. And people liked him back then. He really did something, he corrected some of his father's mistakes. Now the people welcomed his unknown son, bearing the memory of his father. But as we know, the differences between a son and a father can be huge. And to me, this man continues to be just a cunning fraud, while people of the older generations continue to trust him wholeheartedly because of the memory of his father.

In short, this situation in the country is one of all the absurd things that line up one after the other. Not only do we not have a functioning government, and the people in the parliament are fighting over the remaining piece of meat, the few things still left to plunder in the state, but we have a parasitic monarchical family of foreign origin, which is probably supported to some extent by the infinitely poor Bulgarian people.
So far with the desire to be conquered by Western European countries 😂

It is not by chance that I chose photos of the Regional Customs Office Burgas for this post. Because it's a building from 1911 built by an Austrian architect in my favorite Black Sea city and it somehow fits the atmosphere I want to convey, no? 😄

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|