Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria
Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria also known as Marie Louise Borisova Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is the daughter of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Ioanna and the older sister of Simeon II of Bulgaria. Her baptism in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church caused controversy at the time because her mother had promised to raise her children as Catholics.
After the change in house laws into absolute primogeniture by her brother Simeon II, Princess Marie Louise became the head of the house of House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.
Biography
Her godfather was Aleksandar Malinov.She was enrolled at the Medical Nurse College of the Spanish Red Cross Society, which she graduated with honours.
After the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, Princess Marie Louise left the country with her mother and brother. They first lived in Egypt and then moved to Spain. With her brother, she took part in the ship tour organized by King Paul of Greece and Queen Frederica in 1954, which became known as the "Cruise of the Kings" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.
Marriage and issue
She married Prince Karl of Leiningen in a civil ceremony on 14 February 1957 in Amorbach and in a religious ceremony on 20 February 1957 in Cannes. Karl and Marie Louise divorced on 4 December 1968. The couple had two sons:- Prince Boris of Leiningen married Millena Manov on 14 February 1987 and they were divorced in 1996. They have one son. Boris remarried Cheryl Riegler on 11 September 1998. They had two children.
- Prince Hermann Friedrich of Leiningen married Deborah Cully on 16 May 1987, They have three daughters.
- Princess Alexandra-Nadejda of Koháry, her mother's heiress apparent to the headship of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, married Jorge Champalimaud Raposo de Magalhães on 8 September 2001. They have three children. She holds a degree in English literature from Bishop's University and in graphic design from Pratt Institute of New York, and is a member of the board of trustees of the King Boris and Queen Giovanna Fund who manages Vrana Palace in Sofia. Alexandra is very active in the study and promotion of the historical relations between Portugal and the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 2005 she organized the signing of a cultural cooperation protocol between the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family Foundation and the Parques de Sintra, that manages Pena National Palace, built by her great-great-grand uncle Ferdinand II of Portugal. She also donated a portrait of the said king to the national museum of Saint Anton in Slovakia in a ceremony at the Palácio das Necessidades, seat of the Portuguese Foreign Affairs Ministry.
- Prince Pawel Alastair Antoni of Koháry, married Ariana Oliver Mas in 2014. They have two children.
Princess of Koháry
The title "Princess of Koháry" was ceded to Princess Marie Louise and the descendants of her second marriage, by her brother King Simeon II, in September 2015.Professional life
Princess Marie Louise is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American University in Bulgaria.On 13 May 2012, at the 18th commencement ceremony, Princess Marie Louise received an honorary doctoral degree in Humane Letters from the American University in Bulgaria.
In 2001, she visited and toured the church of St John of Rila the Wonderworker in Chicago's Portage Park community area.
Honours
Dynastic
Foreign
- : Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Saint John