A young noble from a dynasty of many new kings, thrust upon a throne as great powers squabbled, driven by ambition and desire to unite his new people ending up sparking off a world war. Well, almost ...
Story in the evening ...
Story in the evening ...
https://twitter.com/Arby_K/status/1325621665288450048
Ferdinand Karl Leopold Maria was born in 1861 to Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Kohary. His father was the younger brother of the Portuguese King Ferdinand II and cousin of King Leopold II of the Belgians and Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. 1/10 
As a younger prince (He had two elder brothers as well), Ferdinand was not expected to rule, but an unexpected opportunity arose in Bulgaria. Bulgaria had gained autonomy from Ottomans in 1879 with Prince Alexander of Battenberg as its ruling prince, with Russian backing. 2/10
But the annexation of Eastern Rumelia, another Ottoman province, led to a coup against Alexander and his eventual abdication in 1887. Ferdinand was elected as replacement with the backing of Austria-Hungary, though much of the initial governing was by PM Stefan Stambolov. 3/10
By 1894 however, Ferdinand would take charge adding closer ties with Russia baptizing his son Boris to the Orthodox faith of Russia. In 1908, he would take a stronger step, by declaring independence from the Ottomans and crowning himself Tsar. 4/10
As the slow breakup of the Ottoman Empire intensified, Ferdinand plotted with the other newly formed Balkan states against their former masters. All wished to re-unite their brethren divided by borders. The Balkan League received subtle support from Russia as well. 5/10
Austria-Hungary was also aiming a pan Slavic alliance, as they had ruled Croatia in union with Hungary for centuries and had recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. They opposed the new league and supported the Ottomans. 6/10
In 1912, the four Balkan nations led by Ferdinand would go to war against the Ottomans and defeat them, cutting off the Ottomans from most of their European possessions. The war would close under the watchful eye of the main powers of Europe. But it was not over yet. 7/10
Unhappy with the returns, Ferdinand would go into another war, but this time against his Balkan allies. This time though Bulgaria would lose. Serbia would come out stronger, while Ferdinand and Bulgaria left wounded. 8/10
As Serbia plotted to obtain Bosnia and Herzegovina from Austria-Hungary, the Great War broke out. Bulgaria allied with Serbia's enemies and would again lose. To save the monarchy, Ferdinand would abdicate before the defeat, with his son Boris becoming Tsar. 9/10
Ferdinand would die in exile in 1948, after seeing the collapse of the Bulgarian monarchy in 1946. His grandson and the last Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon von Saxe-Coburg, would however return to Bulgaria in 1996 becoming its Prime Minister in 2001. 10/10
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