One of the most curious, but rarely discussed aspects of Boris III's reign is his contacts with his father, Tsar Ferdinand I, who abdicated in 1918.
According to witnesses, contemporaries and the written correspondence between the two, their relations after the old Tsar's seclusion in the Coburg estate in Germany were complex, distant and mainly in written form.
The political situation in Bulgaria and the explicit will of the governments in Sofia imposed strict isolation on Ferdinand in order to prevent any possibility of him influencing Bulgarian politics or returning to the country.
The two exchanged letters throughout Ferdinand's years of exile in Coburg, Germany. The letters contain mostly family matters, holiday greetings, and a shared interest in their common hobby - botany, ornithology, and natural sciences.
Ferdinand often tried to give his son unsolicited political advice, which irritated Boris III. The Bulgarian Tsar deliberately avoided discussing state affairs with his father, so as not to compromise his position before Bulgarian society and the Allies.
Direct "face to face" meetings between the two were extremely rare. Boris III traveled frequently to Western Europe (including Germany), but deliberately avoided Coburg. Instead of personal visits, Boris III used trusted persons as intermediaries. His personal aide was initially sent to visit the old Tsar. Later, the diplomat Parvan Draganov (Minister Plenipotentiary in Berlin) regularly visited Ferdinand to convey personal messages from his son and smooth over conflicts between them.
Boris's brother - Prince Kirill, and his sisters Princesses Evdokia and Nadezhda, traveled much more freely and served as a living link between the old Tsar and the acting Bulgarian monarch.
The differences between Boris III and his father Ferdinand I illustrate the clash between two radically different political styles - the megalomania of the old Tsar and the cautious pragmatism of his son.
These conflicts intensified in the 1930s and 1940s on several key issues.
The Marriage of Boris III (1930)
The old Tsar insisted that his son enter into a marriage that would bring serious political dividends to the dynasty and strengthen its position among European Catholic families. Boris chose Princess Giovanna of Savoy (daughter of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III). The wedding turned into a diplomatic nightmare because of the Vatican's demand that the children of the marriage be baptized as Catholics. Ferdinand, who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1896 precisely because he baptized Boris in Orthodoxy, reacted extremely painfully to these negotiations. He reproached Boris for his lack of firmness towards the Pope, while Boris tried to maneuver to maintain the balance between the Vatican and the Bulgarian public.
Foreign policy and Hitler
The exile in Coburg remained faithful to his pro-German course. He had direct access to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi high command. Ferdinand believed that Bulgaria should blindly and unreservedly follow Berlin in order to achieve its national unification. Boris pursued an extremely flexible and cautious policy, known by the phrase: "Always with Germany, never against Russia". He delayed joining the Tripartite Pact as much as possible and categorically refused to send Bulgarian troops to the Eastern Front. Ferdinand was enraged by his son's passivity. Through the intermediary Parvan Draganov, Ferdinand conveyed sharply critical messages that Boris was "missing historical chances" and was endangering the future of the dynasty with his indecision.
The Krajov Agreement (1940)
Before signing the agreement for the return of Southern Dobrudja, Ferdinand sent a direct personal letter to Hitler. In it, he emotionally and aggressively asked the Fuhrer to restore historical justice for Bulgaria. This letter seriously irritated the acting Bulgarian Tsar. Boris III wanted Dobrudja to be returned through official and quiet diplomatic negotiations between Sofia, Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow (the agreement was also recognized by England and the USA). He believed that his father's personal intervention looked like "begging for alms" by the dictator, undermined the sovereignty of the Bulgarian government and made the country too dependent on Hitler's personal will.
Ferdinand's desire to return to Bulgaria
The biggest point of tension is Ferdinand's fixation on visiting Bulgaria before his death. He constantly asks his son to allow him at least a short visit. Boris III remains adamant until the end of his life. He knows that Ferdinand's appearance on Bulgarian soil will cause political upheavals, anger among the leftist forces and the army, who blame Ferdinand for the national catastrophes. Ultimately, Boris III chooses the security of the state over sentiment towards his father, leaving him in isolation.
The role of diplomat Parvan Draganov - the man who calmed the storms between father and son - was “between a rock and a hard place”.
He is not just a diplomat, but also a former officer, personal aide and an extremely close friend of Boris III. When in 1938 he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary (ambassador) in Berlin, his unofficial but most important mission was to be a "buffer" and intermediary between Sofia and Coburg. Draganov regularly traveled to Coburg to visit the old Tsar. Ferdinand used him to vent his disappointment with Boris's policies, and Draganov had the difficult task of sifting through these tirades and conveying to Boris only the essentials, so as not to cause a family scandal.
When Ferdinand sent overly harsh rebukes, Draganov deliberately delayed their transmission or retold them in a softer, diplomatic tone. Conversely - he explained to the old Tsar that Boris was not acting out of disrespect for him, but under pressure from the Bulgarian parliament and public opinion. Boris III trusted Draganov so much that he allowed him to have conversations with Ferdinand on topics that Boris himself would never have raised in a letter, so as not to leave any written traces.
The letters - what do the archives reveal?
The surviving correspondence between the two monarchs shows a huge contrast in the manner of communication.
Ferdinand's style is theatrical and aggressive. He writes long, emotional letters in French or German. In them, he often uses a dramatic tone, playing the role of a victim. Ferdinand regularly complains about the "ungratefulness of the Bulgarians", his poor health, and being "forgotten in Coburg". He writes to Boris in a patronizing tone, addressing him as a student rather than an acting head of state. He often criticizes Boris's ministers, calling them "incompetents" or "provincialists" who do not understand the big European politics.
Boris III's style is reserved, respectful, but firm. Boris replies less frequently, more briefly, and extremely carefully. His letters always begin with a demonstration of filial respect, but their content is strictly controlled. To avoid political disputes, Boris consciously redirects the subject of his letters. He writes in detail about new plant species discovered in Rila, about bird migration, or about new additions to the Royal Zoo in Sofia. This is his diplomatic way of saying: "I love you as a father, I share your passion for science, but Bulgaria's politics is my business".
When Ferdinand presses him for specific political moves (for example, for closer ties with the Nazis), Boris simply ignores these issues in his next letter, justifying himself with "overloaded everyday life" and lack of time.
The irony of fate is that the father outlived his son. When Boris III died suddenly and mysteriously in August 1943, Ferdinand was devastated. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the old tsar burst into tears and said: "Everything collapsed around me". Even at this tragic moment, however, the regency in Sofia (including Boris's brother - Prince Kirill) again refused Ferdinand to come to Bulgaria for his son's funeral, fearing political provocations.
Ferdinand died in Coburg in 1948, never to see the country he had ruled for 31 years again.