Boris III

King of Bulgaria. His full name was Boris Clemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver. His parents were Ferdinand I, King of the Bulgarians, and Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma. He became King on October 3rd, 1918 upon his father's abdication. Boris came to power at a time of political, economic and spiritual crisis. Bulgaria's deplorable state largely affected young ruler's initial agenda, as well as his style of government. Immediately after the war he had to defend the monarchy against two firmly republican political parties: Agrarian Union and the Communist Party. A reticent leader, he acted by means of political machinations and diplomacy, and never developing the ostentation that had been so typical of his father. The downfall of the Agrarian Union's government as a result of the June coup and the defeat of the communists in the uprising in September 1923, strengthened Boris's power. He would often shake hands with people from the crowd, travel unguarded, take his hat off to elderly people or drive a locomotive. He was often accused of political intractability, lack of impassiveness, too great a readiness to take clairvoyants seriously and excessive slyness. But even his most violent opponents could not deny his intelligence, political skill and ruler's intuition, all of which helped him overcome the vicissitudes of his time. Boris was surely a talented ruler who, unlike his father, won the sympathy of both rich and poor. His diplomatic talent was also displayed during the negotiations between the Great Powers on the eve of World War. However, on the eve of World War II Boris and the Bulgarian politicians made an ill-advised decision military and political alliance with Nazi Germany in the spring of 1941. He died a mysterious death in 1943. The urns containing King's heart and entrails are kept in the monastery. The whereabouts of King's corpse are unknown, as the communists despoiled the royal tomb in 1954 and King's remains were dumped into a river.