Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria (; born 13 January 1933) also known as Marie Louise Borisova Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is the daughter of Tsar

Boris III Boris III (; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier), was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in 1943. The eldest son ...

and Tsaritsa Ioanna and the older sister of

Simeon II of Bulgaria Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a referendum, forcing Simeon ...

Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh Hugh John Massingberd (30 December 1946 – 25 December 2007), originally Hugh John Montgomery and known from 1963 to 1992 as Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, was an English journalist and genealogist. He began his career at ''Burke's Peerage''/''Bur ...

(editor). Burke's Guide to the Royal Family, Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 245–246, 296. Her baptism in the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

caused controversy at the time because her mother had promised to raise her children as

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. After the change in house laws into

absolute primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

by her brother Simeon II, Princess Marie Louise became the head of the house of

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry is the Roman Catholic, Catholic cadet branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, founded after the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág, Princes ...

.НИЕ СИМЕОН II-
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Biography

Her godfather was

Aleksandar Malinov Aleksandar Pavlov Malinov (; 3 May 1867 – 20 March 1938) was a leading Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister on three occasions. He was born in Pandakli, Bessarabia (present-day Orikhivka, Ukraine) in a family of Bessarabian ...

. 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 Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and then moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. With her brother, she took part in the ship tour organized by King

Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...

and Queen Frederica in 1954, which became known as the "

Cruise of the Kings The Cruise of the Kings () was a royal cruise around the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 1954, organised by Queen Frederica of Greece, Queen Frederica and Paul of Greece, King Paul of Greece. The cruise aimed to promote tourism in Greece an ...

" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.

Marriage and issue

She married

Prince Karl of Leiningen Prince Karl of Leiningen (Karl Vladimir Ernst Heinrich; 2 January 1928 – 28 September 1990) was the second son of Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen (1898–1946) and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descenda ...

(2 January 1928– 28 September 1990) in a civil ceremony on 14 February 1957 in

Amorbach Amorbach () is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Mud, in the northeastern part of the Odenwald. ...

and in a religious ceremony on 20 February 1957 in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. Karl and Marie Louise divorced on 4 December 1968. The couple had two sons: * Prince Boris of Leiningen (17 April 1960) married firstly Milena Manov on 14 February 1987; divorced 9 July 1994, with issue. He wed secondly Cheryl Ann Riegler on 11 September 1998; they had two children. *

Prince Hermann Friedrich of Leiningen Prince Hermann Friedrich Fernando Roland of Leiningen (; born April 16, 1963) is a Canadian banker and the younger son of Prince Karl of Leiningen and Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria. Life Leiningen was born in Toronto, Ontario. Through his ...

(16 April 1963) married Deborah Cully on 16 May 1987, They have three daughters. On 16 November 1969, she married Bronisław Tomasz Andrzej Chrobok (born 27 August 1934 in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. Subsequently they lived in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States and have a daughter and a son: *Princess Alexandra-Nadejda of Koháry (born 14 September 1970), married Jorge Champalimaud Raposo de Magalhães (born 16 September 1970, scion of two Portuguese industrial families, grandnephew of

António Champalimaud António de Sommer Champalimaud (19 March 1918 in Lapa (Lisbon), Lapa, Lisbon – 8 May 2004 in Lapa, Lisbon) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese banker and industrialist. He was the wealthiest man in Portugal, gaining his fortune through insuran ...

) on 8 September 2001. They have three children. *Prince Pawel Alastair Antoni of Koháry (born 3 May 1972), married Ariana Oliver Mas in 2014. They have two children.

Princess of Koháry

The title "Princess of Koháry" was nominally 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 The American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) is a private university in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Established in 1991, AUBG had about 1,000 students from over 40 countries on 5 continents as of Fall 2022. Close to 40% of the students are internationa ...

. On 13 May 2012, at the 18th commencement ceremony, Princess Marie Louise received an honorary doctoral degree in Humane Letters from the

. In 2001, she visited and toured the church of St John of Rila the Wonderworker in Chicago's Portage Park community area.

Titles, styles, honours and awards

Titles

*13 January 1933 – 14 February 1957: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Maria Louisa of Bulgaria, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry *14 February 1957 – 4 December 1968: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Maria Louisa of Bulgaria, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, Princess of Leiningen *4 December 1968 – 11 June 2012: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Maria Louisa of Bulgaria, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry *11 June 2012 – present: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess of Koháry

Honours

Dynastic

: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Alexander

Foreign

* : Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta (7 March 2023)

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Louise Of Bulgaria, Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria, Princess Living people Bulgarian princesses House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) Nobility from Sofia Leiningen family Princesses of Leiningen Daughters of kings