Alexander of Battenberg

Alexander I
Prince of Bulgaria
Reign	29 April 1879 – 7 September 1886
Predecessor	Constantine II (as emperor of Bulgaria before the Ottoman occupation)
Successor	Ferdinand I
Born	5 April 1857 Verona, Lombardy–Venetia
Died	23 October 1893 (aged 36) Graz, Austria-Hungary
Burial	Battenberg Mausoleum
Spouse	Johanna Loisinger
Issue	Count Asen of Hartenau Countess Tsvetana of Hartenau
Full name Alexander Joseph von Battenberg Александър Йозеф фон Батенберг
House	Battenberg
Father	Alexander Ludwig
Mother	Julia von Hauke
Religion	Lutheran

Styles of Alexander I of Bulgaria
Reference style	His Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Alexander Joseph GCB (Bulgarian: Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 1857 – 23 October 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (knyaz) of modern Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886.

Early life

Alexander was the second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine by the latter's morganatic marriage with Countess Julia von Hauke. The Countess and her descendants gained the title of Princess of Battenberg (derived from an old residence of the Grand Dukes of Hesse) and the style Durchlaucht ("Serene Highness") in 1858. Prince Alexander was a nephew of Russia's Tsar Alexander II, who had married a sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse; his mother, a daughter of Count Moritz von Hauke, had been lady-in-waiting to the Tsaritsa. Alexander was known to his family, and many later biographers, as "Sandro" and "Drino".^[1]

Notable relatives

Alexander's brother, Prince Louis of Battenberg, married Princess Victoria of Hesse and the Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their children included Queen Louise of Sweden, Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Princess Alice, the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

Alexander's other brother, Prince Henry of Battenberg, married Queen Victoria's youngest daughter Princess Beatrice. Among their children was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.

Prince of Bulgaria

In his boyhood and early youth Alexander frequently visited Saint Petersburg, and he accompanied his uncle, the Tsar, who was much attached to him, during the Bulgarian campaign of 1877. When, under the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, the Tsar recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a candidate for the newly created throne, and the Grand National Assembly unanimously elected Prince Alexander as Prince of Bulgaria (29 April 1879). At that time he held a commission as a lieutenant in the Prussian life-guards at Potsdam. Before proceeding to Bulgaria, Prince Alexander paid visits to the Tsar at Livadia, to the courts of the great powers and to the sultan; a Russian warship then conveyed him to Varna, and after taking the oath to the new constitution at Turnovo (8 July 1879) he went to Sofia. The people everywhere en route greeted him with immense enthusiasm. (For the political history of Prince Alexander's reign, see History of Bulgaria.)^[2]

The new ruling prince had not had any previous training in governing, and a range of problems confronted him. He found himself caught between the official representatives of Russia, who wanted him to behave as a roi fainéant, and the Bulgarian politicians, who actively pursued their own quarrels with a violence that threatened the stability of Bulgaria.^[2]

In 1881, a marriage began to be talked of between Alexander and Princess Viktoria of Prussia. While this plan was supported by the Crown Princess and her mother, Queen Victoria, and Princess Viktoria had fallen in love with him, it was strongly opposed by Kaiser Wilhelm I, his grandson, later Kaiser Wilhelm II and the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who feared that a marriage would offend the Russians, most notably, Prince Alexander's cousin, Tsar Alexander III, who recently ascended the throne, and who, unlike his father, was far from kindly disposed to the prince.

After attempting to govern under these conditions for nearly two years, the prince, with the consent of the Russian tsar, Alexander assumed absolute power, having suspended the Constitution (9 May 1881). A specially convened assembly voted (13 July 1881) for suspension of the ultra-democratic constitution for a period of seven years. The experiment, however, proved unsuccessful; the monarchical coup infuriated Bulgarian Liberal and Radical politicians, and the real power passed to two Russian generals, Sobolev and Kaulbars, specially despatched from Saint Petersburg. The prince, after vainly endeavouring to obtain the recall of the generals, restored the constitution with the concurrence of all the Bulgarian political parties (19 September 1883). A serious breach with Russia followed, and the part which the prince subsequently played in encouraging the national aspirations of the Bulgarians widened that breach.^[2]

The revolution of Plovdiv (18 September 1885), which brought about the union of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria, took place with Alexander's consent, and he at once assumed the government of the province. In the year which followed, the prince gave evidence of considerable military and diplomatic ability. He rallied the Bulgarian army, now deprived of its Russian officers, to resist the Serbian invasion, and after a victory at Slivnitsa (19 November),^[2] which Alexander had little to do with, having arrived in Slivnitsa after the battle (incidentally initiated by a volunteer of the rank of private) was already over,^[3] pursued King Milan of Serbia into Serbian territory as far as Pirot, which he captured (27 November). Although the intervention of Austria protected Serbia from the consequences of defeat, Prince Alexander's success sealed the union with Eastern Rumelia, and after long negotiations the sultan Abdul Hamid II nominated the Prince of Bulgaria as governor-general of that province for five years (5 April 1886).^[2]

Loss of throne

Royal Monogram of Prince Alexander of Battenberg

This arrangement, however, cost Alexander much of his popularity in Bulgaria, while discontent prevailed among a number of his officers, who considered themselves slighted in the distribution of rewards at the close of the campaign. A military plot formed, and on the night of 20 August 1886 the conspirators seized the prince in the palace at Sofia and compelled him to sign his abdication; they then hurried him to the Danube at Rakhovo, transported him on his yacht to Reni, and handed him over to the Russian authorities, who allowed him to proceed to Lemberg. However, he soon returned to Bulgaria as a result of the success of the counter-revolution led by Stefan Stambolov, which overthrew the provisional government set up by the Russian party at Sofia. His position, however, had become untenable, partly as a result of an ill-considered telegram which he addressed to Tsar Alexander III on his return. The attitude of Bismarck, who, in conjunction with the Russian and Austrian governments, forbade him to punish the leaders of the military conspiracy, also undermined Alexander's position. He therefore issued a manifesto resigning the throne, and left Bulgaria on 8 September 1886.^[2]

After his abdication from the Bulgarian throne, Alexander I claimed the title Prince of Tarnovo and used it until his death.

Last years

Battenberg Mausoleum in Sofia

Alexander then retired into private life. A few years later he married Johanna Loisinger, an actress, and assumed the style of Count von Hartenau (6 February 1889). There were a son and a daughter from this marriage. The last years of his life he spent principally at Graz, where he held a local command in the Austrian army, and where he died on 23 October 1893. His remains, brought to Sofia, received a public funeral there, and were buried in a mausoleum erected to his memory.^[2]

Prince Alexander possessed much charm and amiability of manner; he was tall, dignified and strikingly handsome. Competent authorities have generally recognised his capabilities as a soldier. As a ruler he committed some errors, but his youth and inexperience and the extreme difficulty of his position account for much. He had some aptitude for diplomacy, and his intuitive insight and perception of character sometimes enabled him to outwit the crafty politicians who surrounded him. His principal fault remained a want of tenacity and resolution; his tendency to unguarded language undoubtedly increased the number of his enemies.

Battenberg Hill on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Prince Alexander Battenberg of Bulgaria.^[4]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Alexander of Battenberg

16. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               8. Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine                       17. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken               4. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine                             18. Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt               9. Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt                       19. Princess Maria Luise of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg               2. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine                                   20. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden               10. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden                       21. Landgravine Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt               5. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden                             22. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 16)               11. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt                       23. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken (= 17)               1. Prince Alexander of Battenberg                                         24. Ignatz Marianus Hauck               12. Friedrich Carl Emanuel Hauke                       25. Baroness Maria Franziska Riedesel zu Eisenbach               6. Count John Maurice Hauke                             26. Heinrich Wilhelm Schweppenhäuser               13. Maria Salomé Schweppenhäuser                       27. Charlotte Philippine Juliane Westermann               3. Countess Julia Hauke                                   28. Benno Leopold Ignatius Lafontaine               14. Franz Leopold Lafontaine                       29. Maria Katharina Franziska Leonhardt               7. Sophie Lafontaine                             30. Markus Kornély[5]               15. Maria Theresa Kornély                       31. Unknown[5]

See also

• History of Bulgaria
• Battenberg Mausoleum

Notes

1. Ridley, "The Heir Apparent", (New York, 2013)
2. Bourchier 1911.
3. excerpts from A History of Volunteers in the Serbo-Bulgarian War by colonel Yordan Benedikov page 73: "This commenced the battle initiated by private Shurbanov." page 676: "Knyaz Alexander arrived in Slivnitsa after the battle had ended on all fronts. The prince found out from Paprikov that Benderev had commenced the battle on his own initiative on the right flank. The prince was said to have reacted extremely negatively to this unilateral action stating the Benderev deserved to be shot. But on his way back from Slivnitsa he was said to have overcame his indignation saying in front of his cohorts "victors are never judged." /справка стр 73 от историята на доброволците на сръбско-българската война от полк. Йордан Венедиков: "Така се почна битката по инициативата на ю. Шурбанов." "И така главнокомандуващите и от двете страни решиха на 5-и ноемврий да не предприемат никакво нападение; да се отбраняват докато пристигнат очакваните подкрепления. Обаче сутринта на 5-и северните им флангове бяха така доближени, че една нищо и никаква случайност можеше да предизвика боя. Гъстата мъгла, която покриваше бойното поле, държеше на щрек всички и увеличаваше вероятността да се предизвика боят случайно, особено поради това, че българите очакваха без друго сърбите да атакуват. Командирът на сръбската конна бригада поради погрешно турените в картата имена бе завел бригадата си вместо в Голямо Малово в Мало Малово. Поради това вместо на фланга, той се оказа пред десния български фланг. При това той не бе получил и заповедта за отлагането атаката от 5-и за 6-и ноемврий, и сутринта на 5-и той се опита да обходи десния български фланг.; обаче българите от върха Леща - 3-а дружина от 1-и Софийски полк и 3-и ескадрон от 2-и конен полк - посрещнаха конната бригада с огън. Докато се водеше престрелката, бригадата получи заповедта за отлагане атаката. Тя се оттегли, обаче българската дружина на Леща счете оттеглянето на сърбите за свой успех и настъпи. Трябва да се отбележи, че инициаторът на това първо настъпление против сърбите на Сливница и въобще на Южния театър беше доброволецът юнкер Шурбанов. Той поведе полуротата си без да дочака заповедта на дружинния си командир. Скоро по заповед на командира си, капитан Бахчеванов, настъпи и цялата дружина. Така се почна голямото тридневно сражение на Сливница. Цитат, стр 676 “Княз Александър пристигна в Сливница, когато сражението бе свършено по всички линии. От Паприков Княза научи, че Бендерев почнал по своя инициатива боят на десния фланг. Князът се произнесъл твърде остро за това самоволно действие. За такава постъпка Бендерев заслужава да бъде разстрелян. Но на връщане от Сливница той съвладял своето негодувание и казал пред своята свита “победителите не съдят.”
4. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica: Battenberg Hill.
5. Paget, Gerald (1977), The Lineage & Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Edinburgh and London: Charles Skilton

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bourchier, James David (1911). "Alexander (prince of Bulgaria)". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Bibliography

• Drandar, Le Prince Alexandre de Battenberg en Bulgarie (Paris, 1884)
• Koch, Fürst Alexander von Bulgarien (Darmstadt, 1887)
• Matveyev, Bulgarien nach dem Berliner Congress (Petersburg, 1887)
• Bourchier, "Prince Alexander of Battenberg," in Fortnightly Review, January 1894.
• Yordan Benedikov, "A History of Volunteers in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885", published by the volunteer organization Slivnitsa, 1935 p. 83; new edition publishing house Издателство на Отечествения фронт, 1985 p. 113-14; Йордан Венедиков, История на доброволците от Сръбско-българската война - 1885 г., Издава Доброволческата Организация "Сливница”, 1935 стр. 83; ново издание на Издателство на Отечествения фронт, 1985 г. стр. 113-14).

External links

• Historical photographs of the royal palace in Sofia