Tsar Boris III

Tsar Boris III was born on 18 (30) January 1894. He was the son of Tsar Ferdinand I and Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon. At birth he received the name Boris of Tarnovo. Initially, Prince Boris was baptised into the Catholic faith. For a long time the Bulgarian people were dissatisfied with the heir's religion, until 2 (15) February 1896, when Prince Boris was baptised according to the rites of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Prince Boris completed his education at the First Sofia Boys' Secondary School. Subsequently, in 1911, he also completed a classical secondary education, studying history, Latin and Ancient Greek.

Following the abdication of his father, Tsar Ferdinand I, Prince Boris ascended the throne at the end of the First World War. By a manifesto dated 3 October 1918, he was proclaimed tsar of Bulgaria. His reign was marked by the coup of 9 June 1923, which he condemned. The Second World War broke out in 1939. Initially, Tsar Boris III kept Bulgaria neutral. But in March–April 1941, Germany attacked the former Yugoslavia and Greece from Bulgarian territory, effectively placing Bulgaria in the role of Germany's ally. Although formally supporting Germany in the war, Bulgaria did not abandon its contacts with the Soviet Union. Tsar Boris III also managed to prevent the deportation of Jews from Bulgarian territories following the so-called Final Solution to the Jewish Question in 1943 by placing them in labour groups for road construction.

On 28 August 1943, Tsar Boris III died after a short illness. His son, Tsar Simeon II, succeeded to the throne.