Margarita Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
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Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela (born on 6 January 1935 in Madrid, Spain), is the consort of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, whom she married after his exile. As such, she is also sometimes styled Tsaritsa Margarita; in this context, she may be styled as Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duchess in Saxony, due to her husband's descent from those former ruling families. During her husband's tenure as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, she was sometimes referred as Mrs. Margarita Sakskoburggotska. Since Simeon had been exiled as a child and Bulgaria never returned to being a monarchy, Simeon's wife and children never received any royal titles from Bulgaria.
Family background
She is the daughter of Don Manuel Gómez-Acebo y Modet, of the Marquesses de Cortina, and his wife Doña María de las Mercedes Cejuela y Fernández, and paternal granddaughter of the 3rd Marqués of Cortina. Her parents and her maternal grandmother were murdered by the Spanish Republicans in 1936 at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. For that cause she and her only brother José Luis received the Medal of Suffering for the Motherland.
Margarita is a first cousin of the late Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, Viscount of La Torre (son of the 9th Marchioness and brother of the 10th Marquess of Deleitosa), the husband of Doña Pilar, Infanta of Spain and 1st Duchess of Badajoz. She is styled by courtesy as Her Majesty Margarita, Queen of the Bulgarians.
Residence
The former Tsar and Tsaritsa currently reside in what was Simeon's boyhood home, Vrana Palace, near Sofia. It was returned to them by the Bulgarian Constitutional Court. The property is operated under an agreement with the Municipality of Sofia[citation needed], which allows the use of part of the estate as a public park[citation needed]; in return, the remainder and residence have reverted to the ownership of the family. The legality of this transaction is disputed by Bulgarian politicians.
Marriage and family
On 21 January 1962, Doña Margarita married Simeon II of Bulgaria, the King of Bulgaria. Simeon and Margarita have five children:
- Kardam, Prince of Turnovo (1962–2015); married Doña Miriam de Ungría y López, styled HRH Princess Miriam of Bulgaria. They have two sons: Princes Boris and Beltran.
- Kyril, Prince of Preslav (born 1964); married Doña María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster-Puigdórfila, styled HRH Princess Rosario of Bulgaria. They have two daughters, Princesses Mafalda and Olimpia, and one son, Prince Tassilo.
- Kubrat, Prince of Panagiurishte (born 1965). Married Doña Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu, styled HRH Princess Carla of Bulgaria, and have three sons, Princes Mirko, Lukás, and Tirso.
- Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin (born 1967). Married Doña María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar, styled HRH Princess Maria of Bulgaria, and have twins, Prince Umberto and Princess Sofia.
- Princess Kalina of Bulgaria (born 1972). Married Don Antonio José "Kitín" Muñoz y Valcárcel, and has a son, Prince Simeon Hassan.
Honours
National honours
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit[1]- Spain: Recipient of the Suffering for the Motherland Medal[2][3]
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St Alexander[2][4]- House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Civil Merit[2]
Foreign honours
Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Beneficence[5]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand Cross Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class[6][7][8]
References
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ a b c www.kingsimeon.bg/en/, Margarita wearing her decorations
- ^ http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Prince+Edward+Queen+Margarita+Wedding+Crown+RXsQfc9GVgRl.jpg
- ^ http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/122253076-king-simeon-and-queen-margarita-of-bulgaria-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=oToYvXs3XPbg5%2BsLNpXWIcBZ75zhA8N17IvOBLfsPU876WtIEcPHjaDR0fVVBrKBiTUZTjqPzdLdbdCz8trvSA%3D%3D
- ^ Wedding of Constantine of Greece and Anne-Marie of Denmark
- ^ http://www.kingsimeon.bg/en/2011/06/tsarskoto-semejstvo-be-gost-na-priema-v/
- ^ http://www.kingsimeon.bg/en/2013/02/tehni-velichestva-prisastvaha-v-rim-na/
- ^ Margarita Gómez-Acebo and her son Kubrat, members of the Order of Malta – Spanish News website Que.es (in Spanish)
External links
- Margarita
- Archived 2006-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Bulgarian consorts
- Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Spain
- Former Roman Catholics
- House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria)
- Spanish nobility
- Queens consort
- 1935 births
- People from Madrid
- Living people
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Beneficence (Greece)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Alexander (Bulgaria)