Prince of Tarnovo
Prince of Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Княз Търновски, romanized: Knyaz Tarnovski) is the title held by the firstborn son of the Bulgarian monarch and is exclusive to the heir to the throne.[1]
Tarnovo (Veliko Tarnovo) served as the old Bulgarian capital and was the strongest Bulgarian fortification during the Middle Ages, specifically between the 12th and 14th centuries. It was the most important political, economic, cultural and religious centre of the empire. In the 14th century, as the Byzantine Empire weakened, Tarnovo proclaimed itself the Third Rome based on its pre-eminent cultural influence in the Balkans and the Slavic Orthodox world.
In 1393, after a vigorous resistance during a 3-month siege, Turnovo fell to the invading Ottoman Empire, leading to the destruction of the entire Bulgarian Tsardom. The Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman moved his residence to the castle of Nikopol but retained the title Prince of Tarnovo (Lord of Tarnovo, Bulgarian: Господин Търновски, Gospodin Tarnovski).
In 1593, a Bulgarian noble and a descendant of the medieval Shishman dynasty, Theodore Ballina of Nikopol, assumed the title 'Prince of Tarnovo' while leading the First Tarnovo Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. In 1686, Rostislav Stratimirovic, another descendant and the leader of the Second Tarnovo Uprising, also took the title. During the Third Tarnovo Uprising in 1835, Velcho Atanasov assumed the title.
After he abdicated from the Bulgarian throne, Prince Alexander Battenberg claimed the title Prince of Tarnovo and used it until his death.
In 1894, Boris, the first son of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, was given the old title 'Prince of Tarnovo' as the Crown Prince and the heir apparent. The royal family continued to use this title after the abolition of the monarchy in 1946. The wife of a Prince of Tarnovo is titled Princess of Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Княгиня Търновска, Knyagina Tarnovska). As of 2015, the current Prince of Tarnovo is Prince Boris, the son of Prince Kardam.
List
[edit]People who have held the title Prince of Tarnovo:
| Portrait | Name | From | To | Dynasty | Arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Prince Ivan | 1393 | 1395 | Shishman | 
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Prince Theodore | 1593 | 1593 | Shishman |
|
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Prince Rostislav | 1686 | 1686 | Shishman |
|
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Prince Velcho | 1835 | 1835 | Atanasov |  |
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Prince Paraskeva | 1815 | 1821 | Hadzhi Lukov | |
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Prince Alexander | 1886 | 1893 | Hesse | 
|
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Prince Boris | 1894 | 1918 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 
|
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Prince Simeon | 1937 | 1943 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 
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Held in pretense
[edit]Since the monarchy's abolition, these are the people who have held the title Prince of Tarnovo in pretense:
| Portrait | Name | From | To | Dynasty | Arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Kardam | 1962 | 2015 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 
| |
|
Prince Boris | 2015 | — |
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
|
References
[edit]- ^ Black, Floyd H (1958). The American College of Sofia: a chapterin American-Bulgarian relations. Original from the University of California: Trustees of Sofia American Schools, inc. p. 59.