Three royal trains are delayed by about an hour, heavy rain pours over Assisi, and the bride drops her wedding bouquet in the street ditch. On October 25, 1930, in this Italian city, Tsar Boris III marries Princess Giovanna of Savoy – daughter of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena.
The Catholic ceremony was performed in the Basilica of “St. Francis“. Boris III was 36 years old, and Giovanna – 22. In Assisi, the two also entered into a civil marriage, and the princess signed the documents with the name Joanna – the name with which he remains in Bulgarian history.
The wedding was the result of lengthy negotiations. Boris is Orthodox, while Giovanna is Catholic, and the differences between the two churches created canonical and political obstacles to the marriage. In the end, an agreement was reached to have a Catholic ceremony in Italy and a subsequent Orthodox service in Bulgaria.
Wedding in the rain and hail
The chronicle of the American magazine “Time“ describes the unusual day as one of the most unpredictable royal celebrations. Boris arrived in Victor Emmanuel III's car, but the pouring rain soaked him to the skin. During the ceremony, tears streamed down the bride's face, and after the wedding procession left, the rain turned to hail.
“Yes, there was hail, but that's not a bad sign“, the spokesman for the ceremony told reporters. According to him, the residents of Assisi took the ice grains as a sign that Saint Francis was pleased.Among the guests were the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, Queen Helena, the former Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand, the Crown Prince Umberto, and representatives of European royal families. The celebration turned the small town into the center of international attention.
Second ceremony in Sofia
A few days later, the newlyweds arrived in Bulgaria. On October 31, 1930, in the cathedral “St. Alexander Nevsky“ An Orthodox ceremony was performed in Sofia. It was supposed to confirm the marriage in the eyes of the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition, but it created tension with the Roman Catholic Church, since Giovanna had already entered into a Catholic marriage in Assisi.
After the wedding, Giovanna became Queen Joanna of Bulgaria. The royal couple's marriage lasted until the death of Boris III in 1943. They had Princess Maria Luisa in 1933 and Crown Prince Simeon in 1937.
Sources: bta.bg, time.com