On August 25, 1886, Bulgaria is left without a head of state. Prince Alexander I abdicates the throne.
After the counter-coup organized by Stefan Stambolov and Lieutenant Colonel Sava Mutkurov, a regency was formed and a provisional government was formed.
The removal of the prince causes a split in the Bulgarian army and society. Stefan Stambolov and his supporters return the prince, but he no longer has the support of Russia and the other great powers. Prince Alexander I of Battenberg died on November 17, 1893 in Graz, Austria. He is buried in the center of Sofia in a beautifully crafted small mausoleum.
Prince Alexander I of Battenberg was the first Bulgarian ruler after the liberation from Ottoman rule. He was elected by the Grand National Assembly on April 17, 1879 with a full majority and rejection of the other two candidacies of Waldemar of Denmark and Heinrich Reuss.
Alexander Battenberg was the nephew of the Russian Empress and the godson of the tsar-liberator Alexander II. He was born on April 5, 1857 in Verona, Italy. He was the son of the Austrian general Alexander von Hesse Darmstadt and the Polish countess Julia von Hauke. He received a good education at the Dresden Military School. He took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
On June 26, 1879, in Tarnovo, Prince Alexander I took a solemn oath before the Grand National Assembly. The Great Powers confirmed the election and in early August, the Sultan, according to the Treaty of Berlin, confirmed him with a firman as Prince of Bulgaria.
The young monarch was dissatisfied with the Tarnovo Constitution, which limited his rights. The struggle between liberals and conservatives created uncertainty in the country. On June 5, 1879, Battenberg appointed the first government headed by Todor Burmov, consisting only of conservatives. However, the liberals won the parliamentary elections.
The prince did not want to form a liberal government. He dissolved the National Assembly and appointed a new government of conservatives, headed by Metropolitan Clement (Vasil Drumev). The new parliamentary elections were won again by the liberals. Now the prince stepped down and on March 24, 1880, he appointed the first liberal government with Prime Minister Dragan Tsankov.
The contradictions between the prince and the liberals deepened and became insurmountable when Petko Karavelov became the head of the government (November 28, 1880).
On April 27, 1881, the prince, with the help of the Minister of War Casimir Ernrot, carried out a coup d'état, dismissing the government and dissolving the parliament. On May 11, he announced his demands: powers for a 7-year term, the establishment of new state institutions and the amendment of the constitution after the expiration of the term.
The powers were voted on July 1, 1881 by the Grand National Assembly. But soon the country fell into a new internal crisis due to the conflict between Bulgarians and Russians in the government. On June 23, 1882, the executive power was taken over by Gen. Leonid Sobolev, sent by the Russian government.
At the beginning of 1883, the conservatives went into opposition. On September 6, 1883, the Tarnovo Constitution was restored and the powers were terminated. However, these actions of the prince made him an undesirable person for Russia, as they limited its influence in Bulgaria.
The Union of September 6, 1885 was proclaimed in his name. He became a key figure and became ”Prince of Northern and Southern Bulgaria”, entering Plovdiv in triumph.
Bulgaria sought international recognition of the Union. Alexander III's position was for ”Union, but without Battenberg”. England unofficially supported the Unification, but Austria-Hungary encouraged Serbia to attack Bulgaria.
Prince Alexander I Battenberg emerged as the first commander-in-chief in modern Bulgarian history. The Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 ended with victory and a worthy defense of the Unification.