Ferdinand I coronation and Bulgarian monarchy

The first snapshot details the 2 August 1887 coronation of German Prince Ferdinand of Saxe‑Coburg‑Gotha as Prince of Bulgaria. It explains how the Bulgarian regency, after Prince Alexander I’s abdication, selected Ferdinand, secured approval from Germany, Britain and France, and installed him without Russian consent, straining Russo‑Bulgarian relations. Ferdinand’s reign began with Stefan Stambolov managing domestic affairs and later led to diplomatic rapprochement with Russia.

The second snapshot revisits the same coronation and then moves forward to the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie uprising of 3 August 1903, when the short‑lived Kruševo Republic was declared. It describes the republic’s ten‑day existence, its multi‑ethnic revolutionary council, and its connection to nationalist leaders such as Gotse Delchev. The snapshot links these events to Ferdinand’s later proclamation of Bulgaria’s independence in 1908, illustrating the broader trajectory from his accession to the rise of nationalist movements that reshaped the nation’s political status.