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Witness History

The Last King of Bulgaria

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2018

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In June 2001, more than half a century after being driven into exile by communists, Bulgaria’s former King Simeon II made a dramatic comeback by winning the country’s parliamentary election. Farhana Haider has been speaking to Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha about his remarkable journey from child king to prime minister.

Photo: King Simeon II 1943 Credit: Bulgarian Royal Family

Transcript

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0:00.0

Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless

0:06.8

searching is a nightmare we want to help you on our brand new podcast off the

0:11.8

telly we share what we've been watching

0:14.0

Cladie Aide.

0:16.0

Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming.

0:19.0

Lovely. Off the telly with me Joanna Paige.

0:21.0

And me, Natalie Cassidy, so your evenings can be a little less searching

0:25.7

and a lot more watching. Listen on BBC Sounds.

0:29.7

Hello, you're listening to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service.

0:34.4

I'm Frahana Hiber and I'm taking you back to 2001,

0:38.5

when more than half a century after being driven into exile by communists, Bulgaria's former King Simi and the second made a dramatic

0:46.1

comeback by winning the country's parliamentary election.

0:50.1

The monarchy strikes back. After more than 50 years in exile,

0:54.0

former King Simeon's vote was much more than symbolic.

0:58.0

Bulgaria has chosen his national movement to form the next government.

1:02.0

Bulgaria's former King Sian II has claimed victory in the country's parliamentary election.

1:07.0

Exit polls give his party more than 40% of the votes.

1:11.0

Simian Saxe-Coba Ga, once a child king, became Prime Minister of Bulgaria after

1:16.6

the fall of the Iron Curtain.

1:18.8

He's been telling me about his remarkable journey.

1:22.0

Having worn both hats, certainly monarchy is something much more flexible.

1:26.7

I disappointed a lot of people who thought that this fact of becoming Mr.

...

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