Editing Alexander of Battenberg

{{Short description|Prince of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1886}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Alexander I<br>{{nobold| Александър I}}
| image        = Alexander I of Bulgaria by Dimitar Karastoyanov.jpg
| reign        = 29 April 1879 – 7 September 1886
| succession   = [[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Prince of Bulgaria]]
| predecessor  = Vacant{{break}}
(previously [[Constantine II of Bulgaria|Constantine II]])
| successor    = [[Ferdinand I of Bulgaria|Ferdinand I]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Johanna Loisinger]]|1889}}
| issue        = {{Ubl
  |[[Count Assen of Hartenau]]
  |Countess Tsvetana of Hartenau
}}
| house        = [[Battenberg family|Battenberg]]
| full name    = {{Ubl
  |Alexander Joseph von Battenberg
  |{{Langx|bg|Александър Йозеф фон Батенберг}}
}}
| father       = [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]]
| mother       = [[Julia, Princess of Battenberg]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1857|4|5|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Verona]], [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]], [[Austrian Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1893|11|17|1857|4|5|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Graz]], [[Duchy of Styria]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| place of burial = [[Battenberg Mausoleum]], [[Sofia]]
}}

'''Alexander Joseph''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCBh}} ({{langx|bg|Александър I Батенберг}}; 5 April 1857 – 17 November 1893), known as '''Alexander of Battenberg''', was the first prince (''[[knyaz]]'') of the  autonomous [[Principality of Bulgaria]] from 1879 until his abdication in 1886.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Bulgaria/History|display=Bulgaria|chapter=Political History|volume=4|page=782|first=James David|last=Bourchier|author-link=James David Bourchier}}</ref> 

The Bulgarian [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|Grand National Assembly]] elected him as Prince of autonomous [[Bulgaria]] in 1879. He dissolved the assembly the following year and suspended the [[Tarnovo Constitution|Constitution]] in 1881, considering it too liberal. He restored the Constitution in 1883, leading to open conflict with [[Russian Empire|Russia]] that made him popular in Bulgaria. [[Bulgarian unification|Unification with Eastern Rumelia]] was achieved and recognised by the powers in 1885. [[1886 Bulgarian coup d'état|A coup carried out by pro-Russian Bulgarian Army officers]] forced him to abdicate in September 1886. He later became a general in the [[Austro-Hungarian Army|Austrian army]].<ref>
John Belchem and Richard Price, eds. ''A Dictionary of 19th-Century World History'' (1994) p 66.
</ref>

==Early life==
Alexander was the second son of [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]] by the latter's [[morganatic marriage]] with [[Julia von Hauke|Countess Julia von Hauke]]. The Countess and her descendants gained the title of Princess of [[Battenberg family|Battenberg]] (derived from an old residence of the [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Grand Dukes of Hesse]]) and the [[Style (manner of address)|style]] ''Durchlaucht'' ("[[Serene Highness]]") in 1858. Prince Alexander was a nephew of [[Russia]]'s [[Tsar Alexander II]], who had married a sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse. His mother, the daughter of Polish general [[Hans Moritz Hauke]], had been [[lady-in-waiting]] to the [[Tsaritsa]]. Alexander was known to his family, and many later biographers, as "Sandro" or "Drino".<ref>Ridley, "The Heir Apparent", (New York, 2013)</ref>

Alexander's brother, [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]], married [[Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine]], a granddaughter of [[Queen Victoria]]. Their children included [[Louise Mountbatten|Queen Louise of Sweden]], [[Louis Mountbatten|Earl Mountbatten of Burma]] and [[Princess Alice of Battenberg]], the mother of [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], husband of [[Queen Elizabeth II]].

Alexander's other brother, [[Prince Henry of Battenberg]], married Queen Victoria's youngest daughter [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Princess Beatrice]]. Among their children was [[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg|Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain]].

==Prince of Bulgaria==
In his boyhood and early youth, Alexander frequently visited [[Saint Petersburg]], and he accompanied his uncle, [[Tsar Alexander II]], who was much attached to him, during the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78|Bulgarian campaign]] of 1877. 

When, under the [[Treaty of Berlin, 1878|Treaty of Berlin]] (1878), Bulgaria became an autonomous [[principality]] under the suzerainty of the [[Ottoman Empire]], the Tsar recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a candidate for the newly created throne, and the [[National Assembly of Bulgaria|Grand National Assembly]] unanimously elected Prince Alexander as Prince of Bulgaria (29 April 1879). At that time he held a commission as a lieutenant in the [[Prussia]]n life-guards at [[Potsdam]]. Before proceeding to Bulgaria, Prince Alexander paid visits to the Tsar at [[Livadia Palace|Livadia]], to the courts of the Great Powers. After paying a visit to the [[Ottoman Sultan]]'s court, a Russian warship conveyed him to [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] where he took an [[oath]] to the [[Tarnovo Constitution]] at [[Veliko Tarnovo]] (8 July 1879) and then proceeded to [[Sofia]]. People everywhere en route greeted him with immense enthusiasm.{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}}

==Reign==
The new ruling prince had not had any previous experience in government, and a range of problems confronted him. He found himself caught between the Russians, who wanted him to be a do-nothing king (a ''[[roi fainéant]]''), and the Bulgarian politicians, who actively pursued their own quarrels with a violence that threatened the stability of Bulgaria.{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}} One of his servants was the [[Bessarabia]]n [[boyar]] Stefan Uvaliev from the [[Căzănești, Telenești|Căzănești village]], who supported him financially.

In 1881, a marriage was suggested between Alexander and [[Princess Viktoria of Prussia]], the daughter of the United Kingdom's [[Victoria, Princess Royal]], the latter of whom was then crown princess of the [[German Empire]] and was the oldest daughter of the United Kingdom's [[Queen Victoria]]. While the would-be bride's mother and maternal grandmother supported the prospective marriage, her German relatives 
– her paternal grandfather, [[Kaiser Wilhelm I]]; her brother, later [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] (Kaiser Wilhelm I's grandson); and German Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] – opposed it, fearing that it would offend the Russian ruling house, most notably Prince Alexander's cousin [[Tsar Alexander III]].  Alexander III had recently ascended to the Russian throne and, unlike his father, was far from kindly disposed to the prince.  Prince Alexander was later ordered to make a formal declaration renouncing the betrothal.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-first=Norman|editor1-last=Rich|editor2-first=M. H.|editor2-last=Fisher|title=The Holstein Papers: Correspondence 1861-1896|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viPWQNGTUVAC|volume=3|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=1961|isbn=9780521053181|pages=149–154}}</ref>

After attempting to govern under these conditions for nearly two years, the prince, with the consent of the Russian Tsar, assumed absolute power, having suspended the Constitution (9 May 1881). A specially convened assembly voted (13 July 1881) for suspension of the ultra-democratic constitution for a period of seven years. The experiment, however, proved unsuccessful; the monarchical coup infuriated Bulgarian Liberal and Radical politicians, and real power passed to two Russian generals, [[Leonid Sobolev|Sobolev]] and [[Aleksandr Kaulbars|Kaulbars]], specially dispatched from Saint Petersburg. After vainly endeavouring to obtain the recall of the generals, the prince restored the constitution with the concurrence of all Bulgarian political parties (19 September 1883). A serious breach with Russia followed, and the part which the prince subsequently played in encouraging Bulgarian national aspirations widened that breach.{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}}

The revolution of [[Plovdiv]] (18 September 1885), which brought about the [[Bulgarian unification|union]] of [[Eastern Rumelia]] with Bulgaria, took place with Alexander's consent, and he at once assumed the government of the province. In the year which followed, the prince gave evidence of considerable military and diplomatic ability. He rallied the Bulgarian army, now deprived of its Russian officers (withdrawn by Tsar Alexander III), which Alexander replaced by graduates of the [[Vasil Levski National Military University|Bulgarian Military Academy]] to resist the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War|Serbian invasion]] (later known as "The Victory of Bulgarian Cadets vs. Serbian Generals"). Alexander mobilised his troops standing at the Turkish frontier and ordered them to go north to Slivnitsa as fast as possible. In the meantime, he ordered his troops already deployed there to fortify the garrison. Having ensured the smooth running of operations. Alexander returned after repelling a Serbian attack near Sofia threatening Bulgarian lines from the hinterland. He returned just in time to conduct a final counterattack against Serbian troops, followed by pursuing them deep into their own territory. The Bulgarians won a decisive [[Battle of Slivnitsa|victory at Slivnitsa]] (19 November), after which Bulgarian troops advanced as far as [[Pirot]], capturing it on 27 November. Although the intervention of Austria protected Serbia from the consequences of defeat, Prince Alexander's success sealed the [[Bulgarian unification|union with Eastern Rumelia]]. After long negotiations, Ottoman [[Sultan Abdul Hamid II]] nominated him as governor-general of that province for five years (5 April 1886).{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}}

==Loss of Throne==
[[File:Royal Monogram of Prince Alexander of Battenberg.svg|thumb|70px|Royal Monogram of Prince Alexander of Battenberg]]This arrangement, however, cost Alexander much of his popularity in Bulgaria, while discontent prevailed among a number of his officers, who considered themselves slighted in the distribution of rewards at the close of the campaign. Encouraged by the promise of Tsar Alexander III to keep their Bulgarian rank in the Russian army and receiving common Russian salary these officers formed a [[Bulgarian coup d'état of 1886|military plot]], and on the night of 20 August 1886 the conspirators seized the prince in the palace at [[Sofia]] and compelled him to sign his abdication; they then hurried him to the [[Danube River|Danube]] at Oryahovo, transported him on his yacht to [[Reni, Ukraine|Reni]], and handed him over to the Russian authorities, who allowed him to proceed to [[Lviv|Lemberg]]. However, he soon returned to Bulgaria as a result of the success of the counter-revolution led by [[Stefan Stambolov]], which overthrew the provisional government set up by the Russian party at Sofia. His position, however, had become untenable, partly as a result of an ill-considered telegram which he addressed to Tsar Alexander III on his return. The attitude of Bismarck, who, in conjunction with the Russian and Austrian governments, forbade him to punish the leaders of the military conspiracy, also undermined Alexander's position. He therefore issued a manifesto resigning the throne and left Bulgaria on 8 September 1886.{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}}

After his abdication from the Bulgarian throne, Alexander I claimed the title [[Prince of Tarnovo]] and used it until his death.

==Later years==
[[File:Battenberg Mausoleum Sofia 7.jpg|thumb|250px|Battenberg Mausoleum in Sofia]]
Alexander then retired into private life. A few years later he married [[Johanna Loisinger]], an actress, and assumed the style of Count von [[Hartenau]] (6 February 1889). They had a son [[Assen, Count von Hartenau|''Assen'', Count von Hartenau]] (1890-1965) and a daughter Countess Marie Therese Vera ''Tsvetana'' von Hartenau (1893-1935).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.geni.com/people/Alexander-I-Prince-of-Bulgaria/6000000003243840415 | title=Alexander I, Prince of Bulgaria | date=5 April 1857 }}</ref> The last years of his life he spent principally at [[Graz]], where he held a local command in the Austrian army, and where he died of a ruptured appendix on 17 November 1893.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historischerverein-stmk.at/wp-content/uploads/Z_Jg79_Harald-HEPPNER-Die-Grazer-Zeit-Alexanders-von-Battenberg-alias-des-Grafen-Hartenau.pdf|title=Die Grazer Zeit Alexanders von Battenberg alias des Grafen Hartenau|date=1988|author=Harald Heppner|series=Zeitschrift des Historischen Vereines für Steiermark|page=257|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109105348/https://www.historischerverein-stmk.at/wp-content/uploads/Z_Jg79_Harald-HEPPNER-Die-Grazer-Zeit-Alexanders-von-Battenberg-alias-des-Grafen-Hartenau.pdf|archive-date=2022-01-09|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-09}}</ref> His remains, brought to Sofia, received a public funeral there, and were buried in a [[Battenberg Mausoleum|mausoleum erected to his memory]].{{sfn|Bourchier|1911}}

Prince Alexander possessed much charm and amiability of manner; he was tall, dignified and strikingly handsome. Many authorities have generally recognised his capabilities as a soldier. As a ruler he committed some errors, but his youth and inexperience and the extreme difficulty of his position account for much. He had some aptitude for diplomacy, and his intuitive insight and perception of character sometimes enabled him to outwit the crafty politicians who surrounded him. His principal fault remained a want of tenacity and resolution; his tendency to unguarded language undoubtedly increased the number of his enemies.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

==Honours==
[[Battenberg Hill]] on [[Livingston Island]] in the [[South Shetland Islands]], [[Antarctica]] is named after Prince Alexander Battenberg of Bulgaria.<ref>[http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=136854 Battenberg Hill.] SCAR [[Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica]]</ref><ref name="HofUndStaat">''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen'' (1892), Genealogy [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112032663673&view=1up&seq=37 p. 5]</ref>
* Founder and Grand Master of the [[Order of Bravery]], ''1 January 1880''<ref>{{cite book|author=Dimitri Romanoff|title=The Orders, Medals and History of the Kingdom of Bulgaria|page=57}}</ref>
* Founder and Grand Master of the [[Order of St. Alexander]], ''25 December 1881'';<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medals.org.uk/bulgaria/kingdom/bulgaria-kingdom002.htm|title=ODM of the Kingdom of Bulgaria: Order of St.Alexander|website=www.medals.org.uk|access-date=2018-04-04}}</ref> Grand Cross with Collar
* Founder of the Order of the [[Bulgarian Red Cross]], ''April 1886''<ref>{{cite web|url = https://bulgariandecorations.com/distinctions/red_cross | title = Honorary Badge of the Red Cross | website = Bulgarian Royal Decorations | access-date = 23 February 2020}}</ref>

=== Foreign honours ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* {{flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg}} [[Hesse and by Rhine]]:<ref>''Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein'' (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen ", [[iarchive:hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n34/mode/2up|pp. 9]], [[iarchive:hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n70/mode/2up|46]], [[iarchive:hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n154/mode/2up|130]].</ref>
** Grand Cross of the Merit [[Order of Philip the Magnanimous]], with Swords, ''9 April 1873''
** Military Merit Cross, ''17 April 1878''
** Grand Cross of the [[Ludwig Order]], ''7 May 1879''
* {{flagicon|Anhalt}} [[Duchy of Anhalt|Anhalt]]: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Albert the Bear]], ''1884''<ref>''[[iarchive:bub gb LR03AAAAYAAJ/page/n33|Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für des Herzogtum Anhalt]]'' (1894), "Herzoglicher Haus-Orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 17</ref>
* {{flag|Baden}}:<ref>''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1888), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1876775 pp. 63], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1876786 74]</ref>
** Knight of the [[House Order of Fidelity]], ''1881''
** Knight of the [[Order of Berthold the First]], ''1881''
* {{flag|Brunswick}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Henry the Lion]], with Swords<ref>''Braunschweigisches Adreßbuch für das Jahr 1885''. Braunschweig 1885. Meyer. p. 3</ref>
* {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} [[Ernestine duchies]]: Grand Cross of the [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order]], ''1883''<ref>''[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00243753/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_166999342_1890_0057.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00484309 Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha]'' (1890), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 46</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} [[Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]:
** [[Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)|Military Merit Cross]], 2nd Class (1878)<ref>Klaeber, Hans: ''Fürst Alexander I. von Bulgarien: ein Lebensbild'', C. Heinrich, Dresden 1904, p. 40</ref>
** [[Order of the Wendish Crown]], Grand Cross with Crown in Ore (1 January 1884)
* {{flag|Oldenburg}}: [[House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis|Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig]], with Golden Crown and Collar
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]:<ref name="prus1">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste| journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|volume=1|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=47&skin=2021 39], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=1112&skin=2021 1040]|year=1886|location=Berlin|language=German}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Red Eagle|Knight of the Red Eagle]], 3rd Class with Swords, ''1878''; 1st Class with Swords on Ring, ''11 June 1879''
** Knight of Honour of the [[Johanniter Order]], ''18 February 1881''
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: [[Order of the White Falcon|Grand Cross of the White Falcon]], ''1878''<ref>''[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00183988/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_15_0021.tif Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007030638/https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00183988/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_15_0021.tif|date=2019-10-07}}'' (1885), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 14</ref>
* {{flag|Württemberg}}: [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown]], ''1879''<ref>''[[iarchive:bub gb cc1CAAAAYAAJ/page/n67|Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg]]'' (1886/7), "Königliche Orden" p. 23</ref>
* {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} {{flagicon|Kingdom of Hungary|1877}} [[Austria-Hungary]]: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Leopold (Austria)|Imperial Order of Leopold]], ''1879''<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1885|page=133|chapter=Ritter-Orden: Leopolds-Orden|chapter-url=http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1885&page=213&size=45|access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref>
* {{flag|Belgium}}: Grand Cordon of the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]]
* {{flag|Denmark}}: [[Order of the Elephant|Knight of the Elephant]], ''6 July 1883''<ref>{{cite book|author=Jørgen Pedersen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glw-AQAAIAAJ|title=Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009|publisher=Syddansk Universitetsforlag|year=2009|isbn=978-87-7674-434-2|page=297|language=da}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}: Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour]]
* {{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]]: [[Order of the Redeemer|Grand Cross of the Redeemer]]
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}: [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus|Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
* {{flag|Luxembourg}}: [[Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau|Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau]]
* {{flagcountry|Principality of Montenegro}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Prince Danilo I]]
* {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}:
** [[Order of Osmanieh]], 1st Class in Diamonds
** [[Order of the Medjidie]], 1st Class
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}:
** [[Order of the Star of Romania|Grand Cross of the Star of Romania]], with Swords
** [[Order of the Crown of Romania|Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania]]
* {{flagcountry|Russian Empire|1858}}:
** [[Imperial Order of St. George|Knight of St. George]], 4th Class, ''1 August 1877''
** [[Order of St. Alexander Nevsky|Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky]]
** [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Knight of the White Eagle]]
** [[Order of St. Anna|Knight of St. Anna]], 1st Class
** [[Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov)|Knight of St. Stanislaus]], 1st Class
** [[Order of St. Vladimir|Knight of St. Vladimir]], 1st Class
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Serbia}}:
** [[Order of the White Eagle (Serbia)|Grand Cross of the White Eagle]]
** [[Order of the Cross of Takovo|Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo]], with Swords
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Charles III]], with Collar, ''7 June 1883''<ref>{{cite book|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1887|page=154|language=es|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|access-date=21 March 2019|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000941464&search=&lang=es}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Sweden|1844}} {{flagicon|Norway|1844}} [[Sweden-Norway]]: [[Order of St. Olav|Grand Cross of St. Olav]], with Swords, ''7 April 1886''<ref>{{citation|title=Norges Statskalender|url=https://runeberg.org/norkal/1890/0356.html|pages=595–596|year=1890|language=no|access-date=2018-01-06|via=runeberg.org}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: [[Order of the Bath|Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath]], ''6 June 1879'' (civil);<ref name="p211">Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', '''I''', London, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n301/mode/2up p. 211]</ref> ''10 December 1886'' (military)<ref name="p199">Shaw, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n289/mode/2up p. 199]</ref>
}}

==Ancestry==
{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Prince Alexander of Battenberg'''
|2= 2. [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|3= 3. [[Julia, Princess of Battenberg]]
|4= 4. [[Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|5= 5. [[Princess Wilhelmine of Baden]]
|6= 6. [[Count John Maurice Hauke]]
|7= 7. Sophie Lafontaine
|8= 8. [[Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt (1761–1829)|Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|12= 12. [[Friedrich Karl Emanuel Hauke]]
|13= 13. [[Maria Salomé Schweppenhäuser]]
|14= 14. [[Franz Leopold Lafontaine]]
|15= 15. Maria Theresa Kornély
}}

==See also==
* [[History of Bulgaria]]
* [[Battenberg Mausoleum]]
* [[Prince Alexander of Battenberg Square]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Alexander (prince of Bulgaria)|display=Alexander|volume=1|pages=544-545|first=James David|last=Bourchier|author-link=James David Bourchier|ref=none}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Black|first=Cyril E.|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.275948|title=The Establishment of Constitutional Government in Bulgaria|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1943|place=Princeton, NJ|access-date=January 4, 2020|via=Internet Archive}}
* Bourchier, James D. "Prince Alexander of Battenberg," ''Fortnightly Review'' 55.325 (1894): 103-118. [https://www.proquest.com/openview/a22f14375aef690b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=14004 online]
* {{cite book|last=Corti|first=Egon Caesar|url=https://archive.org/details/alexandervonbatt0000cort/page/n7|title=Alexander von Battenberg|publisher=Cassell and Company Ltd|year=1954|place=London|translator=Hodgson, E. M.|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}
* {{cite book|last=Jelavich|first=Charles|url=https://archive.org/details/tsaristrussiabal00jela/page/n7|title=Tsarist Russia and Balkan nationalism: Russian influence in the internal affairs of Bulgaria and Serbia, 1879-1886|publisher=University of California Press|year=1958|place=Berkeley and Los Angeles|author-link=Charles Jelavich|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}
* Adolf Koch, ''Fürst Alexander von Bulgarien - Mittheilungen aus seinem Leben und seiner Regierung nach persönlichen Erinnerungen'' Verlag Arnold Bergsträßer, Darmstadt 1887
* Koch, Adolf. ''Prince Alexander of Battenberg: Reminiscences of His Reign in Bulgaria, from Authentic Sources'' (London, Whittaker & Company, 1887) [https://books.google.com/books?id=cWYxAQAAMAAJ&dq=Alexander+of+Battenberg&pg=PA1 online].
* {{cite book|last=Stavrianos|first=L.S.|url=https://archive.org/details/balkanssince145300lsst|title=The Balkans since 1453|publisher=New York University Press|year=2000|place=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/balkanssince145300lsst/page/425 425]–47|isbn=9780814797662 |author-link=L. S. Stavrianos|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}
* Yordan Benedikov, "A History of Volunteers in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885", published by the volunteer organization ''Slivnitsa'', 1935 p.&nbsp;83; new edition publishing house ''Издателство на Отечествения фронт'', 1985 p.&nbsp;113-14; Йордан Венедиков, ''История на доброволците от Сръбско-българската война'' - 1885 г., Издава Доброволческата Организация "Сливница", 1935 стр. 83; ново издание на Издателство на Отечествения фронт, 1985 г. стр. 113-14.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alexander I of Bulgaria}}
* {{cite book|title=Eminent Persons: Biographies reprinted from the Times|publisher=Macmillan and Co., Limited|year=1897|volume=VI (1893-1894)|place=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eminentpersonsbi06timeiala/page/68 68]–73|chapter=PRINCE ALEXANDER OF BULGARIA (1857-1893) (Obituary Notice, Saturday, November 18, 1893)|access-date=11 February 2019|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/eminentpersonsbi06timeiala|via=Internet Archive}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170917121427/http://www.stara-sofia.com/dvorec.html Historical photographs of the royal palace in Sofia]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Battenberg family|House of Battenberg]]|5 April|1857|17 November|1893|[[House of Hesse|House of Hesse-Darmstadt]]| name=Alexander I of Bulgaria}}
{{s-reg|}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Constantine II of Bulgaria|Constantine II]]|as=[[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Tsar of Bulgaria]]|reason=[[Ottoman era in the history of Bulgaria|Ottoman rule]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Prince of Bulgaria]]|years=29 April 1879{{snd}}7 September 1886}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ferdinand I of Bulgaria|Ferdinand I]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Casimir Ehrnrooth]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Prime Ministers of Bulgaria|Prime Minister of Bulgaria]]|years=13 July 1881{{snd}}5 July 1882}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Leonid Sobolev]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gavril Krastevich]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Eastern Rumelia|Governor-General of Eastern Rumelia]]|years=5 April 1886{{snd}}7 September 1886}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ferdinand of Bulgaria|Ferdinand I of Bulgaria]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Bulgarian monarchs}}
{{Battenberg family}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Bulgaria, Prince}}
[[Category:1857 births]]
[[Category:1893 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Verona]]
[[Category:19th-century monarchs of Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Governors-general of Eastern Rumelia]]
[[Category:People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War]]
[[Category:Battenberg family]]
[[Category:Bulgarian people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:Protestant monarchs]]
[[Category:Monarchs who abdicated]]
[[Category:Burials at the Battenberg Mausoleum]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Bravery]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People from the Austrian Empire]]