Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz

Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz
Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
Princess of Bulgaria
Tenure	28 February 1908 – 22 September 1908
Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
Tenure	22 September 1908 – 12 September 1917
Born	(1860-08-22)22 August 1860 Trebschen, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	Euxinograd, Kingdom of Bulgaria
Burial	Boyana Church
Spouse	Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Full name Eleonore Caroline Gasparine Louise Reuss
House	House of Reuss-Köstritz House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father	Prince Heinrich IV of Reuss of Köstritz
Mother	Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz
Religion	Eastern Orthodox prev. Lutheranism

Princess Eleonore Caroline Gasparine Louise Reuss-Köstritz (22 August 1860 – 12 September 1917) was Tsaritsa of Bulgaria and the second wife of Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria.

Life

File:Royal Monogram of Queen Eleonore of Bulgaria.svg

Royal Monogram of Queen Eleonore of Bulgaria

Born in Trebschen, in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg (present-day Poland), the daughter of Prince Heinrich IV Reuss zu Köstritz and Princess Luise Caroline Reuss zu Greiz, Eleonore was described as "a plain but practical... capable and kind-hearted woman."

Following the death of his first wife, Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, Ferdinand sought another wife to carry out the official duties required of the consort of a head of state. As a gay man with no requirement to produce further heirs, Ferdinand stipulated to his assistant that he wanted a bride who did not expect affection or attention. A list of candidates was whittled down to Eleonore and she and Ferdinand subsequently married in Coburg on 28 February 1908. Initially entitled Princess of Bulgaria, Eleonore assumed the title Tsaritsa ("Queen") on 5 October 1908 following Bulgaria's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Eleonore had presumably been carefully pre-informed of Ferdinand's sexual preferences and it is debatable whether the marriage was ever consummated. Certainly, Ferdinand demanded separate bedrooms for himself and Eleonore while guests of King Carol I of Romania during their honeymoon. As it was, Eleonore remained neglected by Ferdinand throughout their marriage, leaving her to raise her stepchildren and devote herself to the welfare of the Bulgarian people. Eleonore came into her own during the Balkans and First World Wars when, working tirelessly as a nurse, she was a cause of great comfort for many injured and dying Bulgarian soldiers. It was said that she had "a special gift for relieving suffering".

Tsaritsa Eleonore became seriously ill during the final years of World War I, dying in Euxinograd, Bulgaria on 12 September 1917. Her last wish was to be buried in the cemetery of a 12th-century church at Boyana, near Sofia. During the Socialist period, however, the grave was broken into, her jewelry stolen and then the decorative stones bulldozed back in the hole, with no visible marks left over the ground. However, after the democratic changes in 1989, the original stones were excavated and the site was restored back to the original state.

Ancestry

Family of Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz

16. Heinrich IX, Count Reuss-Köstritz               8. Prince Heinrich XLIV Reuss zu Köstritz                       17. Countess Amalie von Wartensleben und Flodroff               4. Heinrich LXIII, Prince Reuss-Köstritz                             18. Baron Friedrich Christoph von Geuder               9. Baroness Wilhelmine von Geuder gen. Rabensteiner                       19. Johanna Wilhelmine von Bredow               2. Prince Heinrich IV Reuss-Köstritz                                   20. Christian Friedrich, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode               10. Heinrich, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode                       21. Countess Auguste Eleonore of Stolberg-Stolberg               5. Countess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode                             22. Otto, Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg               11. Princess Johanna of Schönburg-Waldenburg                       23. Princess Henriette Reuss-Köstritz               1. Eleonore Reuß-Köstritz                                         24. Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz               12. Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz                       25. Countess Konradine Reuss-Köstritz               6. Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz                             26. Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg               13. Princess Luise of Nassau-Weilburg                       27. Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau               3. Princess Luise Reuss of Greiz                                   28. Charles de Rohan, Prince of Rochefort               14. Charles de Rohan, Prince de Rochefort et Montauban                       29. Marie-Henriette d'Orléans-Rothelin               7. Princess Gasparine de Rohan-Rochefort                             30. Henri Louis, Prince de Guéménée               15. Marie-Louise de Rohan-Guéméné                       31. Victoire de Rohan

References

• Aronson, T. (1986) Crowns in conflict: the triumph and the tragedy of European monarchy, 1910-1918, J. Murray, London. ISBN 0-7195-4279-0
• Constant, S. (1979) Foxy Ferdinand, 1861-1948, Tsar of Bulgaria, Sidgwick and Jackson, London. ISBN 0-283-98515-1

Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz House of Reuss-Köstritz Cadet branch of the 1917 Born: 22 August 1860 Died: 12 September
Royal titles
Vacant Title last held by Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma	Princess of Bulgaria 28 February – 22 September 1908	Title Abolished
Dragana of Serbia	Tsaritsa of Bulgaria 22 September 1908 – 12 September 1917	Vacant Title next held by Giovanna of Italy