But the religious question again rose to trouble the Bulgarian Prince. He was himself a Catholic; the State religion of Bulgaria was the Orthodox Church, and the bride was a Lutheran. So he devised no less than three wedding ceremonies. The first was a “civil” ceremony, which took place at Gera, the capital of the State of Reuss. Then the pair went off to Coburg, where they were married according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church in the Cathedral of St. Augustine. A return to Gera was necessary for the Lutheran ceremony in the Chapel of Osterstein castle. Then, at last, Ferdinand considered himself well and truly married.
But once more he was in trouble with the Pope, Pius X, who succeeded that Leo XIII who gave him such a dressing down for the apostasy of his infant heir. This Pope would have nothing to do with him, and it was said in the best informed circles was preparing an edict of excommunication for his continued impiety, culminating in this marriage with a Protestant. But Ferdinand was now to reap the benefit of his friendship with Franz Ferdinand; the heir to the Austrian Empire interceded for him, and the blow was averted.
When Ferdinand took his German bride to Sofia, he was again received with hoots and yells of “Schwaba,” but he did not care. It is only right to say that the greeting was not aimed at the lady, whom the Bulgarians soon took into their favour. She has since been a good mother to the Bulgarian Royal children, and a kind and humane queen to the suffering soldiers of Bulgaria.
But the satisfaction of Ferdinand was not due to any anticipation of these things. What pleased him was that at last he was invited to Schonbrun to meet the old Austrian Emperor. The attitude of Francis Joseph had always been such as to make Ferdinand repeat the anxious question of Mr. Dick Swiveller, when a meeting was in question. “Is the Old Min friendly?” he might well have asked when the invitation was conveyed to him by Franz Ferdinand. For the aged Emperor had called him a “felon” and other uncomplimentary things, and sternly refused to have anything to do with him. Small wonder if Ferdinand was anxious about his reception.
But he took his bride to Schonbrun, and the influence of the Austrian heir was shown by the fact that the “Old Min” was indeed friendly. He toasted Ferdinand and his bride in glowing terms that created a mild sensation throughout Europe. This Ferdinand was pleased, in a subsequent interview, to attribute to his own great merits. “The welcome accorded me by the Emperor Francis Joseph, and his cordial toast,” he said, “were, I venture to say, the deserved reward of the work which I had in more than twenty years accomplished in Bulgaria. They were in no degree the declaration of any compact.” Ferdinand has always been a good denier.
It was a great stroke for Ferdinand. A little while afterwards Stancioff, his Foreign Minister, was able to boast with truth in the Sobranje that—
“Honours generally reserved for independent sovereigns are now rendered to the Prince of Bulgaria. The Great Powers are represented here by their ministers plenipotentiary. While our army is esteemed abroad, its Commander-in-Chief (the Prince) holds honorary rank in the armies of foreign States. Our Government is faithful to its international engagements, and is desirous of developing intercourse with other peoples.” And so on. And all the time Ferdinand was the vassal of the Sultan of Turkey.
But not for much longer. For now the Young Turks rose and tore the Red Sultan from the throne, and Ferdinand was able to give a practical demonstration of the meaning of the strange friendliness of the “Old Min.”
FERDINAND THE CZAR