Procession with King Ferdinand's Remains Begins in Vrana Park, Coffin to Be Placed in Royal Palace's Central Lobby

Metodi Yordanov, Nikolay Trifonov

BTA Photo

Sofia,

29.05.2024 15:26

(BTA)

A funeral procession in Vrana Park will carry the remains of King Ferdinand I to the Vrana Palace, where the coffin will be placed in the central lobby. The procession started from the main entrance of the park after the hearse with the remains arrived from Sofia Airport.

King Ferdinand's remains were transported from Germany to Bulgaria by military aircraft.

The procession will arrive in front of the Vrana Palace, where it is expected by Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Ferdinand's grandson) and his wife Margarita, family members and relatives, politicians, public figures, journalists and citizens.

After abdicating in favour of his son Boris III in October 1918, Ferdinand lived in exile in Germany and died in the Bavarian city of Coburg on September 10, 1948, aged 87. He was laid in a temporary sarcophagus in front of his parents’ tomb in the crypt of Coburg’s St Augustine Church. His last wish was to be buried in Bulgaria. On Monday, with a church service, the residents of Coburg bid farewell to the remains of King Ferdinand I before they were brought to Sofia.

/KK/