Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Boris arrives in Vienna, incognito

March 11, 1929

King Boris of Bulgaria and his sister, Princess Eudoxia, have arrived this evening in Vienna. According to the New York Times, the king and his sister are "the first royal personages to visit this city since Austria was proclaimed a republic."
Their arrival was "as unostentatious as the most extreme member of the Socialist administration which now controls the Austrian capital could have desired."
The king is expected to see an ear specialist in Vienna before departing for France, and perhaps, Italy, where he is expected to ask for Princess Giovanna's hand in marriage.
The king is traveling as Count Stanislau Rilski. He was "pale and nervous and apparently in poor health," when he stepped off the train. Nor did he deny his identity when the New York Times reporter offered the king a light for his cigarette, "which he was holding in his nervous fingers," and addressed Boris as "your Majesty." The king accepted the offer with a "pale smile."
The king's entourage are refusing to provide information about Count Rilski's travel plans, but the king's "heavier baggage was marked Palermo, which confirms reports of his coming visit to Rome."
Balkan newspapers are already reporting that the king's engagement to Princess Giovanna will be announced shortly.
A marriage between Boris and Princess Giovanna "will be generally regarded as part of Premier Mussolini's plan to isolate Yugoslavia by forming a close relationship with her enemies."

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