Interesting photographs of decorated people

[ilieff]

On 01/08/2021 at 10:52, Graf said:

 

[new world]

How did Simeon get St Alexander star with swords in the middle?  He never commanded any military units during war, he was too young, basically a child to participate in WWII.

 

I understand that he gets Grand Chain of St Alexander as a Bulgarian Monarch, but that should be regular version without swords. 

[Graf]

Hi New World,

 

Well if you are monarch and you have those  family decorations in your hands then you can wear them regardless whether you won them or not...off course it will raise few eyebrows It is good to be a King

 

Here are few more pictures

King Boris III Notice he is wearing the 1915-1916 Model of the Bravery Order It looks like 3rd Class

The high ranking officer  is unknown to me. Notice the very rare model of the 4th Class of the Bravery Order

King Ferdinand with very extravagant and exclusive Mantle It is a painting by a very famous Bulgarian artist I wonder whether this outfit was existing or it was the artist imagination

 

Edited August 6, 2021 by Graf

[ilieff]

Yes, the sky-blue order mantle existed. King Ferdinand supposedly used to wear it on St. George's day when he hosted official ceremonies for certain officers who had been decorated with the order. 

The portrait itself is by Czech-Bulgarian artist Jan (Ivan) Mrkvička. It was painted in 1911, as indicated by the artist himself. The dating of the portrait provides us with, I believe, the first depiction of  [what some people call] the 'grand master's collar' of the Order of Cyril and Methodius, which, 110 years later, is still in use by the current Monarch, as shown in the pictures above. 

[Graf]

HI Ilieff,

 

Well informed as usual.

 

Here are couple of interesting pictures of the current  royal family. I suppose the wedding photo is several years old.

 

Who is the old lady on the picture/

 

Also recent photo i did buy recently with King Simeon with signature.

[ilieff]

54 minutes ago, Graf said:

HI Ilieff,

 

Well informed as usual.

 

Here are couple of interesting pictures of the current  royal family. I suppose the wedding photo is several years old.

 

Who is the old lady on the picture/

 

Also recent photo i did buy recently with King Simeon with signature.

This must be the wedding ceremony of Prince Kyril of Preslav and Rosario Nadal, which took place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in 1989. 
From left to right: Prince Kubrat of Panagyurishte, the then Crown prince Kardam of Tarnovo, Queen-mother Giovanna (late King Boris III's widow), Queen Margarita, bride and groom [obviously], King Simeon II, Princess Kalina and Prince Konstantin-Assen of Vidin. 

The signed photograph depicts the King addressing the Bulgarian Parliament upon his accession as Prime-minister in 2001.  

 

[Graf]

Thank you Ilieff,

 

Here is another interesting picture Post War 2 Bulgarian Leader Georgi Dimitrov greating Group of Bulgarian generals They were wearing the Bravery Order Stars I suppose 3rd Class

Edited August 7, 2021 by Graf

[Graf]

and one more

 Luftwaffe Reichsmarshall Hermann  Georing in Bulgaria with what i can see  Grand cross Star of the Order of St Alexander

[new world]

21 hours ago, Graf said:

Hi New World,

 

Well if you are monarch and you have those  family decorations in your hands then you can wear them regardless whether you won them or not...off course it will raise few eyebrows It is good to be a King

 

 

I don't think it works that way, you are not supposed to wear awards you did not earn or which were not given to you. Even Kings were to follow the rules. If Simeon decided to wear anything he liked that looks really bad for him, especially award which was supposed to be earned during the time of war. 

Notice how Boris wore only 3rd class of Bravery and shoulder boards of Colonel. He cold have given himself any award or rank... 

 

 

[Graf]

Hi New World,

 

I agree with you That was the rule. However in this crazy World and crazy times anything is possible.

Just the fact that he sold most of his family decorations on Auction in London instead of giving to the Country that made them Kings it is bad enough.

Also I have seen many of civilians  wearing their late  family members decorations during Victory Day Parades ..They never were involved in any combat. I have seen few actors during the Oscars doing the same thing. So for a Monarch to wear one of family luxury Decorations (with Diamonds) does not surprise me at all

[ilieff]

General Paprikov with a very nice bar - one of the few portraits which shows the 'Clementine' medal, suspended from a black ribbon edged in blue. 

[Graf]

Hi Ilieff,

 

very nice picture

 

Here is General Savov with nice Oder of St Alexander with swords above the crown

[ilieff]

Nice photograph, Graf

If I remember correctly, General Savov was awarded the 3rd class with swords above the crown, then several years later a diamond 2nd class set and eventually a 1st class set with swords through the middle. Nice illustration of the flexibility of the order with its three different sub-divisions.

 

 Here is another photograph - it depicts how the bravery cross was awarded at the front. A few things to note here:

- Notice how the crosses are awarded with 'straight' ribbons, as they are meant to. It seems that the practice of folding ribbons in a triangular fashion was something the recipients were occasionally doing themselves, if we are to generalise by the large number of triangular ribbons dating from this period. 

- The paper envelopes for the crosses are also given away

- The small wooden box - I wonder if this is the original 'shipping packaging'  

 

[new world]

1 hour ago, ilieff said:

- Notice how the crosses are awarded with 'straight' ribbons, as they are meant to. It seems that the practice of folding ribbons in a triangular fashion was something the recipients were occasionally doing themselves, if we are to generalise by the large number of triangular ribbons dating from this period. 

- The paper envelopes for the crosses are also given away

 

 

These awards were to NCOs as seen in the photo, these were Soldier crosses and are supposed to be on straight ribbons, most of them are seen on straight ribbons as well. And yes - they were given in the envelopes.

 

Officer grade Bravery awards were given on triangular ribbons.

Edited August 9, 2021 by new world

[ilieff]

29 minutes ago, new world said:

These awards were to NCOs as seen in the photo, these were Soldier crosses and are supposed to be on straight ribbons, most of them are seen on straight ribbons as well. And yes - they were given in the envelopes.

 

Officer grade Bravery awards were given on triangular ribbons.

[922F]

Great images!  Thanks to all!

 

Very interesting to see Graf's colorized image of Boris above with a British King George V Coronation medal!    

[Graf]

Hi Ilieff,

 

Nice awarding ceremony picture.

 

The question is whether the 1st and 3rd Class with crossed ribbons was awarded with them or the horizontal ribbon was added later on

 

Hi 922F Yes the topic is getting interesting Good notice. At the end of the day all Royals in Europe were related in some way The question is where King Boris IIi got the British King George V Coronation medal

 

Here is interesting picture. Notice King Boris is wearing the Prussian Order Pour Le Merite (Blue MaX)

 

[922F]

Hi Graf,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_George_V_and_Mary#Foreign_royals  lists Boris representing Bulgaria and George's third cousin as attending the 1911 Coronation.    Somewhere, maybe on Old Bulgaria image site, there's an image of what appears to be the Bulgarian delegation at George V's coronation. 

 

At one point, a GMIC member reported that rolls of foreigners awarded British coronation medals could be consulted but another member later wrote these [if they exist] were inaccessible.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by 922F
spelchek

[Graf]

Hi 922F,

 

Thank you for the information.

It is good enough He perhaps got the medal when he attended the Coronation of King George V.

 

[ilieff]

[922F]

ilieff, thank you for the image enhancement!

 

Graf, yes, I believe that would confirm the award time/place...just cannot find the image of the group mentioned above and do not recall whether the people in it wore George V coronation medals.   

 

Prince Kiril of Bulgaria, Prince of Preslav represented Tsar Boris and led Bulgarian representation at the 1936 [correction--12 May 1937]  British coronation.   Members of Kiril's delegation likely received George VI coronation medals.   I am certain that at least one Bulgarian diplomat/consul stationed in London received that medal.

Edited August 11, 2021 by 922F
correct date

[ilieff]

1 hour ago, 922F said:

ilieff, thank you for the image enhancement!

 

Graf, yes, I believe that would confirm the award time/place...just cannot find the image of the group mentioned above and do not recall whether the people in it wore George V coronation medals.   

 

Prince Kiril of Bulgaria, Prince of Preslav represented Tsar Boris and led Bulgarian representation at the 1936 British coronation.   Members of Kiril's delegation likely received George VI coronation medals.   I am certain that at least one Bulgarian diplomat/consul stationed in London received that medal.

Hi, this is not an enhancement but rather a photo of [what I believe to be] the original decorations displayed at the royal palace. Honestly though, I have no idea why the British medal would be present there - perhaps something to do with international relations/diplomacy at that particular time, as Bulgaria was practically revoking the terms of the Treaty of Neuilly and was perhaps trying to soften the relations with the former Entente countries. 

 

In case you want to see a more detailed copy of the colourised image which Graf posted earlier, you can follow this link: https://royalbulgariaincolour.com/цар-борис-трети/ 

Furthermore, there is yet another hyperlink on that webpage containing a file to download, should you wish to do so.  

 

I am not that good with dates, but I believe that George VI was crowned in 1937, not 1936. Edward VIII never had an official coronation, I presume?

 

King Boris III was in London in early 1936 at George V's state funeral. On his way back he stopped in Paris, too, where he held a press conference. This act sounds very unorthodox for a Monarch of the period, hence the French journalists paid their full attention. 

[922F]

Yes, sorry, George VI crowned 12 May 1937, same date as intended for putative Edward VIII...no need to waste the preparation effort or psychological effect perhaps....

Edited August 11, 2021 by 922F

[Graf]

Still no clue whether the 1st and 3rd Class were awarded with crosses ribbons or they were added later on

[ilieff]

8 hours ago, Graf said:

Still no clue whether the 1st and 3rd Class were awarded with crosses ribbons or they were added later on

Of course there were crossed ribbons! Otherwise it will be impossible to tell what class one's cross actually was, right? 

 

This photo from 1885/1886 is clearly showing what type of crosses were given back then.