ALEXANDER I, PRINCE OF BULGARIA
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In the Sobranje (the Bulgarian State Assembly) in December 1891, the Assembly's President made a speech suggesting that a State Pension of £2,000 a year for Alexander, which was met with wild applause and unanimous agreement.  The pension had been instigated by Prince (later King) Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, formerly Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (1861-1948), who was a first cousin to Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901) and who had been offered the Princely Throne of Bulgaria in July 1887, became King (Tsar) in 1908 and later abdicated in 1918.   Even five years after his abdication, Alexander was still considered with high regard by the people of Bulgaria, but Alexander had made it clear that as a serving Austrian officer, he was unable to accept any allowance from the country he formerly ruled over.  However, it was reported in 1891 that Alexander was discovered by his wife in the company of a lady, who was a former mistress of King Milan I of Serbia (1854-1901) and that Alexander had tried to commit suicide in an effort to seek reconciliation with his wife Johanna.  Alexander was subsequently nursed back to health by Johanna and they were eventually fully reconciled. 

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In November 1893, Alexander became ill with appendicitis. He became delirious and in severe pain and died of peritonitis on 17th November 1893, aged 36yrs at Graz, Austria.  He had made it clear that he wished to be buried in Sofia, Bulgaria and within days of his sudden death, the Bulgarian Government started to make plans for a State Funeral - he was "their beloved first Prince" and was revered in death much more than he was alive.  His two children were granted an annual State Pension of 50,000 Lev.  Initially Alexander's coffin was laid in the Church of St George in Sofia, but his remains were removed to a specially designed mausoleum with full State honours on 3rd January 1898.  The ceremony was attended by his widow - Johanna and leading the official tributes was Prince (later King) Ferdinand I, The Prince of Bulgaria, formerly Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (1861-1948).  At the funeral, Prince Ferdinand said - "As the Ruler of Bulgaria and Chief of the Bulgarian Army, I receive the remains of the first Prince of Bulgaria, and entrust them to this soil, which he defended and protected to bravely.  May his self-denial and energy be a holy example for us.  I promise in the name of the Bulgarian nation that his memory will be sacred to us for ever."  Alexander's body was buried under the floor slab with a symbolic sarcophagus of polished Carara marble above. The mausoleum was open to the public until 1946, when it was closed.  In the 1980s it was restored and opened once again to visitors in 1991. 

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