The Medal for the Wedding of Knyaz Ferdinand and Marie-Louise is a commemorative Bulgarian medal established on 3rd/15th May 1893 to celebrate the Prince’s wedding ceremony. The medal was instituted by the Monarch in the first days after his arrival back to Bulgaria as a married man.
There were three classes:
- Gold (gilt) was awarded to senior Bulgarian statesmen and to foreign nationals, such as members of other European royal courts.
- Silver with crown suspension was bestowed upon senior governmental officials, archbishops, army generals/senior officers, and foreign nationals.
- Silver without crown suspension was given to members of Parliament, army officers, regional governors and officials.
- Bronze with crown, rather rare, was awarded to a very small number of lower-ranking members of the Prince suite.
- Bronze without crown, the most common variant, was awarded to a wide variety of mid and low-ranking governmental or army officials, ranging from municipality mayors, through army NCOs, down to mayors of small villages, through which the Prince and Princess have passed while traveling the country.
The Medal for the Wedding of Knyaz Ferdinand and Marie-Louise Design
The medal is circular and measures 32 millimeters in diameter. It was engraved by Anton Scharff and its production delegated to the famous Viennese company of Rothe & Neffe. More than 6,000 medals were minted and awarded. Some larger table-top variations of the medal exist.
The obverse bears the effigies of Prince Ferdinand I and Princess Marie-Louise of Bourbon-Parma, his spouse. Around them is inscribed: “ФЕРДИНАНДЪ I. КНЯЗЬ БЪЛГАРСКИЙ. МАРИА ЛУИЗА БУРБОНСКА ПРИНЦЕССА ПАРМСКА” (“Ferdinand I. Knyaz (Prince) of Bulgaria. Maria Louisa of Bourbon Princess of Parma”). A small five-pointed star sits at the bottom.
The reverse bears a decorative element with an imbued torch, two shields bearing the coat of arms of the two newlyweds, jointly crowned with the Bulgarian royal crown with elevated and embowed lappets. A scroll above it reads the motto “ВѢРNОСТЬ И ПОСТОЯNСТВО” (“Fidelity and Continuity“). Circumscribed are the dates of the wedding ceremony (8th April) and the date of the arrival of the royal couple in Bulgaria (30th April), with the year 1893 inscribed at the bottom.
The ribbon is navy blue with red bars on the edges.
