Standart News

For an hour yesterday, Bulgaria's former king and prime minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha had to act as an interpreter out of necessity.  He took the unusual role because of his eleventh grandchild Simeon-Hassan who was officially brought into the bosom of the Orthodox Church yesterday. The reason was that apart from king Simeon, the other godparent was Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, the sister of Queen Sofia of Spain and the deposed King Constantine II of Greece, the guests told the Standart.   
 According to the Orthodox canon, the godparents speak for the infant. The priest asks: "Do you renounce the devil? and the sponsors should answer in the affirmative. The procedure got complicated because Irene of Greece did not know Bulgarian. So Simeon had to translate into English and back into Bulgarian the questions of Evlogii, Father Superior of the Rila Monastery who served the baptism rite and the godmother's answers.
 The ceremony that took place in the family chapel in Tsarska Bistritsa, far from the media's reach, included only the closest family and friends. There were Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, his wife Dona Margarita, young Simeon's proud parents, Princess Irene of Greece and the ambassadors to Bulgaria of Spain and Morocco - Fernando Arias and El Ghailani Dlimi.
 Team of the Standart