The vote had been counted. Score: for a republic, 4,103,000; for the King, 179,275. Promptly the National Assembly had proclaimed the People's Republic. There was nothing left for Bulgaria's nine-year-old Simeon II to do but join his grandfather, Italy's ex-King Victor Emmanuel, in Egypt. This week, Simeon and his mother packed for exile.
The Government had promised the royal refugees pocket money in exchange for the royal real estate (several palaces, a zoo, a museum of natural sciences). But Bulgarians cannot transfer foreign currency without specific Allied authorization. It was up to the Russians.
Also up to the Russians were the...