1 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Europe. 2 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 2: August nineteen forty three. Location classified. Across the globe, The 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 2: Second World War, the deadliest war in history, is raging. 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: This summer is. 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 2: A crucial turning point in the Southwest Pacific. The US 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 2: has just overcome the Japanese on the Eastern Front. The 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 2: Soviets have inflicted huge losses on Nazi Germany. Mussolini has fallen, 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 2: and Italy is about to defect to the Allies. The 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: balance of power is wavering. Could we possibly cut the 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 2: typewriter effects? 11 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 3: Please? 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: Thanks. 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 2: I think it's just a bit of a cliche, so 14 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 2: as I was saying, this location's classified, it's a military complex. 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 2: But what I can tell you is there's a plane 16 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 2: coming into land on a now airstrip, a military plane 17 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 2: in the middle of dense woodland. It's baking hot, the 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 2: grass is scorched. There's a pungent smell of pine. And 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 2: this place is top secret. Almost no one knows it exists. 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 2: The bunker walls are seven meters thick. They're surrounded by 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 2: ten kilometers of mines. I'm Becky Milligan and I reported 22 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 2: and broke stories for the BBC for almost thirty years. 23 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 2: You can trust me to report the facts, the truth. 24 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: It's what I do. 25 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: But I warn you to be on your guard because 26 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 2: where I'm about to take you the truth is extremely 27 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 2: hard to find. 28 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 4: War is a terrible thing. You never know who your 29 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 4: enemy or your friend is. You just don't know who 30 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 4: is who. 31 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 2: Millions have already died in this war, and millions more 32 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 2: lives are now at stake. Trust is fraying between the 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 2: conflict's key players as countries u turn and switch sides. 34 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 2: The passenger in the plane has just landed in the 35 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 2: midst of it. He knows this place, He's been here before. 36 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: He's sweating, but not just because of the heat. He's nervous, 37 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: really nervous. Tomorrow morning he has the most crucial meeting 38 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 2: of his life. 39 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: For him. Pretty much everything's riding on it. 40 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,119 Speaker 5: Could you imagine what kind of pressure during a war 41 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 5: and you are alone on the top of the power pyramid, 42 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 5: what kind of pressure you have? 43 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 2: The man is his Majesty King Boris, the third of Bulgaria. 44 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 2: Look on the map and you'll see Bulgaria's a small 45 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: country in southeastern Europe in the Balkans, squashed between Romania 46 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 2: to the north and Greece and Turkey to the south, 47 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 2: and at this moment in the conflict, Bulgaria finds itself 48 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 2: in a very tight spot. This meeting is crucial to 49 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 2: the direction of the wall. The reception seems cordial enough, 50 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 2: but only a fool would take a man at his word. 51 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,399 Speaker 2: Here this is the last place on earth the king 52 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 2: wants to be. That night, he sleeps in a concrete bunker. 53 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 2: It's airless, stifling. The king tosses and turns. Next morning 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 2: the meeting takes place. It lasts eight hours, eight long 55 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 2: and very difficult hours, and it all takes place behind 56 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,839 Speaker 2: closed doors with no witnesses. There are just two men 57 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 2: in that room, the Bulgarian King and actually no, let's 58 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 2: not go into that room quite yet, because that meeting ugly. 59 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 2: The king returns home to Bulgaria, but after a day 60 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 2: or so he starts to feel a bit unwell. He's 61 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 2: usually fit and sporty, but soon he's so sick he 62 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 2: has to take to his bed. He goes seriously downhill, 63 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:35,679 Speaker 2: until after six days of agonyask such as a continent. 64 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 2: The forty nine year old monarch is dead. The news 65 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 2: reports tell us he died suddenly of a heart attack. 66 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 2: That was the official line and it's been the official 67 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 2: line ever since. 68 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 3: Does he may science? 69 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 2: But hang on a minute. This is where my journalistic 70 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 2: instincts kick in suddenly, Since when does a sudden death 71 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 2: span six days? And here's another thing that strikes me 72 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 2: as odd. King Boris's skin was covered with spots. Now, 73 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 2: I'm no doctor, but that does not sound like a 74 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 2: heart attack to me. And I'm not the only one. 75 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 2: Plenty of people think the official cause of death was 76 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 2: a complete lie. 77 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 4: The blotches do sound like a hypersensitive reaction to me 78 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 4: to something they do. 79 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 3: Maybe a poison poison. 80 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 5: The king was poisoned. 81 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 6: I think it's a poisoning. 82 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 7: Poison, the cocktail of doxins. 83 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 8: I'm convinced that something was put into his soup. 84 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 5: This blameless king has fallen victim to moss vulgar murder. 85 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 2: In the middle of a global war and with Bulgaria's 86 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 2: future hanging in the balance. The king is dead? Who 87 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 2: killed him? And why? From Blanchard House and exactly right, media, 88 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: this is the Butterfly King. I'm Becky Milligan, Chapter one, 89 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 2: The Mender of Broken Dishes. Let me tell you a 90 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: little bit about me. I'm Becky Milligan, and I covered 91 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 2: stories all over the world for the BBC Walls in Afghanistan, 92 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 2: arm scandals in Sierra Leone, and I've uncovered a whole 93 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 2: raft of abuse and misconduct in the British Parliament. But 94 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 2: I've never investigated a story quite like this one before 95 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 2: because regicide, the killing of a king, that's a big 96 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: brief to take on. But once my curiosity is peaked, 97 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 2: I just can't walk away because for years, people across Bulgaria, 98 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 2: people in the know, have been saying that someone silenced Boris, 99 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 2: the Third of Bulgaria, the last crowned king of Bulgaria, 100 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 2: and I'm determined to find out who that was. I 101 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 2: start all my investigations by interviewing every witness I can find. 102 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 2: And although this story has its roots in the nineteen forties, 103 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: I've tracked down two people who lived through it. They're 104 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 2: in their eighties now, but they're rather important leads in 105 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 2: more ways than one, because they're actually members of the 106 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 2: royal family. They're King Boris's children, his son and his daughter, 107 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 2: and they've invited me and my producer EJ to visit 108 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 2: them at their home. It's just outside Sofia, Bulgaria's capital. 109 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 2: Good Morning, are you okay to take us to Vrana Palace? 110 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 3: Do you know here? It is on the map? 111 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: Brana Palace. 112 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 2: Imagine jumping into a cab in London telling the driver 113 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 2: to take you to Buckingham Palace, only to have him 114 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 2: turn around and ask you for the address. Well, that's 115 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:55,359 Speaker 2: exactly what happens in Bulgaria. 116 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: King Simeon his home. 117 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 2: To be fair, the whole royal thing here is a 118 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 2: bit confusing these days. Bulgaria's a republic. It no longer 119 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 2: has a monarchy that was all scrapped under the Communists 120 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 2: who arrived at the end of the war. Except Bulgaria 121 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,199 Speaker 2: does still have a sort of king, and that sort 122 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 2: of king is Simeon. Simeon was forced into exile after 123 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 2: the war, but he never actually abdicated, so technically he 124 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 2: is still king, if only in name. But actually, let's 125 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 2: save some of the more complex constitutional details for later, 126 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 2: because if it's confusing for a Bulgarian, do you see 127 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 2: where it is? 128 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: So this is it's like a big part. 129 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 2: I'm clearly getting nowhere here, so I call for back 130 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 2: up from the receptionist at our hotel. 131 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 6: He'll brilliant. 132 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Thank you for your health. 133 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 9: That's right. 134 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: Half an hour later and I. 135 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 7: Can't quite see the palace at the moment, but I 136 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,680 Speaker 7: think this is the park and it was quite barren. 137 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 7: Let's just say this is not the Palace of Versailles. 138 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 7: It was a bit like a scrap metal yard. In fact, 139 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 7: it looks a bit like a dump paper in a way. 140 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 7: I think this is the right place at the moment, 141 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 7: it doesn't feel like it true. 142 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 2: But despite appearances, it is the right place. Rana Palace 143 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 2: was where King Boris lived too. It was his country pad. 144 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 9: Yeah, the next one. 145 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: So I think we go up here. 146 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 7: This is more like it's a relief. Didn't fancy getting 147 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 7: out where that dog was looking still very desolate and dilapidated. 148 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:05,720 Speaker 9: It really is. 149 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 7: I think this is where we are, yes, I think so. 150 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 2: I think I think we're we're being dumped in its heyday, 151 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 2: Rana must have been a dyllic. It's surrounded by mixed 152 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,079 Speaker 2: woodlands and long tree lined avenues. Some of the trees 153 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 2: were planted by Boris himself and by Ferdinand Boris's father. 154 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 2: They weren't just weekend gardeners. They were both serious botanists. 155 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 9: Shut the gate quickly, so there are signposts here, it 156 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 9: says in English, as well as Bulgarian palace. So are 157 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 9: we're going to set off up here? 158 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 2: Rana was really Boris's go to place. He was a 159 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,319 Speaker 2: country boy at heart, and he loved the great outdoors, 160 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 2: to be in nature, peace and quiet. 161 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 3: And he liked mounting butterflies. 162 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:23,079 Speaker 2: Yes, she said, mounting butterflies. She's Tessa Dunlop, a historian 163 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 2: and an expert on both Royal and Eastern European history. 164 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 2: You might find her a little blunt, She certainly likes 165 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 2: to tell it how it is. 166 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 10: They caught them, and he mounted them, and he spent 167 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:35,440 Speaker 10: hours working out which kind of butterfly they was. 168 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 3: I mean he was a geek. 169 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 2: Well, he certainly knew his insects. Back to front Entomology 170 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 2: was his great passion, and his knowledge was second to none. 171 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 2: He was well respected in the natural history world. Boris 172 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 2: was at his happiest pottering around his grounds with his 173 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 2: old floppy hat and butterfly nets. He was a gentle soul, 174 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 2: the kind of king who wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, actually, 175 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,720 Speaker 2: he probably would her to fly if it was a 176 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 2: rare one and he wanted it for his scrapbook. But 177 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 2: you can see where I'm coming from. He was inoffensive. 178 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 2: All that pomp and splendor, it just wasn't him. 179 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 10: He found himself really pretty unexceptional. He got terribly anxious 180 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 10: about sort of standing up in parliament, especially early on. 181 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 10: He said, little do they know that I have to 182 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 10: go to the loo five times before I confront them. 183 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 2: I think what she's trying to say is that King 184 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 2: Boris was not at all what you might expect in 185 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 2: a king. 186 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 10: You know, he was not a man who was imbued 187 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 10: with huge amounts of confidence, and I expect part of 188 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 10: that was his physical appearance and his size. 189 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 3: It helps if you're a big man. 190 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,959 Speaker 2: Why does history always demand handsome heroes. I'm starting to 191 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 2: feel rather sorry for Boris. 192 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 10: He was small to look at, eminently unremarkable. You wouldn't 193 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:58,439 Speaker 10: notice him in a room, diminutive, aggressive building, early on, 194 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 10: watery gray eyes, the long protruding Habsburg knows. I mean, 195 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 10: the only Afrodiziac attached to Boris was the fact he 196 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,079 Speaker 10: was a monarch. And that does some things for some women, 197 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 10: doesn't it. 198 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 2: Well, I wouldn't know, Tessa. Anyway, back to Varana Palace. 199 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 7: These look as though they might be the sort of 200 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 7: more modern quarters where Simeon lives. 201 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: Actually, do you know what I mean? Oh, there's another 202 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: guard dog. 203 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 7: Let's go and find a doorbell somewhere. 204 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 9: Goodness knows where you find. 205 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 7: A doorbell on a palace. 206 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: Maybe it's up here. 207 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 2: I suppose when most of us think of a palace, 208 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 2: we'd think of something we see in the Crown or 209 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 2: Downton Abbey, towering turrets, Gothic windows, colonnades. Well, Vrana's a 210 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 2: little more down at heel. The architecture's charming, a sort 211 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: of hot potch of styles, but it could do with 212 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 2: a lick of paint. Simeon's doing it up bit by bit, 213 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: but he has to do that from his own pocket. 214 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 2: As he's only a sort of king, he can't really 215 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 2: ask the Bulgarian taxpayers to foot the bill. So while 216 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 2: parts of it are lovely, the rest is, let's say, 217 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 2: shabby chic. 218 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: We're early, I know, but. 219 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 2: That's the King's aid Yarville meeting us, and he's precisely 220 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 2: how you'd imagine a king's aid, sharp suited, charming and 221 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 2: perfectly poised. Even when the palace guard dog gets a 222 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 2: little frisky, I have a dog. 223 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 10: So yes, but she's too lovely, too lovely, good dog. 224 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 9: She is worth. 225 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 3: Sometimes not. 226 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 2: Jeka is too lovely, She's not your typical guard dog. 227 00:15:55,120 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 2: Meeting a monic is a nerve wracking experience. Luckily, Java 228 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 2: tells us we don't have to curtsey to Simeon, but 229 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 2: there are certain royal protocols which we need to stick to, 230 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 2: such as not touching the ornaments and royal. 231 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: Bric a brac in the drawing room. But there are so. 232 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 2: Many fascinating bits and pieces it's really hard not to, 233 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 2: including a rather fine filigree box which was a birthday 234 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 2: gift to Simeon from a fellow king or something, and 235 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 2: which I very nearly break. 236 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: Yes, I love that sort of thing. That's really very good. 237 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 8: Please don't break the palace. 238 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 3: Anyway. 239 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: That's lovely. I'm sure he's insured. Are kings insured? 240 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 2: His Majesty's drawing room is light and airy and is 241 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 2: everything you'd imagine in a stately home. The herringbone wooden 242 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 2: floor is scattered with plush Persian rugs, the walls are 243 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 2: plastered with icons and oil portraits, and the elegant chairs 244 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,719 Speaker 2: on which we're invited to sit are painted gold. And 245 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 2: bricaded in dusky pink silks, and just like in most 246 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 2: people's houses, the mantlepiece is crowded with photos. 247 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: This is someone I recognize. 248 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 5: Of course, two years ago the Pope visit Bulgaria and 249 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,159 Speaker 5: he wants a private visit to the royal family. 250 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 2: Simeon's family is not exactly ordinary. He's descended from the 251 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 2: Saxe Coburg Gotha dynasty. That basically means he's connected to 252 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 2: pretty much every royal clan in Europe, including the Windsors. 253 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 2: King Charles is a kind of distant cousin. In fact, 254 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 2: back in the days before the war, King Boris even 255 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 2: used to take his holidays with the British Royals shooting 256 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 2: in Scotland. There's a huge portrait of Boris hanging on 257 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 2: the drawing room wall and looking at it you get 258 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,880 Speaker 2: a strange sense of deja vu. 259 00:17:57,400 --> 00:17:58,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, they do all look like each other. 260 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 10: I mean you can see quite a strong trace of 261 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 10: our current British royal family I think in Boris, and 262 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 10: that strong some would say aristocratic, others inbred profile that 263 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 10: he has. I won't name names, but take a look 264 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 10: at him and then well, yes, Peru's the current royal landscape. 265 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 10: Do you think Prince William a little bit? I mean, 266 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 10: poor Prince William. 267 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 3: It's not his fault. 268 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 10: As Harry said, he does have aggressive premiti or building. 269 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 2: Well, it's true. There's definitely more William than Harry. 270 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 3: In Boris anyway, movingly. 271 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,719 Speaker 2: On, yes, I think we probably should because it's time 272 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 2: to meet the King. 273 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 6: I want to see you. 274 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for making the time. 275 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 9: I'm Becky, missus, Emma j and we're. 276 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 7: Delighted that we're able to talk to you and really appreciated. 277 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: King's and wears a dark suit and tie. He's got 278 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 2: a thin white mustache that's anchored by a chin strap 279 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 2: beard and okay, yes he's completely bald. He's one of 280 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 2: those people who seem taller than they really are. He 281 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,639 Speaker 2: might be eighty six, but he still knows how to 282 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 2: carry himself. He's very charming. He's also very much an 283 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 2: old school sort of king. 284 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 11: I'm not the type of person who communicates easily, and 285 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 11: I like to keep my feelings to myself. 286 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 2: So if you're expecting him to get all confessional and 287 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 2: Prince Harry on you, you might be disappointed. 288 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: But having said that, once you get to know him. 289 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 2: He's quite the tease. It's important to laugh where we can, 290 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:54,399 Speaker 2: because I'm afraid this story is a dark one. For 291 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 2: a child to lose a parent is always desperately sad. 292 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 2: And Simon was just sick years old when his father 293 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 2: died so mysteriously, a mystery which still haunts him. 294 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 5: To this day. 295 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 11: It still we cannot really either blame anybody or point 296 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 11: our fingers at anybody, and yet we have this, I 297 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 11: would say, ghastly suspicion that something was wrong. 298 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 2: Now, remember that military plane which Boris had taken to 299 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 2: his secret meeting. Simeon got taken to see it after 300 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 2: it landed back in Bulgaria. 301 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 11: We went to the airport to greet my father when 302 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 11: he came back from this meeting. We were fascinated. My 303 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 11: mother drove us to the airport to see this huge 304 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 11: plane that had landed there. 305 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 2: Little did Simeon know that his father had just flown 306 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 2: home to meet his death. It all seemed like harmless 307 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 2: fun to a little boy, porking. Boris had a very 308 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:04,639 Speaker 2: differ court relationship with his father. Ferdinand was fiery and 309 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 2: Boris was frightened of him. Boris had lost his mother 310 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:10,440 Speaker 2: as a very young boy, and that meant he lost 311 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 2: her gentle protection too. He felt he never quite measured 312 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 2: up to his father's exacting expectations. Ferdinand was certainly a 313 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 2: force to be reckoned with. Boris was determined not to 314 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 2: make the same mistakes with his own children, so he 315 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,680 Speaker 2: was a hands on dad. Whenever he got a day off, 316 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 2: he'd head to the hills with the family. 317 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 5: Oh, on the hike. 318 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 11: It was always fun because he would teach us all 319 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,120 Speaker 11: sorts of things and botaneer or on nature or on 320 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 11: wildlife and so forth. So to ask, this was a 321 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 11: great treat. I will say. 322 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 2: Now, I'm not just here to speak to Simeon, because 323 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,479 Speaker 2: behind every great king is a bossy big sister. 324 00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 8: So you don't know. How do I get in touch 325 00:21:58,880 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 8: with you? 326 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: In half an hour? 327 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 2: Her Royal Highness Maria Louisa is four years senior to Simeon. 328 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 2: She's a plain speaking kind of princess. 329 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 8: That was a lot of bs. 330 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 2: Excuse me if Simeon's wary about speaking his mind, Maria 331 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 2: Louisa gives it to you straight, no matter who you are. 332 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,640 Speaker 2: Just before the war, King Boris invited British King Edward 333 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 2: the eighth to the palace. He's the king who abdicated 334 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,360 Speaker 2: so he could marry American divorcee Wallace Simpson. Boris proudly 335 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:40,400 Speaker 2: presented his little daughter to Edward, but Maria Louisa refused 336 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:41,400 Speaker 2: to perform. 337 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 8: I was I think four or what? And I got 338 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 8: bored and I said, now I have to go and play. 339 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,439 Speaker 8: And King Edward an. 340 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 2: In her black trousers and trainers. Her Royal Highness is 341 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 2: more casual than her brother, but still stylish. She broke 342 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 2: her leg la, so she's walking with a stick. It's 343 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,479 Speaker 2: a glittery burgundy red one and it matches her polar 344 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 2: neck sweater. Occasionally she flashes her cane a look of contempt. 345 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,919 Speaker 2: You can see she hates being dependent. She's as sharp 346 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 2: as a tack, basically the kind of ninety year old 347 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:24,439 Speaker 2: we all hope to be. Maria Luisa was exceptionally close 348 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 2: to her father, King Boris. In the next room, there's 349 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,439 Speaker 2: a tear jerkingly beautiful black and white photo of them together. 350 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 2: She's wearing a string of pearls and she's drawing or 351 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 2: coloring something while Boris looks on dotingly. In the photo, 352 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 2: she's about eight, maybe nine years old. She's concentrating hard, 353 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 2: but her free arm is sloped around her father's neck, 354 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 2: just keeping him with her. She was ten when he died. 355 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 8: He was always there for us, and it was always 356 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 8: feet when he came and told us stories. And he 357 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,679 Speaker 8: would take a sometimes for a little walk in the 358 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,360 Speaker 8: forest and tell us stories about gnomes that lived under 359 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 8: mushrooms and came out at night, and you know, wonderful 360 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 8: children's stories that we cherished enormously. 361 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,400 Speaker 2: When Maria, Louisa and Simeon talk about King Boris, they 362 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 2: both often look away or stare at the floor for 363 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 2: a second or two while they composed themselves. 364 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 8: Ah, it's very difficult to sort of empty one soul. 365 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 8: A very loving father who had time for his children, 366 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 8: definitely for us. He was just loving papa. 367 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,120 Speaker 2: And there wasn't even a proper goodbye. He disappeared so suddenly. 368 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 8: And the Monday morning he came into a room where 369 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,360 Speaker 8: Simeona and I were playing, and he just said, I'm 370 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 8: going to Sofia for work, you know, kissed us and 371 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 8: said I'll see you tonight, and we never saw him again. 372 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 2: They were such a close knit family, but someone out 373 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,400 Speaker 2: there clearly didn't care for King bors Mars at all. 374 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: Once. 375 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,679 Speaker 2: On his deathbed, the King didn't just slip peacefully away, 376 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 2: as we know, his so called cardiac arrest spanned six 377 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 2: long days and nights. He fought to stay alive that summer. 378 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,639 Speaker 2: He really battled against his failing heart. 379 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,199 Speaker 6: Crushing chest pain as if there's a metal band around 380 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:32,280 Speaker 6: your chest, feelings of sweatiness and nausea, the feeling of 381 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 6: impending doom. 382 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 2: That's Dr Stewart Hamilton. More from him later, but he's 383 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,160 Speaker 2: bang on the money with the prediction of doom. Simeon 384 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 2: seen the medical reports from his father's doctors. 385 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 11: He was feeling sick. Then his liver eventually didn't function, 386 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 11: and there was also in pneumonia, and he lasted for 387 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 11: so long from Monday to Saturday, he lost his conscience. 388 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 2: The King wasn't short of doctors in that sickroom. The 389 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,640 Speaker 2: palace was crawling with them. But it was nineteen forty three. 390 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: What did they have to. 391 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,800 Speaker 2: Offer Paul Boris except a bit of oxygen and sedation. Well, 392 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,719 Speaker 2: here's one thing they didn't offer him, the comfort of 393 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 2: his wife. The Queen was on holiday in the mountains 394 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 2: with the royal children. She wasn't even told her husband 395 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 2: was ill until it was pretty much over. Now that 396 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 2: seems deeply odd, and not just to me. 397 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,680 Speaker 8: My mother was I should have convinced he was done 398 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:39,640 Speaker 8: in by somebody. 399 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 2: And here's another thing that makes me suspicious. Once the 400 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 2: king was bedbound, no one was allowed to leave the palace. 401 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 2: They were literally locked in for the first few days. 402 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,600 Speaker 2: Even Boris's government was kept in the dark. Whatever happened 403 00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 2: in that sickroom stayed in. 404 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,479 Speaker 11: That sick room. Finally, the doctors who came in all 405 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 11: that kept everything very i'd say confidential or secret, and 406 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 11: that was also one of the reasons that people thought 407 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 11: there was foul play. 408 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 2: In the final stage of his illness, King Boris developed 409 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 2: a high fever. When the doctors couldn't control his temperature, 410 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 2: he began convulsing, and on the twenty eighth of August 411 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 2: it was all over. The king's casket was carried to 412 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 2: its final resting place by train drivers. His enthusiasm for 413 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 2: engines and locomotives was legendary. The railway worker has even 414 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 2: made him an honorary member of their guild. He was 415 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 2: a skilled engineer. He once joked that if everything's went 416 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 2: badly for him, and he lost his throne. He just 417 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 2: head off to America and gets a job as a mechanic. 418 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:17,439 Speaker 11: He remember once took us along a railroad because he 419 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 11: was very fond of trains. 420 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,960 Speaker 2: He was desperate to pass on his passion to his children, 421 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 2: so he took little Simeon into a tunnel. A train 422 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 2: appeared suddenly and roared past them in the dark. 423 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 11: The conductor reported the next station there were some lunatics 424 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,720 Speaker 11: who had been walking in the track just when the 425 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 11: train came by, and so forth, and of course it 426 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 11: was great fun after it when they realized that it 427 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 11: was my father who had induced us to take this walk. 428 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 2: Maria Louisa remembers other times when HER's enthusiasm almost got 429 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 2: the better of him. 430 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 8: We would go horse by riding, and not too far 431 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 8: from here was a railroad crossing, and we would stop 432 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 8: because the barriers were down, the trains were coming, and 433 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 8: since my father loved driving trains, we were standing with 434 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 8: our horses there and the train would pass, and if 435 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 8: the machine is recognized my father, of course it would 436 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:32,560 Speaker 8: blow the whistle, and that was catastrophic for the horses 437 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 8: and for us. 438 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,600 Speaker 10: Historian Tessa Dunlop, you know, the hours he spent pulling 439 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 10: the levers of locomotives, so much so that the engine 440 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 10: drivers of the Orient Express were told watch out for 441 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 10: Boris because he literally will steal into your engine and 442 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 10: drive off with it. That was the level of his obsession. 443 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 2: Boris was a royal who had the common touch. He 444 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 2: fitted in everywhere. Think of the Lake Queen Elizabeth, the 445 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 2: second longest reigning monarch in history, yet somehow most Brits 446 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 2: thought of her as their own granny. Think of Princess Diana, 447 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 2: who instinctively knew how to charm a crowd. Unlike his 448 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 2: father Ferdinand, Boris was popular, and whatever you think about 449 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 2: train balls, being a committed railway enthusiast is hardly a 450 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 2: motive for murder. And this is where some red flags 451 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 2: are popping up for me, because I feel like I'm 452 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 2: getting a somewhat filtered version of the truth here. So far, 453 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 2: we've only really heard from Boris's children, and I mean, 454 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 2: is anyone objective about their own parents? Affectionate stories about 455 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,720 Speaker 2: Boris are threaded through Bulgarian folklore. There are countless tales 456 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 2: of the King picking up hitchhikers in his car incognito. 457 00:30:56,040 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 2: He'd drive them around for miles, chatting away. Simeon told 458 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,360 Speaker 2: me about one time when Boris pulled his bet you 459 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 2: can't guess who I am prank on a hapless young soldier. 460 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 11: My father thought of those hilarios, which it really was, 461 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 11: would he roar with laughter? Well, yes, and I suppose 462 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 11: a soldier almost fainted, not because she then said it's 463 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 11: the king. It's the king. 464 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 2: And some of the legends sound like they're straight out 465 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:26,840 Speaker 2: of a fairy tale, like when King Boris was caught 466 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 2: in a rainstorm when he was out butterfly hunting in 467 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 2: the mountains. Apparently, he'd often pitch up at a villager's 468 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 2: door in the hope of a hot bowl of broth 469 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 2: and some shelter. Once home, he'd always thank the villager 470 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,960 Speaker 2: for their hospitality by sending on parcels and gifts. 471 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 3: Do we believe that? Do we actually believe that? I 472 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,080 Speaker 3: don't think so well, Tessa. 473 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:52,800 Speaker 2: From what I've read, at least some of these accounts 474 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,720 Speaker 2: really are true. There's evidence to back them all up. But, 475 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 2: like Tessa, the skeptical journalist in me is starting to 476 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 2: smell a rat because my research shows me that we're 477 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 2: getting a very sanitized version of history here. This is 478 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 2: not Disney. It's a real life story rooted in war, 479 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:17,280 Speaker 2: and wars always a dirty business. And if I dig 480 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 2: around a bit in Boris's past, it's not hard to 481 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,959 Speaker 2: unearth a less polished reality. 482 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 10: Without wishing to denigrate Bulgaria in any way. 483 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 2: I get the feeling she's about to denigrate Bulgaria in 484 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 2: some way. 485 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 10: It was a nation of peasants, told you, I mean, 486 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:33,959 Speaker 10: we love our peasants. 487 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 3: Now it's quite diregarded to be a peasant, isn't. 488 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 10: It, But back then less so it's kind of weirdly 489 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 10: lonely for Boris. He was known as the lonely King, actually, 490 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 10: because who'd you hang out with if your new country 491 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 10: doesn't have any proper posh landowners. There was not much 492 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,760 Speaker 10: between Boris and the peasants. So when we say, oh, 493 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 10: Boris really got on with the peasants, I'm like, yeah, 494 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 10: who else did he have to play with? 495 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 2: Really, Boris's bloodline was undeniably blue, but it wasn't so 496 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 2: undeniably bulgar Let me explain with a whistle stop tour 497 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:09,720 Speaker 2: of the country's history. Established in the seventh century, Bulgaria 498 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,719 Speaker 2: is one of the oldest countries in Europe, but at 499 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 2: the end of the fourteenth century it fell into the 500 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,440 Speaker 2: hands of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, and that's 501 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 2: where it stayed until eighteen seventy eight, until Russia went 502 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,240 Speaker 2: to war with Turkey and liberated Bulgaria. 503 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 11: Again. 504 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 2: Delighted with their newfound independence, the Bulgarians set about reinstating 505 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:36,360 Speaker 2: the monarchy. The problem was, it had been so long 506 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 2: since they'd had a king, they couldn't trace back the bloodline. 507 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 2: They hadn't got a clue who their real royals were. 508 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,320 Speaker 2: The solution simple, import a new royal family. 509 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 10: Where's the obvious place to import a royal from Germany? 510 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:01,000 Speaker 10: It's got an abundance of slightly pointless The little dukes 511 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 10: and princes of. 512 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 3: The man are born without quite enough to do so. 513 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 10: Ideally, you want someone who's been gifted to you with 514 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 10: international approval. 515 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 2: Their first attempt at importing a royal was German Prince 516 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:18,399 Speaker 2: Alexander Battenberg, but he proved so unpopular that they were 517 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:22,760 Speaker 2: soon back to the drawing board. The next bit sounds surreal, 518 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 2: but I promise you it's true. The Bulgarians went shopping 519 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 2: for a king. Three royal headhunters trailed around all the 520 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 2: royal courts of Europe, but to no avail. They just 521 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 2: couldn't find a suitable or willing candidate. Downcast, they decided 522 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,280 Speaker 2: to cheer themselves up with a trip to the opera 523 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 2: in Vienna, and sitting right under their noses in the 524 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 2: royal box was the perfect man for the job. They 525 00:34:56,160 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 2: intercepted him at intermission. Sh it's int anyway. He was 526 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 2: a suave German prince by the name of Ferdinand. He 527 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:08,400 Speaker 2: had away with the ladies and with the men. Actually 528 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 2: he lived for pleasure. 529 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:14,280 Speaker 3: Yes, he did swing both ways. 530 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:16,880 Speaker 10: I think all bisexual and of course, if you're a 531 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:18,840 Speaker 10: king you can really do what the hell you like. 532 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 10: He is a grand signior to the point of decadence. 533 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,760 Speaker 10: He loved fine clothes, he loved fine wine. 534 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:24,640 Speaker 3: He liked jewels. 535 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 10: He wore many jewels on his fingers. He was not 536 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 10: the most quote comfortable of husbands. No, I shouldn't think 537 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 10: he was if he was boning the local No, I mean, 538 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:33,719 Speaker 10: I can't say that. 539 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 3: On the radio. 540 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 2: Of course, he was known as Foxy Ferdinand, and not 541 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 2: in a good way. His cousin, the British Queen Victoria 542 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 2: hated him. She described him as eccentric, effeminate, and totally unfit. 543 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 2: Other relatives wrote him off as weird and ridiculous, but 544 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 2: he got the job anyway. There weren't really any other applicants. 545 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 2: Bulgaria's love affair with Foxy didn't last long. He got 546 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:08,240 Speaker 2: a reputation for being sly and untrustworthy, and crucially, during 547 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:11,520 Speaker 2: the First World War, he joined the wrong side, the 548 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,400 Speaker 2: losing side. His alliance with Germany cost the lives of 549 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 2: one hundred thousand Bulgarian soldiers, and in the peace treaty 550 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:24,480 Speaker 2: that ended the war, Bulgaria was severely punished. The country 551 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:30,000 Speaker 2: lost huge swathes of territory, including the strategically important Thrace, 552 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,759 Speaker 2: a region bordering Greece and the AEGNC and Macedonia, which 553 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 2: was given to Yugoslavia. Do remember the names Thrace and Macedonia, 554 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,320 Speaker 2: as they're going to be quite important. A little further 555 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 2: on in our story, Ferdinand had cost his country dearly. 556 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,760 Speaker 2: He was forced to abdicate and was exiled, and his throne, 557 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,160 Speaker 2: still warm, was handed to his son, twenty four year 558 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:00,719 Speaker 2: old Boris. Was Boris's murder a simple case of payback 559 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,120 Speaker 2: for the sins of the father. Ferdinand might have made 560 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,920 Speaker 2: some bad choices, but they weren't Boris's choices. In fact, 561 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,640 Speaker 2: the two could not have been more different. While Ferdinand 562 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,720 Speaker 2: loved a good row, king, Boris hated conflict of any kind, 563 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 2: especially war. He jokingly nicknamed himself the mender of broken dishes. 564 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 2: That's perhaps a tiny bit lost in translation, but you 565 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 2: get the sense. Boris was a diplomat, the kind of 566 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:33,440 Speaker 2: king who picked up the pieces and glued them back together, 567 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,800 Speaker 2: not the kind of king who threw tantrums and smashed things. 568 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 2: And he never aspired to be on the throne. But unfortunately, 569 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 2: that's precisely where he found himself as the world went 570 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:52,840 Speaker 2: to war again in nineteen thirty nine, and it was 571 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,640 Speaker 2: in the darkest part of the middle of that war 572 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:01,240 Speaker 2: that Boris died, a brutal and baffling death. Why murder 573 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 2: a peace lover? It was wartime, his daughter Maria Louisa. 574 00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:09,480 Speaker 8: There were many many people who would have been happy 575 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,040 Speaker 8: to get rid of him. 576 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:12,400 Speaker 1: As I suspected. 577 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,960 Speaker 2: The king had several known enemies, but as far as 578 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:19,320 Speaker 2: the identity of his assassin goes, the clues are few 579 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:23,120 Speaker 2: and far between. Boris's son, Simeon has tried to crack 580 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:27,080 Speaker 2: this case himself in the past, but his sleuthing has 581 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:28,440 Speaker 2: proved fruitless. 582 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:35,560 Speaker 11: It's amazing. I mean, so many years, so many archives, investigations, 583 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,520 Speaker 11: questions or what have you, and there still hasn't been 584 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:44,240 Speaker 11: any proof. And I must say, I mean, as a son, 585 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:46,720 Speaker 11: it's disturbing. 586 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 2: And there's no nice way to put this. Time's running 587 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 2: out for Simeon and Maria Louisa to find answers to 588 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,960 Speaker 2: the question that haunts them. 589 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 8: Never forget it. Still you go to a funeral and 590 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:02,239 Speaker 8: it all comes back. 591 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 11: Not that one looks for the revenge or anything like it, 592 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:08,239 Speaker 11: but simply to know. 593 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 2: And I want to know too, So I'm going to 594 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:18,600 Speaker 2: pick up this case where Simeon left off. Time to 595 00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:22,239 Speaker 2: recap and to fill you in on one of Boris's 596 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 2: dirty little secrets. Remember its wartime and in war, difficult 597 00:39:29,239 --> 00:39:33,200 Speaker 2: choices have to be made. We know Boris hated bloodshed, 598 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 2: so at the start of the war Bulgaria opted for neutrality. 599 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:43,359 Speaker 2: But Bulgaria has an unfortunate geographical position. Rumania, on its 600 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:47,719 Speaker 2: northern border had joined sides with Hitler. That meant very 601 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:55,880 Speaker 2: quickly there were German troops breathing right down Bulgaria's neck. Meanwhile, 602 00:39:55,960 --> 00:40:01,080 Speaker 2: on Bulgaria's southern border, the Italian Army invaded Greece. They 603 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:05,560 Speaker 2: needed back up, and Hitler was itching to help. Little 604 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:10,840 Speaker 2: Bulgaria was sandwiched between hostile players. She found herself backed 605 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,160 Speaker 2: into a corner. And when you're backed into a corner, 606 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,040 Speaker 2: you have to pick a side. And in nineteen forty one, 607 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:21,200 Speaker 2: King Boris did pick a side. 608 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,239 Speaker 10: We know that Boris was a political survivor and till 609 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,440 Speaker 10: he died, but he was, and he'd survived for a 610 00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:29,879 Speaker 10: very long time. Now what do you do if you're 611 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:33,040 Speaker 10: a survivor. You work out which way the wind's blowing 612 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:34,200 Speaker 10: and you travel with it. 613 00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:38,000 Speaker 2: So let's go back to that top secret bunker once again, 614 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:40,640 Speaker 2: the one where Boris is about to walk into the 615 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:45,000 Speaker 2: most important meeting of his life. It's now August nineteen 616 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:52,800 Speaker 2: forty three. In the stifling bunker, Boris has been trying 617 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 2: to get his head straight. But he's played all his 618 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:57,399 Speaker 2: cards and he knows it. 619 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,120 Speaker 10: This man is eminently reasonable relative to what's going on 620 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:05,560 Speaker 10: around him, and he's also got a very good political brain. 621 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:09,000 Speaker 3: For Bulgaria, they need to survive that's the game. 622 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:14,480 Speaker 2: But the game's up. Boris is out of time. It's 623 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:15,640 Speaker 2: time to meet. 624 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:22,480 Speaker 1: Adolph Hitler. 625 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:29,239 Speaker 2: Yes, Boris, the so called Mender of Broken Dishes, is 626 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,880 Speaker 2: an ally of the most evil man in history. He 627 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:38,479 Speaker 2: has been for eighteen months. And this military hideaway, it's 628 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:42,600 Speaker 2: the Wolf's Layer, the secret Nazi headquarters in what is 629 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,799 Speaker 2: now Poland, And just like Germany, King Boris the Third 630 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:52,360 Speaker 2: of Bulgaria has declared war on Britain and America. 631 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:54,400 Speaker 3: Now. 632 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:57,400 Speaker 2: So far, in the time they've been allies with Germany, 633 00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:02,160 Speaker 2: Bulgaria's involvement has been pretty passive. While thousands of men 634 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,520 Speaker 2: across Europe are losing their lives on the battlefields, not 635 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:09,719 Speaker 2: a single Bulgarian soldier has been involved in active combat, 636 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:15,160 Speaker 2: and as yet, not a single Bulgarian Jew has been deported. 637 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,640 Speaker 2: But now Hitler wants that to change. He wants to 638 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 2: up the ante. He's demanding. Boris's troops must help the 639 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:28,840 Speaker 2: Germans on the front line, and he's determined to send 640 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:34,240 Speaker 2: each one of Bulgaria's fifty thousand Jews to the gas chambers. 641 00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,399 Speaker 2: This is not what King Boris signed up for, and 642 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 2: this is why he's here. He's about to disobey Hitler's 643 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:48,239 Speaker 2: orders to tell him he won't do as Hitler commands. 644 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,799 Speaker 2: You don't need to know much about history to know 645 00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:55,560 Speaker 2: what happens to people who anger Hitler. Less than two 646 00:42:55,640 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 2: weeks after leaving the Wolf's Layer, King Boris will be dead. 647 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:05,200 Speaker 10: Given the hand he was served, Boris did bloody well 648 00:43:05,239 --> 00:43:07,840 Speaker 10: to squeeze almost half a century out of this planet. 649 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:12,799 Speaker 2: So was it Hitler who personally ordered his murder. He 650 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:17,120 Speaker 2: had a motive, he had the opportunity. But I gave 651 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,719 Speaker 2: my word that I would tell this story objectively, and 652 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:24,040 Speaker 2: that means telling you all the facts I know, even 653 00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:27,800 Speaker 2: those which don't quite fit the narrative. And there's something 654 00:43:27,840 --> 00:43:31,200 Speaker 2: here that doesn't quite square with me. Because things weren't 655 00:43:31,239 --> 00:43:34,280 Speaker 2: shaping up well for Hitler by the summer of nineteen 656 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:38,080 Speaker 2: forty three, with heavy losses on the Eastern Front and 657 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:41,920 Speaker 2: Italy on the verge of surrender, Hitler needed all the 658 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:45,000 Speaker 2: friends he could get. Would he really kill one of 659 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,480 Speaker 2: his only allies? Or did his need for revenge overcome 660 00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:53,920 Speaker 2: his reason? Eighty years on from Boris's death, I'm determined 661 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:55,080 Speaker 2: to get to the truth. 662 00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 11: Who would want to cover up after so many. 663 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:06,160 Speaker 1: Years coming up this season. 664 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:11,760 Speaker 11: In the Butterfly came, everybody started suspecting everybody else. Russian 665 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:16,360 Speaker 11: special services Starting's special services killed King Boards. 666 00:44:16,719 --> 00:44:20,239 Speaker 1: I mean it would make sense to be the Germans right, 667 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:24,680 Speaker 1: because it would be safer for the Germans if he 668 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:25,720 Speaker 1: was out of the picture. 669 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:27,440 Speaker 3: Could has paint a book. 670 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:29,839 Speaker 7: Carriats an inside job. 671 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:34,200 Speaker 5: It was a typical Balkan death. 672 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,400 Speaker 1: What do you mean by a typical Boken death? 673 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:41,360 Speaker 5: I mean in the bottle there were more political murders 674 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,280 Speaker 5: than in the rest of Europe for this period. 675 00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:47,279 Speaker 4: This does not have the whole box of British show 676 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:52,680 Speaker 4: American intelligence, but these sort of things have happened in 677 00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:53,200 Speaker 4: the past. 678 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:58,560 Speaker 2: It's a long list of suspects. There's just one other 679 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:02,080 Speaker 2: tricky problem I need to share with you. For Simeon 680 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:06,520 Speaker 2: and Maria Louisa King Boris was just dear sweet Papa. 681 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:11,520 Speaker 2: But others, well they saw him very differently. 682 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:15,400 Speaker 6: I really don't care how he died. 683 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,520 Speaker 7: For me, He's a creaming. 684 00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:44,920 Speaker 2: The Butterfly King is a production of Blanchard House and 685 00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:50,800 Speaker 2: Exactly Right Media, hosted by me Becky Milligan. It's written 686 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:55,359 Speaker 2: and produced by Emma Jane Kirby. Original music is by 687 00:45:55,480 --> 00:46:01,440 Speaker 2: Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nankmnell and Toby Matthimol. Sound design 688 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:07,120 Speaker 2: and engineering by Toby Mattamong and Daniel Lloyd Evans. Artwork 689 00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:12,760 Speaker 2: by Vanessa Lilac. The managing producer is Amka Schortino Nola. 690 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:17,839 Speaker 2: The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The 691 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:21,799 Speaker 2: executive producer and head of Content at Blanchard House is 692 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:27,359 Speaker 2: Lawrence Grizzell. For Exactly Right Media, the executive producers are 693 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:33,960 Speaker 2: Karen Kilgareth Georgia Hardstark and Daniel Kramer, with consulting producer 694 00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:39,480 Speaker 2: Kyle Ryan. The Butterfly King is inspired by the book 695 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:43,759 Speaker 2: Hitler and the King by John hal Spencer.