Emanuil Bogoridi

Prince Emanoil (or Emanuel, Emanuil) Vogoride-Conachi (also Bogoridi, Vogoridis, ; 10 April 1847 – 19 August 1935) was a Romanian aristocrat and politician, best known as a claimant to the throne of the Principality of Bulgaria in 1878 and 1887. He was the son of Nicolae Vogoride, caimacam of Moldavia, and Ecaterina (Cocuța) Conachi, daughter of the logothete Costache Conachi, belonging to one of the oldest Moldavian boyar families.

Origins and family Emanoil Vogoride-Conachi came from an extremely wealthy family, with branches both in the Danubian Principalities and in the Balkans. On his paternal side, the Vogoride family was of Bulgarian origin, originating from the Tarnovo region, later becoming Phanariot through settlement in the Phanar district of Constantinople and integration into the Ottoman administrative elite. His grandfather was Ștefan Vogoride, while his father, Nicolae Vogoride, served as caimacam of Moldavia.

On his maternal side, Emanoil was the grandson of Costache Conachi, a poet and prominent Moldavian boyar. His mother, Ecaterina (Cocuța) Conachi, played a crucial role in exposing the falsification of the 1857 ad-hoc Divan elections, contributing decisively to the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859. This led to an open conflict with her husband, Nicolae Vogoride.

Emanoil was the eldest of the couple’s three children. His sisters were: Maria Vogoride (1851–1931), wife of the Greek count Petros de Romas; Lucia Vogoride (1855–1938), married successively to Nicolae Rosetti-Roznovanu and to the Conservative politician Dimitrie Greceanu.

Education and personal life Born in 1847 at the Conachi estate in Țigănești (Tecuci County), Emanoil Vogoride-Conachi received a Western-style education, studying in Paris. He spent much of his life in France and Austria, residing for long periods in Paris and Vienna. He spoke the Bulgarian language and maintained contacts with Bulgarian political and intellectual circles.

He was married twice: first to Olga Sturdza, daughter of Grigore Sturdza, and later to Countess Sophie von Puysegur, the widow of a German count. He had no children. Toward the end of his life, he sold most of his properties in Romania, including the Țigănești estate, which was sold to Tache Anastasiu. On this occasion, the Bulgarians opted for another foreign prince, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.